“The Game”: When you think of college football rivalry games, Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines is at the top of the list for most football fans. Like most of these meetings between these two teams, this Saturday’s edition, (11/30 at 12:00 noon est.), should not disappoint. Ohio State is ranked #2 in the nation and is certainly CFP-bound regardless go this weekend’s outcome. Ohio State (10-1) will be playing in the College Football Playoff (CFP) come December 20th or 21st. But for now, the Buckeyes are focused on their Rivalry game, hosting the Michigan Wolverines (6-5). The Buckeyes are currently favored to win by 21 points.
Buckeyes Offense is Spellbinding
Ohio State comes into this game having amassed 2,877 yards in total passing yards, completing 208 out of 281 attempts. The Buckeyes average 9.3 yards per catch. They have 26 passing touchdowns scored on opponents so far this season. Senior Will Howard will lead this year’s campaign against the Wolverines. The 6’4”, 235 lbs from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, will seek to help capture a National Championship. But first, he must tear up the Wolverines.
The Buckeyes are multidimensional having rushed for a total of 1,953 yards on 379 carries. They average 5.2 yards per carry and have scored 24 rushing touchdowns. Ohio State’s one-two punch backfield features running backs: Quinshon Judkins, a Junior from Pike Road, Alabama (135 carries for 759 yards, eight touchdowns), and Treveyon Henderson, a Senior from Hopewell, Virginia (98 carries for 730 yards and six touchdowns). If this dynamic duo can get the running game going early, the Buckeyes will have a field day come Saturday, opening up a virulent passing attack. Judkins also has caught 15 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown. Henderson has 17 receptions for an additional 110 yards.
The Buckeyes have three stellar receivers: Freshman, Jeremiah Smith from Miami Gardens, Florida, (52 receptions for 899 yards and nine touchdowns); Senior Emeka Egbuka from Steilacoom, Washington, (56 receptions for 692 yards and nine touchdowns); and Sophomore Carnell Tate from Chicago, Illinois, (35 receptions for 525 yards and four touchdowns) If these three speedsters get going, Michigan will be in for a long, long day come Saturday.
Michigan’s Offense Will Have a Tough Time Competing With the Buckeyes
On the “Visitors” side of the field, the Michigan Wolverines have thrown the ball 277 times completing 170 passes for 1,541 total passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns. In his seven games played this season, Senior quarterback,
Davis Warren has tossed 181 of those attempts for 116 receptions, 1,064 yards, and six of those touchdowns. Unfortunately, he has thrown seven interceptions and been sacked six times. His QBR for the 2024 season is only 54.2.
The Wolverines feature two Senior running backs: Kalel Mullings from West Roxbury Massachusetts, (153 carries for 832 yards, 11 touchdowns, and six receptions for 35 additional yards), and Donovan Edwards from West Bloomfield, Michigan, (124 carries for 578 yards and four touchdowns and 16 receptions for 81 yards and one additional touchdown) If the Wolverines have any chance of successfully subduing the Buckeyes, it will rest on these two Seniors having a career day running the ball.
In receiving, Michigan’s Junior tight end from Gooding, Idaho, Colston Loveland, leads the way, (56 receptions for 582 yards and five touchdowns.) Wide receivers Tyler Morris, a junior from Bolingbrook, Illinois, (22 receptions for 234 yards and two touchdowns), and Sophomore, Semaj Morgan from West Bloomfield, Michigan, (23 receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown), will have to play above expectations for Michigan to even compete.
The Defense of the Wolverines and the Buckeyes Need to Come Prepared to Play
Michigan’s defense has 630 total tackles, 31 sacks, nine interceptions, and 45 deflected passes. The Wolverines defense has scored only two touchdowns. The Wolverines’ leading tackler with 74 total tackles, two sacks, and one interception, is Junior linebacker, Ernest Hausmann. Junior linebacker, Jaishawn Barham from District Heights, Maryland has 60 combined tackles and 1 sack.
The Wolverines’ secondary features Junior defensive back, Zeke Berry from Pittsburg, California with 30 tackles, one forced fumble, and two interceptions. Brandyn Hillman, a Sophomore defensive back from Portsmouth, Virginia is tied in Wolverines interceptions with two to his credit.
This should be compared to Ohio State’s defense which has 657 tackles, 35 sacks, 36 pass deflections, 7 interceptions, and one touchdown. The Buckeyes’ lead tackler is Junior linebacker Sonny Styles from Pickerington, Ohio (71 total tackles and four sacks). He is followed closely by Senior linebacker, Cody Simon from Jersey City, New Jersey, (65 total tackles, five sacks, and one forced fumble)
Ohio State’s interception “Ball Hog” is Junior cornerback, Davison Igbinosun from Union, New Jersey, and Senior cornerback, Denzel Burke from Phoenix, Arizona both with two interceptions.
While both schools have similar defensive statistics, only one of them, the Wolverines, has to take on the Buckeyes vaunted offensive attack.
But Anything Can Happen in a Rivalry Game
The Michigan Wolverines v. Ohio State Buckeyes football rivalry is called “The Game” for a reason!
The history of this rivalry game is unrivaled. Michigan and Ohio State first met in 1897 to play and through the years, this game has become a staple of Americana., The rivalry had been played annually, uninterrupted from 1918 until 2020, when it was canceled due to Covid-19 restrictions during the Coronavirus Pandemic. “The Game has been played by both teams as their final game of the regular season since 1935 (except for 1942 and 2020). Since 1918, the game’s site has alternated between Columbus Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) toward the end zone during the second half of Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game against the University of Michigan.
Through 2010, “The Game” had decided the Big Ten Conference Championship between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines on 22 different occasions. Its outcome also affected the determination of the conference title an additional 27 times. The importance of “The Game” is noted in the fact that as of 2023, Michigan has had the most, and Ohio State the third most wins of any program in NCAA Division I football history. Through the years “The Game grew in prestige attracting national interest. Many times “The Game” determined the Big Ten Conference Title and Rose Bowl selections. In the past, before the National Championship Playoff Tournament was introduced, “The Game” often determined the NCAA Division I National College Football Champion.
The significance of “The Game” can not be overstated. In 2000, ESPN labeled “The Game” as the greatest North American sports rivalry ever. “The Game” is listed in Rivals!: The Ten Greatest American Sports Rivalries of the 20th Century.” The Game” has been named one of the ten great sports rivalries in history by Encyclopedia Britannica.
As the subheading says, “anything” can happen in a “Rivalry Game”. Anyone who has ever played in one or watched one, on any level, can tell you it’s like playing in a whole new season. Throw the records and all the statistics out the window! Rivalry games are played for pride, bragging rights…and most importantly alumni donations. Many an undefeated team has been slain by a lesser opponent conjuring up a miracle to defeat its rival…and the Michigan Wolverines are hoping for just such a miracle. Did I mention Tom Brady once played in “The Game”? All that said, “The Ohio State Buckeyes will win big, 46-20.
