The rivalry game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Ohio State Buckeyes has always been great locally, but of late, it has lacked national appeal. This year, that just isn't the case. The winner of this one will still have a chance to go to the Big Ten Championship Game and have an outside shot to be a playoff team as well.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Ohio State Buckeyes +1
Michigan Wolverines -1
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Buckeyes actually opened up the favorites early in the day on Saturday at -2.5 at other sportsbooks, but they debuted at +1 at BookMaker on Sunday night. Michigan is insanely tough to beat, especially here at the Big House, and if not for a botched punt on the final play against Michigan State, it would certainly be a Top 5 team in the land.
WHEN THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES HAVE THE BALL
Last week, Ezekiel Elliott blasted the OSU coaching staff for only getting him the ball 12 times in the loss to Michigan State. In fairness to the Buckeyes, they only ran 45 plays in that game, and they will surely have more than that in this one.
That said, we think it has already been proven that J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones aren't going to get the job done under center. The receivers just aren't there on this team, and the offense more or less has to revolve around Elliott.
We know that he's a tough runner and can grind out a lot of yards, but where is he going to be mentally after last week's loss? That's a fair question to ask of Urban Meyer in general with all of the in-fighting that seems to be going on in Columbus.
Michigan's defense hasn't been nearly as strong of late as it was at the start of the Big Ten season. Remember that the Wolverines went a stretch of five games in September and October in which they allowed a grand total of 14 points. Since then, all five foes have dropped at least 16 on this unit, and OSU is going to have an opportunity to put at least some points on the board.
WHEN THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES HAVE THE BALL
Jake Rudock has turned out to be a real blessing for the Wolverines. He has thrown for over 1,000 yards in his last three games, and he's getting this Michigan offense moving up and down the field.
It's easy to see that Ohio State can be pounded at the line of scrimmage as Michigan State did last week, and Michigan might take that to the next level by opening some things up in the passing game as well.
Amara Darboh has been huge in the red zone for the Wolverines, hauling in a touchdown in three straight games. At 6-foot-2, no one is outdoing him for a jump ball in the end zone, and Rudock is developing a great rapport with him as this year is coming together.
Live bettors need to keep an eye on the patterns of this Michigan offense. The Wolverines can't get too lopsided running the ball against passing it, or they tend to get a little stagnant. They need to keep Rudock involved and let him throw the ball a few times on every drive. If that turns out to be the case, they can get in the 30s in this college football game. If not, they'll have to win a game in the teens or the 20s, and that's going to be tough to do against these Buckeyes.
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