5 Things To Watch For When Michigan Takes On Ohio State

Every regular season for both Michigan and Ohio State converges on a climax in late November: The Game.

It’s the most important game of the regular season for the Wolverines each year, regardless of circumstance, but this year, there’s a little extra meaning. If Michigan comes away with a win over the top-ranked Buckeyes, it will have a legitimate chance to sneak into the College Football Playoff.

While the Wolverines have beaten their bitter rivals four years in a row, they certainly have an uphill battle this season. 

Here are five things to watch for when Michigan and Ohio State meet in Ann Arbor…

Michigan will have one of its star running backs return to the gridiron on Saturday. After going down with an upper-body injury late in the game against Northwestern, sophomore Jordan Marshall didn’t take the field against Maryland. But he’ll be back against the Buckeyes.

Even with junior running back Justice Haynes out with an injury himself, Marshall has been just as good out of the backfield. Over his last four games, he’s averaging 142.5 yards per game on the ground, so his return will undoubtedly be massive for Michigan.

For a little extra motivation, Marshall is from the Cincinnati, Ohio area, so he gets to take on the premier college football team in his home state for what very well may be a chance to get into the College Football Playoff.

Led by a Heisman Trophy candidate — quarterback Julian Sayin — the Ohio State offense has been elite all season. Sayin leads the country in completion percentage at 79.4%, and has thrown 27 touchdown passes.

The Buckeyes are going to be effective through the air, but their rush attack hasn’t been quite as good. It’s not much of a consolation given that their ground game is still ranked seventh in the Big Ten in yards per game, but the Wolverines have been able to shut down the run all season. If they can take away Ohio State’s ability to move the ball on the ground, they can make the Buckeyes one-dimensional.

A one-dimensional team is much less effective.

Ohio State wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are two of the best receivers in the Big Ten, if not in the country, and the Wolverines have a major task in keeping their production under control.

Both Smith and Tate sat out last week’s game against Rutgers due to injuries, but it looks like Smith will definitely be back, and maybe Tate. The Buckeyes have plenty of elite receivers even beyond Smith and Tate, but that duo paired with Sayin is quite dangerous.

If Michigan wants to have a chance at winning, it will need to limit Smith and Tate’s impact.

Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood will be playing in his first Michigan-Ohio State rivalry game on Saturday. Underwood has shown poise beyond his age all season, but The Game is a whole other beast.

There will be a lot of pressure on the young signal caller, and the Wolverines need him to stay calm. Even if he does make a mistake, they need him to remain poised and continue to lead the offense. If Underwood can stay stoic, he has all the skills and weapons he needs to compete with the Buckeyes.

In a rivalry game such as this one, with so much hostility and dislike on the field, it’s imperative for the players to keep their emotions in check. There will likely be some form of unsportsmanlike penalty on a player, and it might be costly. The team that can avoid these kinds of penalties will put themselves in a much better position to win.

It’s not just about penalty yards, either. Getting caught up in trash-talking or taunting can take the focus off of the game at hand, resulting in silly mistakes. It’s no secret that every coach on both sides will be begging their guys to keep their heads on straight and focus on football.