Ohio State vs. Michigan looms large in Big Ten, CFB Playoffs

Ohio State vs. Michigan looms large in both the Big Ten and CFB Playoff race — who will win the latest chapter of this storied rivalry?

Ohio State vs. Michigan — the quintessential college football matchup. This is the game that Saturday college football fans spend their whole year waiting for. It’s the Duke-North Carolina of football. It’s the Brady vs. Manning before those two even picked up a football.

And this season, this game will prove to be the most critical for each of these two teams’ respective seasons.

Ohio State is fresh off of their first loss in two seasons with a last-second field goal kicking them out of the CFB playoff picture against Michigan State. Michigan’s last loss also came at the hands of Michigan State, though that would do a disservice to the Michigan punter, who had something to say about that.

As a result, Michigan State has a ‘win-and-in’ play-in game to the Big Ten title game on Saturday while these two teams have to win and then wait to find out which of these three storied Big Ten schools will win their division and face off against Iowa in the title game.

Ohio State has shuffled through quarterbacks, and some recent comments by Ezekiel Elliott have people thinking the grass isn’t so green in Urban Meyer’s Buckeye land.

Michigan — led by Jim Harbaugh — is somehow finding a way to win all these games with Jake Rudock at quarterback, a player who was absolutely abysmal at Iowa the last two seasons despite showing some flashes of greatness.

The Wolverines are looking for their fifth straight win, and the Big House is certainly going to be rocking on Saturday as they welcome in their most hated rivals, but what’s the key in this game? For me, it’s how well the Michigan defense has played, and how they respond to the home field advantage over the seemingly downtrodden Buckeyes.

Can they take advantage of the lack of clarity at quarterback? Can they win the line of scrimmage?

Ohio State’s defense is no slouch either, and with the way I currently perceive Jake Rudock, he’s going to need a big game against these Buckeyes to prove to me that he’s capable of coming out and taking down the mighty Buckeyes, who are going to do everything in their power to ensure a trip to the Big Ten title game.

I’m taking Ohio State in this one, though it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see Michigan win it. It could be a case where the team who makes that one untimely mistake drops a close defensive battle, and I’m guessing that mistake will come from the Michigan offense.

We shall soon find out.