Who will win? Experts make predictions for Ohio State vs. Michigan
Ohio State football is one game away from the Big Ten Championship Game, two wins away from a sure spot in the College Football Playoff and a chance to play for the 2021 national championship.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines, with matching 10-1 records, play at noon Saturday in Ann Arbor in what is the biggest game of the Ohio State schedule.
It’s “The Game.”
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Ohio State has yet to lose in Big Ten play, while Michigan’s only loss has come against Michigan State in East Lansing. The Buckeyes bashed the then-No.7-ranked Spartans last week, 56-7, in one of most convincing wins of the season for any team.
So who wins the Ohio State-Michigan game?
Here’s what members of The Columbus Dispatch staff and Michael Cohen of the Detroit Free Press think:
Bill Rabinowitz
Ohio State beat writer
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State 38, Michigan 24
If the Buckeyes play the way they did last week, they'll win easily. But Michigan is more talented than Michigan State, and the Wolverines are highly, highly motivated. This would be the signature win in Jim Harbaugh's tenure. Michigan will want to shorten the game with its run game, but Ohio State's passing game is much more potent than Michigan's. A huge key will be the OSUs offensive line's ability to control star defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and David Obajo.
Joey Kaufman
Ohio State beat writer
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State 38, Michigan 27
The X-factor in this matchup is new Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who was a part of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff overhaul last winter and has fixed a lot of issues for the Wolverines on that side of the ball. Ryan Day torched his predecessor Don Brown in the past two meetings in 2019 and 2018, scoring a combined 118 points. Will it take longer for Day to feel out Macdonald, who had been in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens for most of his career? That matchup could set up a more competitive edition of The Game after recent blowouts, but the Buckeyes ultimately have too many playmakers for Michigan to contain.
Rob Oller
Sports columnist
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State 34, Michigan 24
Pretty simple, really. The Wolverines need to play flawlessly on both sides of the ball and force the Buckeyes into making mistakes. Michigan's defense has the means to make life difficult for C.J. Stroud, but I don't see that happening to the point of the Heisman hopeful making enough errors to undermine OSU's high-octane offense. Defensively, the Buckeyes will be tested by a UM offense that is both tough and talented. But if Michigan State could beat its rival, Ohio State certainly can, too. The winning streak reaches nine.
Michael Cohen
Michigan State beat writer
Detroit Free Press
Ohio State 33, Michigan 26
For as good as Mike Macdonald's defense was at containing Penn State's star receiver Jahan Dotson, trying to stop Ohio State's three-headed monster is something entirely different. Pass rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo will keep Michigan in it with timely pressures and sacks, but the downfield passing of quarterback C.J. Stroud is too much to overcome. Another win for the Buckeyes in a game that comes down to the wire.
2021 Ohio State Buckeyes football schedule
Sept. 2: Ohio State 45, Minnesota 31
Sept. 11: Oregon 35, Ohio State 28
Sept. 18: Ohio State 41, Tulsa 20
Sept. 25: Ohio State 59, Akron 7
Oct. 2: Ohio State 52, Rutgers 13
Oct. 9: Ohio State 66, Maryland 17
Oct. 23: Ohio State 54, Indiana 7
Oct. 30: Ohio State 33, Penn State, 24
Nov. 6: Ohio State 26, Nebraska 17
Nov. 13: Ohio State, 59, Purdue, 31
Nov. 20: Ohio State 56, Michigan State 7
Nov. 27: at Michigan, noon, FOX
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football vs. Michigan: Predictions from sports writers
