COLUMBUS, Ohio. — We’re “going to hang a 100 on them.”
According to reports in August 2020, that’s what Ryan Day told his team in response to an accusation made by University of Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh that the Buckeyes were conducting illegal, on-field instruction. Day’s response was born out of anger, and a motivator for his team, and not something that could actually happen.
Or could it?
It’s extremely unlikely—impossible even—that we would see that Saturday, the first time these two teams have met in two years due to COVID-19 cases and contract tracing in the Wolverines program in 2020. Ohio State has only topped 100 in program history once, and that was back in 1916 in a 128-0 win over Oberlin.
But consider this; in the first halves of their last two games, the Buckeyes have been firing on all cylinders against Purdue and Michigan State. If those 60 minutes were added up, Ohio State outscored its opponents 94-17, and outgained them 886 to 369.
The Buckeyes’ high-powered offense in recent years is just one of several things that has thrown one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports a little off kilter. Ohio State has won eight straight, and 15 of the last 16, wearing off some of the appeal of this game on the national stage.
Last year’s cancelation was the first time since 1917 that Michigan and Ohio State didn’t play on the football field, a streak of 102 years.
However, here we are on the final weekend of the season, and everything is on the line for both teams, which is what makes this rivalry so great to begin with.
The Buckeyes (10-1, 8-0), ranked second in both the Associated Press Poll, and the College Football Playoff rankings, can earn a trip to a fifth-straight Big Ten Championship Game, and a possible third straight playoff appearance. Michigan (10-1, 7-1) is sixth in the AP, fifth in the CFB Playoff rankings, and looking for its first trip to Indianapolis since the Big Ten added a championship game in 2011.
This marks the 24th time in this series, and third straight meeting, that both enter the game ranked inside the AP Top 10. That’s six more than any other series, 18 for both Notre Dame vs. USC and Nebraska vs. Oklahoma.
Back to those ridiculous starts against Purdue and Michigan State, it would behoove the Buckeyes to get settled in quickly and have early success against Michigan, too. Offensive lineman Thayer Munford and wide receiver Chris Olave are the only players to ever start a game against the Wolverines, and only 10 of the team’s current starters have even played against the Maize and Blue.
All season long, when the Bucks start quickly on offense, they tend to build off that confidence and play well all game long. That adds pressure to defenses that already feel as if they have to play near perfect football to have a chance to win.
Another big key for the OSU offense will be to give quarterback C.J. Stroud time to throw the ball. Michigan boasts arguably the best pair of defensive ends in the conference, in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, who have combined for 19 sacks this season.
On the other side of the ball, The Wolverines will test the Buckeyes’ patience and fundamental play. Michigan doesn’t necessarily dazzle anyone, but with a solid run game, and improving passing attack, Ohio State will need to stick to its assignments, force the Wolverines into obvious passing situations, and get off the field on third down. Michigan’s M.O. will be to try and control the clock and keep the ball away from OSU’s offense.
So, getting to 100 is the furthest thing from anyone on Ohio State’s mind. It’s just about getting a win as the Buckeyes have never won five straight in this series in Ann Arbor, and keeping the goals of a Big Ten title and national championship still very much alive.
Following the game, join MaryLee Melendez, Andy Baskin and former Buckeye offensive lineman Bryant Browning for The Postgame Show on Spectrum News 1, and the Spectrum News App. They’ll dive deeper into the game, and take you live to Ryan Day’s postgame news conference.
