BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Big Ten is no longer up for grabs. Michigan has been removed from the College Football Playoff discussion for over a month now.
But the 13th-ranked Wolverines have played some of their best football in the past few weeks, evident by a four-game winning streak highlighted by wins over rivals Notre Dame and Michigan State.
Yet one rival remains — big, bad Ohio State, still unbeaten and sitting atop the Big Ten mountain, winners of seven straight over the Wolverines and 14 of their last 15. Michigan will carry a 9-2 record into Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor (noon, FOX).
“We’re all in the locker rom and no one was even talking about this game,” defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said Saturday night after Michigan’s 39-14 win over Indiana. “We’re all ready for next week.”
Weighing heavy on the minds of Michigan players and coaches is the game played last season, a 62-39 win for Ohio State. The result was particularly shocking because the Wolverines carried a 10-game win streak into the game in Columbus, had the nation’s No. 1 ranked defense and was a betting favorite in Las Vegas. Many outside observers thought it was Michigan’s best chance to end the losing skid to Ohio State in the Jim Harbaugh era.
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“We understand the level of intensity this game brings,” quarterback Shea Patterson said. “Everything we do leading up to this game next week is already planned throughout the season. I just think Ohio State — the word ‘Ohio State’ — in itself is enough for us.”
First-year head coach Ryan Day has picked up where retired coach Urban Meyer left off, leading the Buckeyes to an 11-0 start and No. 2 ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings. Ohio State will assuredly remain in the top four next week after a 28-17 win over No. 8 Penn State on Saturday, the Big Ten East division and a spot in the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 7.
Its path to this point has resembled that of a varsity team beating on the junior varsity on a weekly basis. Ohio State entered Saturday averaging 51.5 points per game, most in the country, giving up 9.8 points per game (fewest in the country) and its quarterback, Justin Fields, had the fourth-highest quarterback efficiency rating in the country.
Factor in the returning defensive Chase Young, a projected first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and the Buckeyes have the clear talent advantage. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t ready to discuss Ohio State on Saturday, instead saying he was going to spend the next few hours soaking in his team’s win over Indiana.
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"It’s a really big win for our team,” Harbaugh said. "I’m proud of the way they played today. Normally, I’ll keep enjoying it. Happy flight home and we’ll start to quickly turn our attention to the next game.”
Starting linebacker Josh Uche and offensive tackle Jon Runyan, Jr., both echoed their coach’s comments. Uche was satisfied with the way the defense handled Indiana’s spread offense, while Runyan viewed the win as payback for perceived “trash talk” by Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen.
“We heard this week that their coach was saying that they were one of the toughest teams in the Big Ten, and we kind of took that as disrespect,” Runyan said. "We came up here and we showed them how we play football."
Next week’s Michigan-Ohio State game means different things for both teams. For the Buckeyes, it serves as an opportunity to expand their winning streak, one that continues to haunt Harbaugh and his program. For Michigan, it would be an opportunity to not only end the skid but end the regular-season schedule with an exclamation point. It would also likely improve the Wolverines’ bowl resume.
“The game is the biggest on our schedule,” Hutchinson said. “We’re just going to come out here and do our thing. We don’t see them as unbeatable. Every team can be beat, and we’re going to go out there and just do our job."
Read more on Michigan football:
Michigan’s DL controls its emotions, and the run
Chris Partridge’s recruiting craft makes him one of nation’s best
It took time, but Michigan’s offense is humming like Jim Harbaugh predicted
Mike Danna’s ultra-fast evolution at Michigan
Ben Mason is back playing fullback
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