For Michigan football, the road to the Big Ten title game and a likely spot in the College Football Playoff runs through Columbus.
As has become the norm in the Big Ten, the Wolverines and Ohio State are typically the game to determine the winner of the Big Ten East. And through nine games, that appears to be what is likely to happen once again.
Michigan, sitting inside the Top-4 in the College Football Playoff’s latest rankings, are a perfect 6-0 in the league with games against Rutgers and Indiana on the docket. Jim Harbaugh‘s crew will be heavily favored in both, and should be that as well against the Buckeyes.
Thanks to Ohio State’s loss to Purdue earlier this year, Michigan can even afford a slip against either the Scarlet Knights or Hoosiers and still win the division by toppling the Buckeyes on the final Saturday of the regular season. A spot in the final four, though, could be in danger if that happens, but we’ll save that for another time.
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Since an opening week defeat to Notre Dame in South Bend, 24-17, Michigan has blitzed through the majority of its opponents. That includes a recent 42-7 thrashing of Penn State, along with victories over Michigan State, Wisconsin, Maryland, Nebraska, SMU and Western Michigan by at least 14 points.
In fact, only Northwestern has kept it close vs. the Wolverines, and those two could be future opponents for a second time in the Big Ten Championship on December 1.
Another scenario in which Michigan can clinch the division would come up if the Buckeyes fall once more to either Michigan State or Maryland prior to the showdown with the Wolverines, assuming they don’t suffer a loss.
Before the season started, many viewed Michigan as a contender behind Ohio State in the Big Ten, but once the NCAA ruled Shea Patterson was eligible immediately after transferring from Ole Miss, the Wolverines were given a better shot at claiming the league title.
Patterson has thrown for at least 200 yards in three games, including a season-high of 282. Karan Higdon, a senior from Florida, leads the team with 963 yards, including six consecutive 100-year performances since missing a Week 3 date with SMU.
And of course there is that vaunted Wolverine defense that is allowing just 13.6 points and 216 total yards, including just under 94 on the ground. The last three opponents to test Michigan, all of which were ranked at the time of the meeting, have scored a combined 27 points.