College Football 2018: 5 reasons to be excited about Rivalry Week
1. Michigan at Ohio State
At noon, Saturday on ABC the Michigan Wolverines head to Columbus, Ohio, to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the horseshoe. The AP poll has Michigan as the fourth best team in the nation while Ohio State is ranked 10th. The S&P+ has Michigan fourth and OSU eighth. Either way the matchup is going to be the biggest and most fun of the weekend.
Jim Harbaugh has been unable to defeat Urban Meyer since becoming the Wolverines head coach. The 2015 rendition saw OSU blow out the Wolverines in the second half. The 2016 version took two overtimes for the Buckeyes to knock off Harbaugh’s UM squad. The 2017 edition saw a close final but Dwayne Haskins, now the starter, came in as the backup and carved up Don Brown’s defense.
In 2018, Michigan has the S&P+’s second ranked defense while OSU has the fifth ranked offense even with pundits complaining about the play calling in Columbus. The question will be if Harbaugh’s offense can finally turn on and score on the Alex Grinch-Greg Schiano defense.
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Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson has improved over the season tossing 18 touchdowns and running for two more with only four interceptions. Protecting the football will be huge in what’s expected to be a rainy game.
Prediction: Michigan by 1