Michigan Gets Unfortunate Prediction for Ohio State Game

By Anne EricksonShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

Few rivalries in college sports are as intense as Ohio State and Michigan.

The two teams play their annual rivalry game on Saturda in Ann Arbor, and tensions couldn't be higher.

No. 15 Michigan is 9-2 going into the game, and No. 1 Ohio State is 11-0. Both teams are at the top of the Big Ten, and both have a lot to gain—and lose—depending on who wins.

Now, Michigan is getting a disappointing gameday prediction on how it'll stack up against Ohio State, as one college football analyst doesn't think they Wolverines are elite enough to pull off a win. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports believes Ohio State will beat Michigan in a double-digit victory.

"I'm not saying Michigan isn't capable of breaking through. It's a rivalry game, and rivalry games get weird," he noted. "But the more likely outcome is Ohio State winning by double digits."

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In his research and analysis, Fornelli alsoanalyzed how Michigan has performed against top defenses.

"Michigan has faced three defenses in the same universe as Ohio State's -- Oklahoma, USC and Wisconsin -- and the latter two aren't nearly as good as Oklahoma or Ohio State," he says. "The Wolverines scored 36 total points in those three games. Ohio State has allowed more than 10 points only twice this season (14 to Penn State, 16 to Illinois)."

Eric Froton of NBC Sports agrees.

"The Buckeyes allowed a season-high 16 points to Illinois and haven’t scored under 34 points in their last seven games," he stated. "I think the UM win streak ends this week and am laying the -10 points with OSU in a classic revenge spot."

One bright spot for Michigan is budding edge-rusher Derrick Moore, who has tallied 9.5 sacks and 28 pressures on 171 rush attempts, resulting in a 16.4% pressure rate.

"His combination of burst and power has translated into consistent havoc, ranking first on the team with 15 total havoc plays, 10 TFLs, and 11 sacks created," Fronton noted.

Billy Connelly of ESPN also said "the Buckeyes will try out a new role for a new era: unbeaten spoiler. They're safely in the CFP no matter what, though they could still lose their spot in the Big Ten championship game. (I guess that would be a bad thing?) With a win, they could ensure that Michigan is out of the CFP running. That's probably enough motivation."

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