Michigan-Ohio State Preview

From: FootballReportersOnline.com -

Its that time of year again. Michigan travels to Columbus for the annual showdown between two of the nation’s more storied programs. Ohio State is trying to qualify for the Rose Bowl again, but their loss to Wisconsin on Oct 16th is sticking in their craw. Unranked Michigan is closing out a disappointing campaign and would love nothing more than to knock the Buckeyes from a chance at a prime BCS Bowl appearance.

With last week’s win over Iowa, Ohio State became the first team in Big Ten history to win at least 10 games in six consecutive seasons. But no matter how significant that win might be, no conference victory matches up to the importance of a “W” against Michigan each year. “The Game” returns to Columbus this season with the Wolverines hungry as ever to top their rival in Ohio Stadium. Michigan leads the all-time series with Ohio State by a 57-43-6 count, including a 27-23-2 mark in games played in Columbus. OSU has captured eight of the nine games during the Jim Tressel era and has taken the last six contests against the Wolverines. U-M has not won in Columbus since 2000.

Michigan’s offense has been potent this season and will surely offer the Bucekyes’ defense a tough test on Saturday. The Wolverines are first in the conference in rushing (257.4) and total yards (514.5), second in passing (257.2), and third in scoring (36.8). On the other side of the ball, Ohio State ranks third nationally in rushing (86.3) and total defense (241.4), fifth in scoring (13.9) and against the pass (155.1), and seventh in turnover margin (+1.09). The Buckeyes, who have recorded 25 turnovers this season, have also allowed just 15 touchdowns on the campaign.

Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has rushed for 14 scores on the year. Robinson ranks second in the NCAA in total offense (342.5), third in rushing (139.8), and among the top 20 in pass efficiency (158.21). In the loss to Wisconsin, Robinson racked up 360 yards of total offense (239 pass, 2 TDs; 121 rush, 2 TDs) to become the first NCAA quarterback to rush for 1,500 yards and pass for 2,000 yards in the same season while breaking the NCAA record for most rushing yards by a quarterback (1,538). Roy Roundtree surpassed 100 receiving yards (114) for the fourth time this season on seven catches and scored a touchdown. He upped his per-game receiving average to 76.3 yards, which ranks second in the Big Ten. The OSU defense will look to contain Robinson on the ground and force him to the air where he has been prone to make bad mistakes. Coincidentally, he and Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor have a league-high 10 interceptions each. That’s just fine for a Buckeye “D” that is tied atop the Big Ten with 17 picks on the year. Ross Homan leads the team with 6.1 tackles per game, while Cameron Heyward is tied for seventh in the conference with 9.5 sacks on the season….

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