The Ohio State football program has waited an entire year for The Game. It's the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record in the last 12 months. Winning the national championship only temporarily erased the pain of losing to TTUN at home against one of the worst Michigan teams in the last decade.
Ryan Day has been coaching with a different look in his eye since the Ohio State Buckeyes lost in this game last November. The Buckeyes haven't just been beating opponents; they have been crushing them. Teams just haven't been able to stay with this team.
On Saturday afternoon, the Buckeyes have a chance to snap a four-game losing streak to the Wolverines. Ohio State was heavily favored when the week started. Will they be able to finally get a win against their hated rivals with Ryan Day coaching his own recruited players?
Final prediction: Ohio State 31 Michigan 14
While previous Ohio State teams have been more talented than the Wolverines, those teams were coached by a more timid Ryan Day. This Ryan Day is a killer. He wants to suck the soul out of Michigan, and won't be afraid to air it out this year as he has in the past. According to DraftKings, Ohio State is a 10-point favorite.
Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate should both be able to make an impact on this game often and early. Even with the weather looking like it won't get really bad until the end of the game, Sayin will be given the freedom to throw the ball all over the field during the entirety of the game.
On the other side, TTUN will not be able to move the ball consistently against the Buckeye defense. They have also been holding some things back, but this is when Matt Patricia will start dialing up some things that haven't been on film yet, and Bryce Underwood won't be able to handle that.
Underwood has had issues against some lesser defenses already this season. He hasn't seen anything close to what Ohio State will show him. The Wolverines just simply won't score enough points to keep up.
This is the year that Day finally gets the monkey off his back.