For the last four years, the Ohio State football team hasn't been able to take down TTUN. It has been a mental block that Ryan Day has had to deal with. Last year's loss at home was the most embarrassing loss of them all, but it did propel the Buckeyes to win the national championship.
Since that loss, the Ohio State Buckeyes have looked like a different team. They ran through the College Football Playoff without any issues, haven't lost this season, and are the clear-cut best team in the country. Of course, they still have to beat TTUN in a couple of weeks.
That final game of the season is in Ann Arbor this season, so that makes things a little more challenging. Yet, the Buckeyes have gotten some good news. Michigan has confirmed that it won't have one of its best players available for that game.
The Ohio State football team won't have to play against Justice Haynes
After Gus Johnson said during a broadcast that Justice Haynes is out for the rest of the season, Sherrone Moore confirmed it. He said that Haynes is probably out for the rest of the regular season, which means that he won't play in two weeks against the Buckeyes.
This is good news for Ohio State. Haynes is perhaps the best offensive player that Michigan has on its roster. Without him, moving the ball has been a lot harder for them over the last few weeks. This also makes it harder for them to be balanced on that side of the ball.
With Ohio State owning the best defense in the country, having any contributor out for TTUN is going to make it harder for them to win. Ohio State cannot be considered a slam-dunk to win this game based on what has happened in each of the last four years, but this certainly helps their case.
Ohio State has one more game against Rutgers before it gets to take on TTUN in the Big House. That game will have a lot of emotion in it from both teams.