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Michigan at Ohio State Football Picks & Odds

One of the most storied rivalries in all of college football loses a lot of it’s draw this week as Michigan faces Ohio State.  The Ohio State Buckeyes have held up their end of the bargain for the rivalry.  They are ranked 10th in the nation and hold a 9-2 record on the season.  Michigan, however, has fallen on hard times.  They’ve lost 8 games for the first time in the history of the program and have looked down right terrible at times this year.  The Wolverines have guaranteed they won’t have a winning season and they will miss out on a bowl game for the first time in 33 years.  There’s still the rivalry and history between these two teams to consider, but the Buckeyes are obviously the better team this year.  For those of you that enjoy college football betting the odds for the game have been posted at BetUS.com, Ohio State is favored by 20.5 points over Michigan and the total is 44 points.

When Rich Rodriquez came to town offense was supposed to come easily for the Wolverines, but that hasn’t been the case.  Michigan’s current personnel simply doesn’t mesh well with the spread offense and the proof has been in the box score week after week.  The Wolverines are averaging a meager 21 points per game on just under 300 yards of total offense.  The spread offense obviously works when the right players are plugged in, but it’s obvious that the players in Ann Arbor right now aren’t right for the system.  The Wolverines’ poor play on offense is one of the main reasons Michigan is a 21 point underdog at Ohio State.

It’s not just the Michigan offense that is struggling.  On defense the Wolverines are allowing about 28 points per game, just about a touchdown more than their offense is able to produce.  Defense usually thrives on enthusiasm and it has to be tough for this unit to get excited about their team when they are playing so poorly.  Michigan has the second worst pass defense in the Big 10, allowing 234 passing yards per game, and they’ve only managed to force 8 interceptions in 11 games this year.  Learning a new offensive system give the Wolverines somewhat of a pass on that side of the ball, the real concern for Michigan has to be how poorly their defense has performed.

Since an embarrassing loss to USC and a hard-fought loss to Penn State, the Ohio State Buckeyes have started to click more and more each week.  Offensively they are scoring more points, upping their average points per game to 27, and they are starting to rack up more yards as freshman QB Terrelle Pryor continues to mature.  The Buckeyes’ 332.7 yards of total offense isn’t eye-popping, but it’s normally more than enough for Ohio State to pick up a win.  The Buckeyes are 20.5 point favorites this week.

Ohio State still boasts one of the best defensive units in the nation.  They are allowing just 13.6 points per game on less than 290 yards of total offense.  They rank second in the Big 10 in passing yards allowed, and third in rushing yards allowed, giving them one of the best overall defenses in the country.  The Buckeyes probably won’t get much of a challenge this week against Michigan, but I’m sure they’ll appreciate the extra practice.

All signs point to an Ohio State domination this weekend.  The Buckeyes are starting to come together this season and have a great team to look forward to next year.  Michigan is having the worst year in the program’s history and will need to make adjustments fast for Rich Rodriguez to remain in town much longer.  Buckeyes win Saturday without breaking much of a sweat.

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