Michigan vs. Ohio State Expert Pick and Prediction – November 30, 2024

MICHIGAN VS. OHIO STATE EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – November 30, 2024 — It’s all there for Ryan Day and Ohio State. Beat the school from up north, and the Buckeyes go to the Big Ten championship game. Lose, and Day might not be around to coach in the first round against someone.

And that’s because Day has done the one thing you can never do in Columbus: lose repeatedly to Michigan. The Wolverines own a three-game winning streak against the Buckeyes, and they honestly might be prouder of that than the national title they won last year. Ohio State tortured Michigan for years under Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, and the Wolverines have been delighted to turn the tables.

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This Michigan team, however, is just looking to survive. The Wolverines have slipped quite a bit without Jim Harbaugh, and this team is lucky to be bowl eligible. At 6-5, Michigan’s likely going to spend December shuffling in backups as starters in some minor bowl game somewhere.

Of course, this game is huge for one Sherrone Moore. Beating Ohio State is the easiest way to solve your problems when you’re a football coach in Ann Arbor. And if he can earn a win against the Buckeyes here, so much of his first season will be written off and forgiven. But that’s a really tough ask, especially going into Columbus.

The Odds

Kickoff

When: Saturday, November 30 at Noon

Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio 

TV: Fox

Public Bets: Unavailable

Public Money: Unavailable

Michigan vs. Ohio State In-Season Trends

Because of the nature of the Big Ten schedule, Michigan has only faced three road games all season. And the Wolverines have lost all of them, despite those mostly being short trips. Of course, having short trips doesn’t mean all that much when you go play Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State, three of the five strongest teams in the conference. The Wolverines have been on the second-tier level all year, and they’ll need a huge showing here.

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Ohio State has a tendency to not show up in the first quarter. I personally was in Columbus last week when the Buckeyes blitzed Indiana, and that’s been what they’ve doing all season. Ohio State fails to show up for 15 minutes and then hits the gas, and the Hoosiers learned that the hard way. It might be smart to live bet the Buckeyes.

Weather

Good news: it’s not going to rain like it did last week. Bad news: 26 degrees isn’t pleasant for anybody involved.

The Difference-Makers

Kalel Mullings went nuts for three touchdowns last time out, and Michigan looked better than it has all year in slamming Northwestern. The Wolverines have to be close to that again to make this work.

Related: UMass Mess: How Football Has Ruined Its Athletics

Ohio State has so many weapons that it’s hard to choose one. But Will Howard doesn’t get anywhere near as much credit as he should for how well he has directed the offense. He’s dangerous at quarterback.

The Pick

Ohio State has wanted this for too long to fall into the trap. The Buckeyes are the stronger team in every way and should have zero problems with this game. This should be three hours of therapy for Day.

Michigan has nothing to fight for but pride, having clinched a bowl game. The Wolverines will battle because it’s the Buckeyes, but they’re not strong enough for this one.