Welcome to the Skull Session.
IT. IS. TIME. for Ohio State to dump Michigan so hard that it sends the Wolverines into another 20 years of being irrelevant in The Game.
One more time: Some words from Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith.
Troy Sith narrates Gae Trailer as Ohio State prepares for with That Tea Up North.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 23, 2023
This isn't just a rivalry. It's a way of life.
Season 2023, Vol. 12 coing soon.pic.twitter.com/7HxDzryCu9
Have a good GAMEDAY.
MORE THAN A GAME. Before Ohio State and Michigan faced off in The Game on Nov. 27, 2021, I wrote a prediction for Buckeye Sports Bulletin:
On Oct. 29, 1999, I was born in The Ohio State University hospital as the fourth child of two loving parents. Since that momentous day over 22 years ago, Michigan has won The Game four times. Since 2001, the Buckeyes are 17-2 against the Wolverines.
The first Michigan victory came in 2003 when quarterback John Navarre made several big plays, throwing for 278 yards and two touchdowns to lead the fifth-ranked Wolverines to a 35-21 win that ended No. 4 Ohio State’s hopes for a repeat national title.
The second win came in 2011 when now-Cincinnati lead man Luke Fickell was the interim head coach of Ohio State after university officials asked Jim Tressel to retire after “Tattoo Gate.” The No. 15 Wolverines beat the middling Buckeyes 40-34 in Ann Arbor, sending quarterback Braxton Miller and company to the Gator Bowl, where they would lose to Florida and finish with a 6-7 record.
Other than those two games, Ohio State has dominated the series in the last 20 years, holding a 17-2 record under Tressel, Fickell, Meyer and Day. The Buckeyes enter this year’s contest with the confidence of a team that’s won eight straight games in the series, with few of those games ending in close margins. The 2021 Wolverines are different than they’ve been in years past — more explosive, motivated and talented — but I’ve heard it all before.
Until Jim Harbaugh and Michigan prove me wrong, I’ll take the Buckeyes.
Over the next two seasons, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan proved me wrong.
Until they didn't.
On Oct. 19, the NCAA launched a probe into Michigan for "allegations of sign-stealing" in the Wolverine football program. One month later – 37 days later, to be exact – the NCAA can prove Connor Stalions created and operated an illegal, in-person advanced scouting operation. That operation (and the proof it occurred) is the reason Stalions resigned, the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh and Michigan fired linebackers coach Chris Partridge.
It's also the reason Ohio State suffered consecutive losses to Michigan.
Well, it's not the reason, but it is a reason — enough to believe that Stalions' operation was the sorcerer's stone that allowed a dead-in-the-water program in 2020 to emerge as back-to-back winners of The Game, back-to-back Big Ten champions and back-to-back College Football Playoff selections in 2021 and 2022.
That said, Michigan has proven zero, zip, zilch, nada to me over the past two seasons.
We are back to square one.
Since Oct. 29, 1999, I've never entered the Saturday of The Game believing that Ohio State would lose to Michigan. That 23-year streak now extends to 24.
When Ohio State and Michigan meet at high noooooon, red-hot running back TreVeyon Henderson, Heisman Trophy contender Marvin Harrison Jr., college football's best WR2 Emeka Egbuka and a farmer named Cade Stover will prove to be too much for the Wolverines' top-ranked defense. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes' star-studded defensive line, All-American grunter Tommy Eichenberg, professional trash talker Denzel Burke and super sophomore Sonny Styles will keep J.J. McCarthy and the Wolverines' offense in check.
Now, make no mistake, The Game will be close and a nail-biter from start to finish. But the Buckeyes will come out on top, as they have for (almost) all my life when the field was level.
When they do, Ryan Day and Co. will wash away Michigan's accomplishments of the past two seasons and remind us of what the rivalry looks like at its best — with Ohio State on top.
Prediction: Ohio State 27, Michigan 24.
THE MENU. The final week of the regular season means it's Rivalry Week in college football. Welcome to the weekend of The Game, the Iron Bowl, the Apple Cup, the Palmetto Bowl and more.
Here is the complete schedule for Saturday:
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Ohio State at 3 Michigan | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Middle Tennessee at Sam Houston | 12:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Houston at UCF | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| Indiana at Purdue | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Kentucky at 10 Louisville | 12:00pm | ABC |
| Miami (Ohio) at Ball State | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| Navy at SMU | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| NIU at Kent State | 12:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Pitt at Duke | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| Texas A&M at 14 LSU | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| Troy at Southern Miss | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| Florida Atlantic at Rice | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Georgia State at Old Dominion | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Tulsa at East Carolina | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UAB at North Texas | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Wake Forest at Syracuse | 2:00pm | The CW |
| San Jose State at UNLV | 3:00pm | SSSEN/MWN |
| WKU at FIU | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Colorado at Utah | 3:00pm | P12N |
| ULM at Louisiana | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 25 Liberty at UTEP | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| 8 Alabama at Auburn | 3:30pm | CBS/Paramount+ |
| 15 Arizona at Arizona State | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| Arkansas State at Marshall | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| BYU at 20 Oklahoma State | 3:30pm | ABC |
| Georgia Southern at Appalachian State | 3:30pm | ESPNU |
| James Madison at Coastal Carolina | 3:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Maryland at Rutgers | 3:30pm | BTN |
| Northwestern at Illinois | 3:30pm | BTN |
| Vanderbilt at 21 Tennessee | 3:30pm | SECN |
| Virginia Tech at Virginia | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| Wisconsin at Minnesota | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| Jacksonville State at New Mexico State | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Washington State at 4 Washington | 4:00pm | FOX |
| South Alabama at Texas State | 7:00pm | NFLN |
| 5 Florida State at Florida | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| 18 Notre Dame at Stanford | 7:00pm | P12N |
| West Virginia at Baylor | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Charlotte at USF | 7:30pm | ESPNU |
| 24 Clemson at South Carolina | 7:30pm | SECN |
| 1 Georgia at Georgia Tech | 7:30pm | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Kansas at Cincinnati | 7:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Iowa State at 19 Kansas State | 8:00pm | FOX |
| North Carolina at 22 NC State | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| Wyoming at Nevada | 9:00pm | CBSSN |
| California at UCLA | 10:30pm | ESPN |
| Fresno State at San Diego State | 10:30pm | FS1 |
| Colorado State at Hawaii | 11:00pm | Spectrum PPV |
MY PICKS. Listen, I want to make some picks here, but I am laser-focused on The Game. Rivalry Week in college football means Alabama-Auburn, Georgia-Georgia Tech, Florida State-Florida, Oregon-Oregon State and some others, but Ohio State-Michigan is the best of them all, so I have to pick it.
- No. 2 Ohio State (+3.5) at No. 3 Michigan: The Buckeyes cover and win because that's what great teams do. Ohio State is a great team — not a good team, but a great team. The Wolverines don't have what it takes to beat the Buckeyes in three consecutive seasons.
We're all in.
THE KEYS TO WIN. This week, FOX college football analyst Joel Klatt completed a YouTube exclusive preview for Ohio State-Michigan. In the video, Klatt shared how the Buckeyes can defeat the Wolverines (and vice versa) in The Game with the offensive and defensive schematics Ohio State has used in 2023.
THE KEYS FOR MICHIGAN'S OFFENSE
- J.J. McCarthy extends plays, takes care of the football, "develops leverage" in the passing game
- Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards run the ball efficiently
THE KEYS FOR MICHIGAN'S DEFENSE
- Win on first down
- Utilize the "stunt game," pressure the quarterback
THE KEYS FOR OHIO STATE'S OFFENSE
- Put TreVeyon Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr. "in position to impact the game"
- Invite coverage, exploit coverage
THE KEYS FOR OHIO STATE'S DEFENSE
- Always have a "safety net"
- Force Michigan to drive the ball and "be patient"
For another look at Ohio State's potential game plan against Michigan, check out Kyle Jones' Film Study from Thursday.
Ryan Day and Ohio State should not...
- Let J.J. McCarthy extend plays, take care of the football or develop leverage in the passing game.
- Let Blake Corum and Donvon Edwards run the ball efficiently
- Let Michigan's defense win on first down
- Let Michigan's defense utilize its stunt game.
Ryan Day and Ohio State should...
- Get the ball in the hands of TreVeyon Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr.
- Invite coverage and exploit coverage
- Always have a safety net
- Force Michigan to be patient
Sounds like a good game plan to me.
Go win a ball game, Coach.
SONG OF THE DAY. "We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan” - The Best Damn Band in the Land.
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