Ohio State vs Michigan

Ohio State Buckeyes (9-2) @ Michigan Wolverines (5-6)
Game Time: 12:00pm EDT Saturday November 21st, 2009
Lines at time of blog post: Ohio State (-12) Over/Under (47.5)

As high noon strikes this Saturday, two teams will renew their great rivalry. Ohio State visits Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines in what is arguable one of the greatest rivalry's in all of college sports. Personally I place this right up there with Duke vs North Carolina in basketball. However, this great rivalry has been pretty lop sided the past 5 years, as the Buckeyes look for their 6th straight victory in this series between two teams rich in tradition and prestige, that absolutely hate each other.

Last season at the Horse-Shoe in Columbus Ohio, the Buckeyes were 20.5 point favorites, a line that was unheard of in this rivalry until last year. All Ohio State did was cover the spread with ease, embarrassing Michigan in a 42-7 win. The game played tomorrow will have a more conservative line compared to last seasons. Some books have the line as high as 12.5 and as low as 11.5, but mostly they are settled around the 12 mark (at the time of this blog). Ohio State brings with them the 65th ranked offense in the nation, averaging 369.1 yards per game. The Ohio State offense is averaging 194.8 yards rushing and 174.3 yards passing per game, so far this season. Ohio State's offense mainly flows around the play of their terrific young sophomore QB from Jeannetter, Pennsylvania, Terrelle Pryor. This game will be no different than all the others this season. The game will go, as Pryor goes and in such a big rivalry game, Terrelle Pryor will want to be electrifying. Pryor is not having the best of seasons thus far, but has gotten the job done. He has 15 passing touchdowns, but has thrown 9 interceptions this season and has completed only 55.8% of his passes. Terrelle Pryor's mistakes have not come back to haunt him thanks to the Buckeye's fantastic defense. So far this season the Buckeye defense ranks 5th in the nation in total yards, 4th in the nation in rushing yards, and an incredible 6th in the nation in points allowed, giving up an average of 12.4 points per game.

Despite Michigan's overall record, the Wolverines are 5-2 at home this season. Michigan's 56th overall ranked offense is averaging 37 points per game at home this season. The Wolverines are putting up on average 441.9 yards per game at home, compared to 378.4 on the road. The Wolverines can expect the house to be rocking for this rivalry game, with over 107,000 dressed in the Maize and Blue hoping for nothing short of a miracle to happen. Despite losing 4 games in a row and 6 of their last 7, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has asked his team to stay focused, mentioning that this is their biggest game of the year. A win on Saturday will mean a lot to Michigan. A win on Saturday against Ohio State will end the 5 game win streak OSU has in this series, it will assure Michigan of a bowl berth, and give the Wolverines their first win against an FBS opponent since Sept. 26th against Indiana. For Michigan to at least keep this game close they need to try and keep Terrelle Pryor from running around. If the Wolverine defense can keep Pryor in the pocket, it should allow them to frustrate Pryor which can lead to some interceptions for the Michigan defense. If the Wolverine defense can keep Pryor in check, the rest of the game falls completely on the shoulders and arm of their freshman QB Tate Forcier. So far this season Forcier has thrown 12 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions, sporting a 58.4% completion percentage. Forcier will need to play smart and have a great game for Michigan to have a realistic change to keep this game close, however he has to face one of the toughest defenses in the nation.

Suggested Lean: Michigan +12 (The defense for Michigan will step up with the help of the crowd and keep Pryor contained in the pocket leading to some turnover opportunities that the Wolverines will need to keep this game close. There is a lot riding on this game for Michigan and I expect them to play like this is their championship game).

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