5 things to watch for Michigan football vs. Ohio State

Looking ahead to Michigan football and Ohio State on Saturday, here are five things to watch for the Wolverines and Buckeyes. 

We are now just a few days away from Michigan football and Ohio State. Both teams are undefeated and are expected to be ranked in the top three of the playoff rankings.

At this point, the rankings don’t matter. Michigan football and Ohio State control their playoff destiny. The winner of this game just needs to beat Iowa and they are headed to the playoff.

This Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor feels like the de facto Big Ten championship. Beyond that, with all of the sign-stealing stuff, the hatred between Michigan football and Ohio State has reached an entirely new level.

Here are five things to watch.

Can Michigan football win without Jim Harbaugh?

This is the big question. Michigan is 5-0 without Harbaugh this season and the Wolverines did notch a top-10 win on the road without their head coach, but there’s no doubt that Michigan hasn’t played its best the past two weeks.

The defense has been spectacular. J.J. McCarthy has been most of the season too, but he hasn’t been great without Harbaugh, which has me concerned.

However, Harbaugh is there during the week and his fingerprints will be all over this gameplan. He won’t be there to implement it, but since the game is at home, the energy shouldn’t be an issue.

Everything this team has worked for is at stake on Saturday. This witch hunt has robbed Michigan football of its head coach, and truth be told, no one can predict the impact until we see what happens on Saturday.