3 keys for Michigan football vs. Ohio State

3 things that need to happen for Michigan football to beat Ohio State on Saturday. 

The biggest game of the season is Saturday for Michigan football. Ohio State is coming to town and this game is the most important in the history of the rivalry.

Everyone knows what is at stake and it’s much bigger than another Big Ten championship or even a spot in the College Football Playoff.

All of that is secondary. This is about Michigan football and Ohio State. Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Day. Legacies are on the line and if Ohio State can’t win this game, the Buckeyes will be in shambles.

If they do, Ohio State will have wrecked Michigan’s best chance at a national title in 26 years, plus it will have gotten a major assist from the NCAA investigation spurned on by the PI firm we all know was hired by Ohio State. Even Michigan regents are tweeting about it. 

As far as winning on the field, here are three keys for Michigan football to beat Ohio State.

Michigan needs to win the rushing battle

The team that has rushed for more yards has won this game every season dating back to the year 2000. So if Michigan football is going to win this game, it’s going to need to run the ball better than Ohio State.

We have come to know Ohio State as a high-flying, pass-happy team. But they weren’t that way under Urban Meyer.

When Ohio State won in Ann Arbor in 2015, it was Zeke Elliott who ran like a man possessed one week after Meyer didn’t give him the ball enough in a loss to Michigan State that cost Ohio State a national title shot.

J.T. Barrett was always known for using his legs and the QB run game was what Ohio State relied on when they struggled. When it owned Michigan, it owned the line of scrimmage and stuffed the Wolverines run game like in 2018.

Michigan was able to run for over 200 yards against Penn State and it will need a similar effort on Saturday. At the very least, Michigan needs to run the ball better than Ohio State or it won’t win “The Game.”