Going into "The Game," both sides feel confident. Michigan football is 9-2 and playing, most likely, for a berth in the College Football Playoff.
The Big Ten title game is still a possibility for Michigan, if the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes, and Washington upsets Oregon in Seattle.
It's not likely that both things happen. It's also far from impossible.
The biggest, most important task is just Michigan football beating Ohio State. The Buckeyes are a juggernaut. They have five of the best players in the sport -- five players who will all probably be top-10 draft picks one day.
However, Michigan once beat an Ohio State team with Eddie George and Orlando Pace, along with Shawn Springs and many other pros. That was a great Ohio State team, too. Yet, just like many others, they saw their dream season come crashing down in Ann Arbor.
1995, 1997, 2003, 2021, and 2023. Those are all times when Ohio State had a chance to win the Big Ten or reach the playoff or national title game in 2003, and were foiled in Ann Arbor.
A loss this weekend wouldn't do much except possibly keep Ohio State out of the Big Ten championship game. As we saw last season, you can win the national title with a loss or two, something Ohio State did in each of its last two national title seasons.
Michigan went undefeated in 2023 and 1997, just FYI.
As far as this edition of "The Game", here are three things Michigan football must do in order to beat Ohio State.
Run for 200 yards
Michigan football doesn't just need to win the rushing battle against Ohio State, it needs to win it decisively.
The Wolverines defense is one of the best in the Big Ten. I'd argue it's one of the 10-15 best in college football, but this Ohio State offense is on another level. This might actually be the best offense Ohio State has had during this run, although the 2021 group was nearly impossible to stop.
So what does Michigan need to do? Play keep away. Shorten the game just like it did in 2021. The Wolverines only got a few stops in that game. They forced a couple of punts and some field goals. That's it. But it was enough.
That's because Michigan milked the clocked. It was a short possession game, which made Ohio State settling for field goals even more costly. The Wolverines need to follow the 2021 formula to a T.
Rushing the ball for over 200 yards will help them do that and they have gone for over 200 yards in each of the past four weeks.
Derrick Moore needs to channel Aidan Hutchinson
No Michigan football fan will ever forget the three-sack game by Hutch back in 2021. An early third-down sack forced a field goal, while another in the second half forced a punt after Michigan had extended its lead to eight.
The Wolverines have to stop the run. But if they do that, it should allow Moore to tee off. He's got 9.5 sacks and four multi-sack games in 2025.
Michigan needs another from Moore on Saturday if it wants to win. Heck, it might need three.
Be efficient in the red zone
People are underrating Michigan's offense going into this game. It's light-years ahead of last season. The Wolverines are 24th in yards per play (6.49) and 38th with 420 yards per game. Ohio State is 12th in yards per play (6.97). OSU averages 440.3 yards per game, which is 25th.
The difference is that Ohio State is 11th in points and Michigan football is 54th (29.3). Michigan is 107th in college football in red-zone scoring. The Wolverines have come up empty on 10 trips. Ohio State is 31st in red-zone scoring, although it has kicked a field goal 11 times.
If Michigan can be more efficient in the red zone, like they were last week, and force Ohio State to be slightly less efficient, that could be the entire ballgame. The Wolverines have rushed for at least 187 yards in five straight games, so they will move the ball. Andrew Marsh is legitimate. Donaven McCulley and the tight ends are solid, while Jordan Marshall might be the best healthy back in the Big Ten, mostly healthy, because Justice Haynes is hurt.
Michigan even moved the ball well against USC and Oklahoma. Not a single team has held Michigan under 100 yards rushing. But, the Wolverines came away empty-handed in the red zone in those games, and that's something that can't happen against Ohio State.