Reply to comment
A dozen bold predictions for the Michigan football team's game at Ohio State
By: Daily Football Writers
Dan Feldman:
Michigan will continue to possess the ball far less than its opponent. Michigan has had the ball about 55 minutes less than its opponents this year. Unless the Wolverines have more than a 16-minute advantage in time of possession Saturday, they will set the program record for worst differential in that category.
Count on that record falling. Michigan will fall behind, and with redshirt sophomore Nick Sheridan passing a lot in a comeback attempt, there will be plenty of incompletions. Add on Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells's ability to grind out yards, and the Wolverines' offense will spend most of the game on the sideline.
Buckeye quarterback Terrelle Pryor will dominate. The Wolverines have struggled against mobile quarterbacks all season and, with their recent success stopping the run, this game will be in Pryor's hands. Look for the freshman to surpass his career-high of 232 yards passing and rushing combined, which he set in a loss against Penn State.
Ohio State will win 50-14. The Buckeyes are healthy and playing their best football of the year. Michigan is banged up, and plain and simple, isn't a good team. But don't forget what happened the year after Ohio State beat the Wolverines by such a margin...
Courtney Ratkowiak:
Pryor won't finish the game. It's fifth-year senior Todd Boeckman's last regular-season game, and though Pryor may get the start, Boeckman will finish. Especially if the Buckeyes are leading by a large margin at the end, Pryor will be on the bench in the second half.
Terrance Taylor will have his best game of the season. Though the rest of the Michigan defense will be shredded by the Buckeyes, Taylor will be looking to back up all his talk in his final college game. He said Monday that one of the most important reasons he didn't leave for the NFL Draft after last season was because he hadn't beaten Ohio State. And with how this year has turned out, he'll be trying to make sure at least one of his goals will be accomplished. Heart will take him far.
Ohio State will win 41-14. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said after last Saturday's loss to Northwestern that everyone would be saying the Wolverines have no chance tomorrow. And that's true - they don't. They've already upset one ranked Big Ten team, but don't expect them to be so lucky this time around.
Ian Robinson:
Wells will match Wells. In Ohio State coach Jim Tressel's first game against Michigan in 2001, Buckeye running back Jonathan Wells ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns. This year, Chris Wells, though not related to Jonathan, will put on a similarly dominant performance against the Wolverines.
Michigan will not successfully run a trick play. Rodriguez has been apprehensive to look in his bag of tricks this year. It's probably because his players have enough trouble executing their standard offense that they haven't had time for trick plays. Other than two fake punts, nothing has really been out of the ordinary. Anything that Michigan tries this weekend won't work against the Buckeye defense.
Ohio State will win 35-10. Rodriguez will become the first Michigan coach since Harry Kipke in 1929 to lose his first matchup with the Buckeyes. Michigan is completely outmatched in the game. It will get ugly.
Nate Sandals:
Michigan will lead the game at some point. The Wolverines will surprise a lot of people by scoring a touchdown on their first drive, giving them a 7-0 lead. Ohio State's defense will dominate the rest of the game, but Michigan will come out of the locker room fired up and stun the Buckeyes early.
Justin Feagin will throw a pass. Is "why not" enough of an explanation? Probably not. Feagin needs to play more than he did against Northwestern last week. In the last game of the season, Feagin shouldn't be afraid to mix things up a bit. One more caveat though - Feagin won't complete a pass.
Ohio State will win 34-13. A dismal end to a dismal season. The Buckeyes are better in all three phases, so this should come as no surprise. But that won't make a fifth straight loss to Ohio State hurt any less.
