Michigan Wolverines vs. Ohio State Buckeyes odds: Early point spread released for The Game

The Game this year has perhaps more going on behind the scenes than any in recent memory. But the headline stakes? Michigan hosts Ohio State in an undefeated, Week 13 showdown for a Big Ten East title that will propel one of the bitter rivals to the conference championship game.

Michigan, hosting Ohio State, opened as a 3.5-point favorite to win The Game, according to FanDuel. The over/under is set at 47.5 total points.

How to watch Michigan vs. Ohio State in The Game

Date/time: Nov. 25, noon ET
Channel: FOX, FuboTV 
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Game carries all the stakes it possibly could. And on top of being a Top 5 matchup between undefeated teams, it’s also got plenty of storylines not entirely related to what’s going on on the field.

Namely, there is the ongoing suspension of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has been sidelined by the Big Ten for the final three games of the regular season as a result of the NCAA investigation into impermissible scouting of opponents. Harbaugh has served games No. 1 and No. 2 of his bit, and the third will come against Ohio State.

On the other sideline, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has re-loaded his squad and made it back to Week 13 undefeated. And though he won’t have the opportunity to coach a Harbaugh-led Michigan team after back-to-back losses in the rivalry, beating the Wolverines again would be a much-needed salve for Day.

The Buckeyes and Wolverines faced challenges of differing difficulty in the penultimate week.

For the second-straight year, Michigan was pushed to the edge by a feisty opponent. This year, Maryland gave Michigan all it could want, trailing 29-24 in the late stages before a safety coming via a somewhat suspect intentional grounding call helped put the game away. Even still, it was a troubling outing for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was inaccurate and nearly had multiple interceptions — he finished with just one turnover through the air.

Ohio State, on the other hand, didn’t get out of first gear in the first half hosting Minnesota. But after puttering to a 13-0 halftime lead, Ohio State turned on the jets and bulldozed the Gophers in the second half, winning 37-3.

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And although they come into the weekend after vastly different outings, both the Wolverines and Buckeyes have everything to play for, with only their most hated rival standing in the way.