The Game odds: Early point spread released for Michigan-Ohio State rivalry

Michigan is set to host Ohio State in this year’s rivalry matchup, with the folks at FanDuel confident the Wolverines will narrowly pick up their third straight victory in the series.

That’s correct, FanDuel has already posted their opening line for The Game, pegging Michigan as a 3.5-point home favorite over the Buckeyes.

Thus far, Michigan has been about what folks expected: dominant against lower competition and looking like a well-oiled machine on offense with starting QB JJ McCarthy back for another year, plus the potent RB duo of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, who have combined for close to 600 rushing and receiving yards so far this season. That trio’s powered a remarkably consistent offensive attack so far.

Really, the whole Michigan team has put together four nearly identical performances if you’re just going by final score. They opened the year by beating East Carolina 30-3, then took care of UNLV 35-7, then handled Bowling Green 31-6, and most recently beat Rutgers 31-7. The Wolverines are getting to the 30s on offense while choking their opponents to just one or two scores a game and never more than one touchdown.

On the other hand, Ohio State has been more up and down. The performances vs. Indiana and Youngstown State certainly weren’t dominant early on, but the Buckeyes did rebound in the last two weeks to blast Western Kentucky 63-10 and then beat Notre Dame on the road in a gritty and defensively-controlled matchup in South Bend.

So, with OSU out of the gates pretty good and with a tremendous win over ND, they’re getting some respect as just 3.5-point underdogs. Because you have to remember that Michigan owned these guys the last two years and returned the foundational offensive pieces that busted up the Buckeyes in The Shoe last November.

At home, the Wolverines should be favored comfortably, solely based on the last couple of years. But with their uneventful start and Ohio State’s big win, FanDuel is calling for a closer contest than the last couple years — and Ryan Day might need it to be that way if he wants to douse the embers that are heating up under his seat.

For Jim Harbaugh, though, what a difference three years makes, huh? In 2019, Ohio State won for the last time in a 56-27 beatdown. The game was cancelled in 2020 but OSU clearly had the upper hand as the reigning winners who also went to the national title game while Michigan missed the playoff altogether. But here we are a couple years later and the Wolverines are now in command and can press their foot on OSU’s throats win a third straight win.