What they're saying about Michigan, Ohio State collision course after the bye week
Michigan football was off this week, but still heavily factored into the College Football Playoff and Big Ten title discussion. The Wolverines have a bout with the Michigan State Spartans next weekend (7:30 p.m., Oct. 29) and look to close out the first two-thirds of the season at 8-0.
Ohio State was impressive on Saturday in a 54-10 win over Iowa, which has opened eyes even more to a collision course between the Wolverines and Buckeyes.
Here is where Michigan factored into the national discussion while it was on the bye.
Chris Balas, The Wolverine
Saturday Thoughts: Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan has arrived
It seems only a game played in a monsoon, or some other freak occurrence, can keep this squad from rolling into Columbus 11-0 with a Big Ten championship game appearance on the line — and what are the odds of that … uh happening again? (Queue nervous laughter).
That, of course, is in reference to an Oct. 29 showdown with Michigan State, a team that — somehow — is 4-3 against Jim Harbaugh, having gotten more than its share of breaks along the way.
But even that should be a speed bump for this squad, one with an offensive line that’s among the top three or four these eyes have witnessed in the last several decades when it comes to running the ball. There’s “1990s depth,” as a few longtime program observers said prior to the season, and even Fox analyst Joel Klatt (while not necessarily predicting victory) said Harbaugh’s 8th team was “built to beat Ohio State.”
John Niyo, Detroit News
Unbeaten Michigan, Ohio State on collision course amid Big Ten potholes
A lot can change in five weeks or 35 days or even 840 hours if you’ve got your own countdown clock on the wall at home.
But it does appear that Michigan and Ohio State are on a collision course now, careening toward an undefeated clash in Columbus on Nov. 26 that would decide the Big Ten East champion, and likely much more.
Both teams are 7-0 after the Buckeyes dispatched with Iowa on Saturday, 54-10, and neither has been threatened seriously through four Big Ten games, outscoring league opponents by a combined score of 337-129 thus far.
The computer projections at FiveThirtyEight.com give Ohio State a 54% chance of winning the Big Ten, while Michigan — the defending conference champ − checks in at 26%. After that, it’s a 1-in-10 shot for Illinois and Purdue as the best of the rest in the West. And chances are … well, you get the point.
Heather Dinich, ESPN.com
Ranking the Power 5 conferences by their College Football Playoff contenders
Michigan had a bye week, but Ohio State overcame a slow start to hammer Iowa 54-10 and maintain its place among the top four contenders. This game reiterated what we’ve seen all season: The Buckeyes have one of the most explosive offenses in the country, and not even Iowa’s stingy defense could do anything about it in the second half. Ohio State is now the only FBS team this season to score on 100% of its red zone drives (31 touchdowns and five field goals in 36 drives). The selection committee doesn’t ask teams to run up the score, but how they win matters, and Ohio State ultimately left no doubt it was the better team. The Buckeyes have now scored at least 49 points in all four of their Big Ten games this season, but only Rutgers (4-3) is above .500 and none of Ohio State’s wins has come against a top-25 team. On Saturday, Ohio State did what the selection committee will be looking for: It took care of business against lesser competition.
Tom VanHaaren, ESPN.com
Michigan ranks 4th in Week 8 power rankings
Michigan had a bye this week after beating No. 10 Penn State 41-17 at home. The Wolverines offense had 418 rush yards and four touchdowns on the ground, led by Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum, who each had two touchdowns. The team gets a week of rest before taking on in-state rival Michigan State, a team that has struggled this season. The game will be played in Ann Arbor, and the Spartans are hoping to spoil Michigan’s undefeated season.
Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic
Oregon returns, Alabama rebounds and Tulane keeps rolling: Auerbach’s Top 10
The Wolverines were off this weekend ahead of next Saturday’s rivalry game against Michigan State, and their in-state rivals will still demand their full attention given Mel Tucker’s 2-0 start in the series. Looking ahead to the back half of Michigan’s schedule, I’ve got two other games circled: Illinois at home on Nov. 19 and the trip to Columbus a week later.
Stewart Mandell, The Athletic
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Weighing in on OSU’s blowout win over Iowa
Iowa’s defense managed to hold Ohio State’s prolific offense to a modest 5.8 yards per play Saturday. And yet Iowa still lost 54-10, because their offense is so pitiful it had 11 pass attempts and six turnovers.
The Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) just keep blowing people out thanks to QB C.J. Stroud (20-of-30, 286 yards, four TDs, one INT) and his battalion of stud receivers. They are the first Big Ten team since 1903 to put up 45-plus in six consecutive games. It will be interesting to see whether Penn State can put up more of a fight next week in Happy Valley than it did at Michigan a couple of weeks ago. The Nittany Lions’ offense looked almost as crisp as the White Out in the stands during their 45-17 rout of Minnesota.
Bill Bender, Sporting News
Michigan ranks 4th in his College Football Playoff pecking order
4. Michigan (7-0)
Up next: vs. Michigan State
The Wolverines rank fifth in the FBS in scoring defense (12.1) and seventh in scoring offense (42.7), and they had a bye week to prepare for the rivalry matchup against Michigan State in Week 9. This is not one to overlook considering Michigan is 3-4 against the Spartans under Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines have lost the last two meetings, and they averaged 149 rushing yards in those two losses. That will be the key in the prime-time matchup at Michigan Stadium. That running game will be the key to settling J.J. McCarthy in his first start in this always-heated contest.
