No. 1 Ohio State opens as 11.5-point favorites over Michigan in The Game

What was effectively an 11-game preseason for Ohio State has come to an end, and now the real season begins. The Buckeyes take their 11-0 record with them to Ann Arbor, where they will battle against their biggest rival who has beaten them each of the last four years.

A win against Michigan would put Ohio State in the Big Ten title game against Indiana, virtually guaranteeing them a top-four seed and first round bye in the College Football Playoff. In order to get there, the Buckeyes must overcome a good Wolverines squad in a hostile road environment, and Ryan Day needs to get the monkey off his back and restore order to The Game.

Ohio State is objectively the better team in this matchup, but that was also true last season. The Buckeyes entered that contest as nearly 20-point favorites at home, but a nonsensical game plan that saw them run repeatedly into the teeth of the Michigan defense instead resulted in a 13-10 loss.

Day went on to right his wrongs by winning the national title, but his legacy as the Ohio State football head coach is once again on the line. A win on Nov. 29 is almost more important for this team than another championship run, although doing so makes that chase easier as well. A fifth-straight loss, however, would be an irredeemable stain on Day’s otherwise shining reputation.

I could dive into the stats on each side like we usually do for these opening odds previews, but while cliche, none of that really matters going into Saturday’s showdown. This matchup has become far more mental than it has physical, and Ohio State is going to have to block out all of the noise and prove to everyone — including maybe even themselves — why they are the No. 1 team in the country.

Ohio State had won eight-straight against Michigan and 15 of the last 16 meetings between the two schools prior to this current losing streak. Ryan Day led the Buckeyes to a 56-27 win over the Wolverines in his first full season at the helm in 2019.

This has to be the year they right the ship and get back to dominating That Team Up North.

All lines and odds are presented by FanDuel Sportsbook.