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Ohio State vs Michigan preview, predictions, betting odds, live stream info

By Cody Williams

Nov 21, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh waits to take the field with his team prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Nov 21, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh waits to take the field with his team prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O /
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Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines

The Ohio State Buckeyes suffered their first loss of 2015 last week and have fallen out of the top-four in the College Football Playoff rankings. Now the Buckeyes will look to rebound as the travel to the Big House on Saturday afternoon for their annual meeting with their bitter rivals in the Michigan Wolverines in The Game.

J.T. Barrett, Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, and the rest of Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes are looking to avoid their second consecutive loss of the season and looking to avoid going 0-2 against the state of Michigan this year. Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines are lurking as probably the best two-loss team in the country as Jake Rudock, Jake Butt, and Jabrill Peppers will all be looking to take down and devastate the rival Buckeyes.

Details for Saturday’s game are below:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 28
Start Time: Noon ET
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Stadium: Michigan Stadium (The Big House)
TV Info: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Here
Ticket information: For Michigan Wolverines ticket info click here. For Ohio State Buckeyes ticket info click here.

Keys to Victory

For the Buckeyes, the key to avoiding their second-straight loss and to getting a win over Michigan is going to be piecing together a consistent offensive attack. As Ezekiel Elliott told everyone after the loss to Michigan State, that would include feeding their star running back early and often. Even with the playmaking abilities of J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller, Elliott is the workhorse and the heart of this offense. They have to keep him consistently involved and, even against a Michigan defense that has been stellar all year, good things will happen for Ohio State.

Michigan will contrarily need to stop Elliott if they want to pick up a huge rivalry win, but their chances will also rely on the play of quarterback Jake Rudock. Rudock hasn’t been asked to do too much in the Wolverines offense under Harbaugh, but the key on Saturday afternoon will be making sure that he plays mistake-free football. In a game that will likely hinge on defense, Rudock and Michigan can’t afford to give Ohio State more opportunities to score by way of turnovers.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Ohio State Buckeyes -1
Moneyline: Ohio State Buckeyes -115, Michigan Wolverines -105
O/U: 46.5

Prediction

Even with the Buckeyes losing last week, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry game is always circled on every college football fan’s calendar and will almost surely be an entertaining battle for 60 minutes. In the end, though, I think Harbaugh has his team ready to hit Ohio State in the mouth with tough, defensive-minded football and that the Wolverines come out on top.

Final Score: Ohio State Buckeyes: 13, Michigan Wolverines: 21

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