Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 13: More than playoffs on the line in Michigan vs. Ohio State

There were plenty of reasons why the Buckeyes struggled against Michigan State. Over the past five seasons, these two teams have traded wins. The extreme weather conditions made it tough for both offenses to get going. And while they would never admit it, the Buckeyes were probably looking ahead to the Wolverines in Week 13, which is always a bad idea against a coach as good as Mark Dantonio.

But there were some positives to take away from this game. Mike Weber was extremely efficient running the ball, finishing with 111 yards on 14 carries. His best run of the game was a 52-yard gain to take him up to 1,000 rushing yards on the season, becoming just the third freshman in school history to do so. That gain helped set up a four-yard touchdown that would hold up as the winning score.

The defense was just as good at pressuring Tyler O’Connor as Michigan State was at pressuring J.T. Barrett. They picked him off three times and held him to just 105 yards passing. Chris Worley was the best defensive player when he registered five solo tackles and an interception.

Everyone is wondering what a win over Michigan will mean to the Buckeyes’ playoff hopes, but they were a two-point conversion away from getting eliminated. This wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Barrett run more than throw it, either. He has a ton of weapons in the passing game, but if he can’t get it going, he’ll tend to abandon it. That’s bad news for Curtis Samuel because their best games are usually the ones when he’s used a lot. But against Michigan State, he only had eight touches.

Barrett is still the best quarterback in the Big Ten, but he’s prone to making mistakes. But at least he can count on his defense to save him when he does. And even though The Game is a 50-50 matchup this year, they’ll almost certainly use the opening line to their advantage. The Buckeyes are currently favored by 6.5 points, and they’ll use that as motivation to win by more. Last year, Michigan opened their contest as a 1.5-point favorite, and look at how that turned out.

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As things stand, the Buckeyes have all the tools in place to make a national championship run. But their inconsistencies make it hard for people to believe that they can win it.