30 games that will eventually decide the 12-team College Football Playoff
By Nick Villano
2. Michigan vs. Ohio State: Nov. 30
While the Oregon game matters to Ohio State, it doesn’t matter when looking at what’s really important this season. It’s beat Michigan or beat it for the Buckeyes. Nothing else matters. Beat the reeling Wolverines, who lost their head coach and starting quarterback this offseason. Jim Harbaugh is the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, and J.J. McCarthy is on the Minnesota Vikings IR.
Meanwhile, Ohio State had one of the more impressive transfer classes to go along with another great recruiting class. The transfer class was led by QB Will Howard, who is looking to bring this team to another level after leading Kansas State for years. Quinshon Judkins and Caleb Downs were two amazing transfer pickups who are looking to build their NFL draft stock in Columbus.
With all the uncertainty on the Michigan offense, the defense is still incredible. While Harbaugh is gone, his hard-nosed attitude and thrill for big plays lives on in Sherrone Moore. What really makes this defense great is there are stars at all positions. They have a top-10 defensive line, linebacker unit, and secondary according to PFF.
This is probably the game of the year when looking at the schedule today. It’s that way most years, but this one is intriguing. The ninth ranking for Michigan shows that voters are still unsure about what this team will be this year. Can the defense carry the day? Will they ruin the plans of Ohio State? With so many great teams in the Big Ten, would a loss to Michigan knock Ohio State out of the Playoff entirely?