ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With big rivalry games, they often say you can throw the record books and stats out the window, and to some degree that’s true. But usually, that’s more so meant that a 7-4 Michigan team can upend an undefeated Ohio State rather than a middling 6-5 team (albeit a one-game difference) surprising the 10-1 Buckeyes in Columbus.
The OSU defense has been stout all year, but that’s been the case for much of the past three years. One big difference is that the Michigan offense has sputtered and only really put one good game together thus far this year — this past weekend against a not-so-good Northwestern.
But the narrative most years has been that Ohio State — which did rattle off an impressive string of victories in the rivalry — is just going to be better, and it’s just going to win. Meanwhile, Michigan’s shortcomings get emphasized, even when they’re not necessarily accurate. Such as in 2022, when it was surmised that then-QB J.J. McCarthy couldn’t throw the ball. The Wolverines ended up winning that game, in large part because of two long passing touchdowns.
This year feels a little more daunting, however. Michigan is 129th out of 134 teams in passing while OSU has the No. 4 pass defense — the second-best Michigan will have seen all year. Still, redshirt junior quarterback Davis Warren is confident that the coaching staff will put together a game plan that allows for the Wolverine aerial attack to work come Saturday in Columbus.
“Coach Moore has shown that, and I know as a group, just as a passing attack, we’re ready for the challenge, and we’re prepared, and we’re gonna be ready for the opportunity, and just go out there and play with detail and have fun and cut it loose,” Warren said. “I think that’s something that, especially in 22, J.J. did a great job and we did a great job of getting open and some explosive pass plays. So those were huge plays in the game.
“So we’re gonna entrench ourselves in the work this week, in the film study, in the prep and I know Coach Campbell and Coach Moore and Coach Bell and Coach Casula are going to put this passing attack in a great position to be successful on Saturday. And then when Saturday comes just going to be having fun, playing loose, and cutting the pigskin loose, and it’s going to be a really fun time.”
One thing working in Michigan’s favor is the year-long preparation that goes into The Game. As well as it just seems, no matter how uneven the matchup is in the rivalry, and how much the offense has struggled, it seems to coalesce in ways you generally don’t see all season.
Case in point: in 2017, starting quarterback Wilton Speight went down in the fourth game of the season, and while his replacement, John O’Korn, was stellar in that game at Purdue, he struggled mightily in subsequent games. O’Korn had 198 yards passing in the loss two weeks later against MSU but didn’t cross 190 yards passing again until hosting OSU. And Michigan started the game up 14-0 as a result.
It was a different story in 2019. The Michigan offense was starting to find a groove it hadn’t found all year entering The Game, but Ohio State was coming in with the No. 1 passing defense, having not allowed more than 215 yards through the air all year. That is, until, Shea Patterson threw for 305 yards against the Buckeyes.
This year, Michigan has only eclipsed 200 yards passing twice — Davis Warren had 205 yards in a loss to Texas while Jack Tuttle had 208 yards in the loss to Illinois. But what Warren feels might help in The Game is that this team has prepared for the Buckeyes all year long. It isn’t simply watching film the week of and hoping for the best. While the attributes of the preparation in the week of are the same as any other, and while Warren says it’s important to maintain an even demeanor, this is a game that Michigan has worked for all year.
“No doubt. And that’s something that — we talk about them a lot, and we’re always preparing to a certain extent for them,” Warren said. “Feel like every Monday when you come in here is this Monday, Monday of Ohio State week. So and having that attention to detail, that focus, that level of urgency to go attack that week and that opponent, and that’s the same thing we’re feeling here.
“And they’re a good football team, they’re a good defense, and they got a lot of talented guys. But I know that we’re going to be more than prepared to go in there and be us and play Michigan football. And really press the envelope and just put ourselves in a great position.”
Per BetMGM, Michigan is a sizable 20.5-point underdog to the rival Buckeyes. However, to hear Warren discuss The Game, you might be forgiven to think that the Wolverines are the favorite to win a fourth-straight game in the rivalry.