Roundtable: Breaking down The Game – Page 4

Chase Young.
The offensive line doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves. It has the ability to line up and blast away.
It’s Jim Harbaugh vs. Ohio State.

The backfield duo of Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins has been unstoppable all season
Ohio State’s defense has playmakers at all 3 levels, led by ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ Chase Young
The Buckeyes have a mental advantage, having won seven in a row

Still prioritizing The Game – Even without Urban Meyer, the culture inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on preparing for “the team up north” all year long hasn’t gone anywhere. Ohio State still prioritizes this game above all others, and Ryan Day understands how important it is to beat Michigan no matter what the Buckeyes might also be able to accomplish this season. Expect the Buckeyes to be as focused and intense as ever on Saturday.
More to lose – While Michigan certainly doesn’t want to lose its eighth game in a row to Ohio State, the Buckeyes have more on the line in this game, as they are trying to lock up a berth in the College Football Playoff. Even though they might be in a position where they could lose this game and still make the playoff, with a Big Ten Championship Game berth already locked up, they don’t want to leave that to chance.
The better team – Ultimately, this is the reason that matters more than any other. Ohio State is one of the two or three best teams in the country, if not the best, and should win this game as long as it avoids turnovers or sloppy mistakes that give the Wolverines a chance. The Buckeyes don’t need to do anything crazy to beat Michigan, they just need to play the way they have all season.

Talent. It sounds simple, but Ohio State is just the better team across the board. The amount of skill on this team might be the best we’ve seen in a long, long time. There’s NFL guys all over the roster, and when things break down, OSU’s guys might be able to just go beat the other one in Maize and Blue on the other side of the ball more often than not.
Coaching. Urban Meyer had a lot of tendencies towards the tail end of his career (Q-run anyone?) I think a lot of the success Ohio State has had this year is because Day is more unpredictable with his play calling. He’s aggressive, but he’s also calculated at times. Because of that, it’s often hard to get a beat on what the Buckeyes will do in certain situations.
Justin Fields. Sometimes you just have the dude. Not to take anything away from Chase Young on the defensive line, but Fields is the key in this one. His ability to keep some of the defensive pressure honest, and take an assignment away for fear of what he can do with his legs is a huge bonus for Ohio State. He’s stronger than anyone knows, yet can run a 4.3. He’ll make more than a key play or two to keep drives going.

Ohio State is simply deeper and more talented across the board. I don’t think it’s by as wide a margin as some might suggest, but it is real and more talented teams tend to win.
Ryan Day exploited Don Brown’s defense last year, and he very well could do it again. OSU just has too many options for Michigan to cover, and there’s a strong chance that the Wolverines cannot make the Buckeyes one-dimensional or stop them enough.
While Michigan looks like it’s peaking, and while I hate this narrative, it’s certainly possible that the Wolverines just don’t play it’s A-game. We saw it all game against Wisconsin and in the first-half at Penn State. If Michigan starts slow, this game is all but over.

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