Year in and year out, “The Game” between Ohio State and Michigan is one of the most anticipated games on the college football calendar. This season, this meeting has serious College Football Playoff implications on the line, with the winner likely headed to the CFP given that they’ll face Iowa in the Big Ten title game. Can Ohio State pull the upset, or will Michigan pick up its third straight victory over its hated rival? Let’s get into it.'
Here is my Same Game Parlay for Saturday’s matchup, which will be televised starting at 12:00 pm ET on ESPN. Also, be sure to check out our full Ohio State vs Michigan predictions.
One of the benefits of Same Game Parlays, of course, is that you can correlate the plays. That is some of the plan here, as an Ohio State victory certainly correlates with J.J. McCarthy going under his passing touchdowns and probably correlates with the under as well.
Ohio State ML (+145)
There’s no doubt in my mind that Ohio State has improved considerably as the season has gone on, including a couple of dominant performances in recent weeks to bring this line down from the lookahead number of 6. There's also the factor of Jim Harbaugh not being on the sidelines, so that could work in Ohio State's favor as well as it relates to in-game decisions, halftime adjustments and more. It's not lost on me that Harbaugh's noticeable absence on the sidelines might've really affected JJ McCarthy under center, in addition to a lingering injury that was apparent in Michigan’s narrow victory over Maryland last week. On the other side, the Buckeyes will have the best player on the field in Marvin Harrison Jr., who should see consistent success against Michigan's corners, opening up avenues for Emeka Egbuka and Cade Stover to make plays over the middle of the field. Ultimately, I can't trust the Michigan offensive line and passing game in th is spot, while Ohio State is peaking at the right time. Let's back the Buckeyes to win outright.