COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The 120th meeting between Ohio State and Michigan is Saturday, and each year brings new storylines.
The 59th edition of The Game in Columbus is one the Buckeyes think they can oust the Wolverines after five years without a win. The struggles of this year’s Michigan team and the lack of upsets in the rivalry’s history bodes well for the No. 2 Buckeyes.
And this new era of college football puts the rivalry in a different perspective, with a playoff spot not on the line and a new cast of characters taking the field.
Here are three things that make the 2024 game different than the previous 119 iterations.
A mismatch a decade in the making
For the past three seasons, Michigan and Ohio State have met with the winner claiming the Big Ten East title, making the conference championship game and improving its chances at a national title. Last season, the Wolverines won and went on to the take the Big Ten and national titles. This time, only the Buckeyes are playing for postseason aspirations, with the Wolverines playing for pride.
The last time Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) was ranked and Michigan (6-5, 4-4) unranked going into The Game was 2017, but this will be the first meeting in a decade where either team comes in with five losses. Michigan clinched bowl eligibility just last week with a 50-6 win over Northwestern but have lost to USC, Washington, and Illinois, to name a few.
Since 2008, Ohio State has come into The Game ranked and favored, with 10 wins in that time, setting a new status quo for the game in the late 2000s and 2010s. The 2024 matchup could be the tides turning back to the status quo that delights Buckeyes fans.
Transfer era brings newcomers
College football’s new landscape has opened the door for an always active transfer portal, allowing players from across the country to experience an Ohio State-Michigan game.
The Buckeyes brought in a handful of standout players through the transfer portal last year who will now play key roles. Quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins and safety Caleb Downs are just a few of the top Ohio State transfers making their debuts in The Game.
For former Alabama safety Downs, he can add his name to a small list of players to play in an Ohio State-Michigan game and the Iron Bowl between the Crimson Tide and Auburn, two of the biggest rivalries in college football.
The transfer era will also make it a rarer occurrence for a Buckeye to play the Wolverines through their entire college experience. Running back TreVeyon Henderson and receiver Emeka Egbuka will play their fourth games against Michigan and now will be an exception to the new transfer norms of college football.
Does history favor a massive upset?
Saturday will be just the second time Ohioans can legally bet on a Buckeyes-Wolverines game, and the oddsmakers don’t think it will be close. Ohio State is favored by more than 20 points, a margin it has covered in its last three wins over Michigan in 2017, ’18, and ’19.
The odds are well within the Buckeyes’ favor, and recent history has not been kind to the underdog. Ohio State’s 37-21 win in 2004 over a No. 7 Michigan team was the last time an unranked team beat a ranked team in this series. Michigan hasn’t accomplished that feat since 1993, when it beat then-No. 5 Ohio State 28-0.
Betting data shows this is the largest spread in an Ohio State-Michigan game since 2014, when the Buckeyes won by 14 as a 21.5-point favorite. Since 1995, eight games have had either team favored to win by double digits. In those eight games, the underdog has never won.
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