Buckeyes in unfamiliar spot as conference underdogs behind Michigan
INDIANAPOLIS – It is an unfamiliar role for Ohio State – underdogs in the Big Ten.
After dominating the conference for almost a decade, the Buckeyes have been dethroned by Michigan. The Wolverines have beaten Ohio State the last two years and won the Big Ten championship.
With the nucleus of its team returning, Michigan has been picked in the Cleveland.com media poll as the favorite to win the Big Ten.
It is the first time in four years and only the second time since 2013 that Ohio State hasn't been favored to win the conference.
“We didn't win the last game (against Michigan), so we probably don't deserve to be (favored), not that it really matters,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said Wednesday at Big Ten media days. “At the same time, we're going to come out with a chip on our shoulder. But ultimately, it comes down to where we're ranked at the end of the season.”
Ohio State won 15 of 16 against their arch-rivals before Michigan routed the Buckeyes 42-27 in Ann Arbor in 2021 and 45-23 last year in Columbus.
“When I got into town and saw (Lucas Oil) stadium, my first thought was, 'We've got to get back here and win the Big Ten championship,' ” OSU athletic director Gene Smith said. “They've earned it. It wasn't a surprise to me that they were selected. I knew they were going to be selected.”
Michigan returns quarterback J.J. McCarthy, talented running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, most of a dominating offensive line, and a stout defense.
Ohio State has a roster full of stars, but no proven quarterback, an offensive line with three unsettled spots and a defense that must prove it can limit big plays in big games.
“I think there are more questions in Columbus than in Ann Arbor right now,” said Joshua Perry, a former OSU linebacker who's now an NBC analyst. “Michigan should be the favorite.”
For almost all of the current Ohio State players, it's the first time they haven't been picked to win the conference.
“It just adds motivation,” junior defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau said. “All we can do is control what we got inside our inside our room and inside our building and continue to lean on one another, push one another and get ready for the season.”
Preseason predictions are usually forgotten once the season begins. But if history is a guide, Ohio State might want to savor its non-favorite status.
In 2014, Michigan State was the overwhelming favorite in a re-vote of the Cleveland.com poll after OSU quarterback Braxton Miller's season-ending shoulder injury in training camp. The Buckeyes went on to win an improbable national title.
In 2019, Michigan was the voters' choice. That year's Ohio State team was as dominating as any OSU team in recent history, crushing almost every Big Ten opponent until its heartbreaking College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Clemson.
