Ohio State football behind Michigan in preseason magazine predictions

Brainerd Dispatch

01 January 0001

Ohio State football behind Michigan in preseason magazine predictions

Ohio State is not the preseason favorite in the Big Ten in the majority of college football preview magazines to hit newsstands over the past few weeks.

Frontrunner status instead belongs to Michigan, the league’s two-time defending champion that now boasts a winning streak over its bitter rival.

Athlon Sports and Lindy’s Sports, two of the three major preseason publications, have the Wolverines finishing in first place in the East Division this fall, advancing to the title game and prevailing over Wisconsin, which is the favorite in the West.

“The Wolverines look like the class of the Big Ten,” Lindy’s writes.

Phil Steele varies slightly, pegging the Buckeyes to end up in a tie with the Wolverines at the top of the East as they did two years. The teams shared the division title in 2021 with Michigan securing the head-to-head tiebreaker. Steele doesn’t make a formal prediction between the two for the upcoming season.

While Jim Harbaugh has revived his alma mater, the confidence in Michigan is also the result of a stable situation at quarterback with J.J. McCarthy, the return of star running back Blake Corum and a favorable schedule that does not have the Wolverines leaving Ann Arbor until the last weekend in September.

A few more questions on paper plague the Buckeyes, who have an ongoing quarterback competition between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown and holes on the offensive line.

“Ohio State push to the Big Ten summit is complicated by the fact quarterback C.J. Stroud is gone along with three starters on the offensive line,” Lindy’s writes. “And there’s a new OC: Brian Hartline.”

But there are expectations for a step forward on the other side of the ball for Ryan Day’s program.

“Even if the offense isn’t quite up to its usual standard,” Athlon writes, “an improved defense behind second-year coordinator Jim Knowles will only help Day’s team in its quest to end a two-game losing streak to Michigan.”

At this point in time last year, Ohio State was the favorite over Michigan despite suffering its first loss to its archrival in a decade, given some benefit of the doubt by the preseason magazines after it had been atop the league from 2017-20 and featured Stroud behind center.

But another setback in The Game last November has altered the outlook.

Both programs are expected to be in contention for the College Football Playoff after reaching the four-team postseason a year ago. Ohio State is No. 5 in preseason top-25 for Athlon and Phil Steele, while it is No. 3 in Lindy’s. Michigan is No. 2 in Athlon and Lindy’s and No. 3 in Phil Steele.

“Don’t sleep on a motivated Ohio State program,” Lindy’s writes.

The full forecast for the Big Ten from the magazines can be found below.