Ohio State vs. Michigan Prediction, Odds, Trends for College Football Week 13

In the biggest game of the college football season, the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes will head to the Big House to play the No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines. The winner of Saturday’s game will play in the Big Ten championship game and punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff.

The losing team will have to wait and see how the rest of the conference championship games play out. Last season, the Wolverines smoked the Buckeyes 45-27 in Columbus, OH, but both teams still made it to the College Football Playoff.  

Ohio State hasn’t defeated Michigan since 2019, so you know they have revenge on their mind in one of the biggest rivalries in sports. However, Michigan won’t make it easy on Ohio State as they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder due to the Jim Harbaugh suspension.

Here are the odds and our best bet for Ohio State vs. Michigan:

Ohio State

Marvin Harrison Jr.: The Buckeyes will be looking for their star-studded wide receiver to make a few big plays on Saturday against this stout Wolverines defense. Harrison Jr. has been one of the best players in college football this season, recording 62 receptions for 1,093 yards and 13 TDs. The 6-foot-4 receiver has scored a touchdown in seven straight games and is a matchup nightmare for most defenses.

Michigan

J.J. McCarthy: The Wolverines haven’t needed McCarthy to throw the ball a ton in their last two games against Maryland and Penn State. However, for Michigan to win on Saturday, they need their senior quarterback to make plays in the air. In last season’s win over Ohio St., McCarthy completed 50% of his passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns. The Buckeyes didn’t have an answer for the Wolverines’ running game, which made life easier for McCarthy. This season, he’s completing 73.8% of his passes for 2,335 yards, 18 TDs, and four INTs.

If you haven’t watched a college football game yet this season, this is the game to watch as you have two rivals fighting to get into a conference championship game and a CFP spot.

The Wolverines are 3.5-point favorites on Saturday, which makes sense as they have a senior QB and an outstanding running back duo that can dominate games. However, Ohio St. QB Kyle McCord has played better as the season has progressed, and he plays behind a stellar defense.

The last two times these two teams played each other, the total points scored were 68 and 69. I don’t envision Saturday’s game being a high-scoring affair as you have the first and second-best scoring defenses in FBS (Michigan – 9.0 ppg allowed, Ohio State – 9.3 ppg).

I know the OVER is 5-2-1 in conference games for Michigan this season, but the UNDER is 7-1 in Big Ten play for Ohio State. In a game of this magnitude, I think the defenses show up, and the under hits on the total.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.