Nittany Lions No. 7 in CFP but Ohio State looking strong

And he had two huge stops on back-to-back kickoffs in the fourth quarter against Ohio State, stuffing the Buckeyes at the 13 and the 11 to help seal the upset.

Barrett demurred when he was asked this week if the MI game might be his last at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State had a tougher schedule than MI as the Wolverines only had four road games with Rutgers one of them, but MI would have two losses regardless.

If Ohio State wins Saturday, the Buckeyes will have one of the best résumés in college football, with wins over the No. 3 (Michigan), No. 6 (Wisconsin), and No. 8 (Oklahoma) ranked teams.

Ohio State will host MI on Saturday in what may be one of the most competitive encounters between the two in the last 15 seasons. “The Game”, has a long history. Although Penn State beat the Buckeyes, the teams’ résumés remain dissimilar (starting with records: Ohio State is 10-1, Penn State is 9-2). “And I learned it from those two, two of the greatest coaches of all time”.

Series record: MI leads 58-47-6. And Ohio State wins the division with a win and a Penn State loss.

But since that game 10 years back, both schools have seen some changes in the coaching staff.

Put them in the Pac-12 championship (they’d need Utah to beat Colorado), watch them win the league and – well, what if? But Ohio State has its own “slash” star in Curtis Samuel, who lines up as a runner, receiver and sometimes returns punts.

Now that Harbaugh is coaching the Wolverines, how would he react if one of his players did that? However, Ohio State isn’t quite as good this season and I think the MI defense is much better. They want to win to stay alive in the College Football Playoff.

The committee would presumably be no less impressed with Ohio State, which would have beaten the team ranked No. 3 this week.

No. 3 MI (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) at No. 2 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) (11 a.m. Saturday, WFAA/8): MI coach Jim Harbaugh and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer have resurrected their programs, laying the foundation for “The Game” to take on even more meaning in the future. Would the CFP committee agree with me in that instance?

Ohio State fired coach Earle Bruce just days before The Game after a three-game losing streak dropped his team to 5-4-1. “They did fall out of our rankings this week, but that was still a strong win for Wisconsin”.

MI defensive end Chris Wormley said the experience playing against other teams that run a spread offense should help them to corral Barrett, who’s passed for 2,304 yards and 24 touchdowns, and added 722 yards and seven scores on the ground.

Michigan’s most compelling native of the Buckeye State might be safety Dymonte Thomas, who has the size (6 feet 2, 199 pounds) and skill to make the NFL. The Big Ten would later decide to allow more than one school to participate in the postseason. The OSU defense must also be alert to the guest appearances by Peppers in the Wolverines’ backfield. On the other side, the Buckeyes’ high powered offense has the potential to put up 30 plus points, but it will be going up against the No. 1 defense in the nation. In Columbus, the game against “The Team Up North” doesn’t need any additional hype. Meyer vs. Harbaugh is not just a throwback for Ohio State-Michigan. Washington has been leapfrogged by a team with more losses already this season, but it is hard to see #6 Wisconsin or #7 Penn State both with two losses leaping over a 1-loss Pac-12 Champion that (in this scenario) just defeated two ranked teams. Ohio State, led by Heisman Trophy victor Troy Smith, came away with a 42-39 victory in Columbus.