Michigan Stadium - Ann Arbor, MI
Kickoff: Saturday, Noon ET
Line: Michigan -1.5, Total: 45

The playoff hopes for No. 8 Ohio State may be dashed, but pride is on the line Saturday when it faces hated Big Ten rival No. 10 Michigan.

The defending national champion Buckeyes (10-1 SU and 4-7 ATS) will try to bounce back from a devastating 17-14 loss to Michigan State last weekend in an attempt to keep their playoff aspirations alive. Meanwhile, the Wolverines (9-2 SU and 6-5 ATS) are riding a four-game win streak against conference opponents that included three victories on the road. The 111-year rivalry between the schools runs deep, with Michigan holding the upper hand 58-47-6 all-time. Ohio State has held the advantage in recent years, going 14-8-1 SU and 14-9 ATS since 1992. When the teams met last year, the No. 7 Buckeyes closed out their regular season with a 42-28 victory over their unranked foe. Betting trends for Saturday’s game largely favor Ohio State. The team is 23-10 ATS in road games against excellent ball control teams (32+ avg time of possession), and head coach Urban Meyer is a perfect 6-0 ATS in his tenure when his team is listed as an underdog. However, bettors looking to back Michigan will note that its opponent is 0-8 ATS in road games against teams who force one turnover or less per game on the season since 1992, while head coach Jim Harbaugh is 13-4 ATS in home games immediately after playing on the road in his career. The silver lining for the Buckeyes coming out of last weekend’s game is that the team is largely healthy, suffering no additional injuries. The Wolverines weren’t quite as lucky, and will be monitoring RB Derrick Green (undisclosed), DT Bryan Mone (leg), and WR Drake Harris (ankle), who are all listed as questionable, as well as WR Jehu Chesson (undisclosed), who was injured in last week’s win over Penn State and is probable to play Saturday.

Which team will prevail in this storied rivalry? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2015 regular season and bowl season. The experts combined for a 61% ATS (22-14) success rate last week, highlighted by StatFox Scott's 73% ATS mark (8-3). StatFox Brian was 71% ATS (5-2) last week, while StatFox Dave was 63% ATS (5-3).

Ohio State, which had been scoring more than 36 PPG through the first 10 weeks of the season, managed just 14 points in last week’s loss to Michigan State. Sophomore QB J.T. Barrett had his worst start of the season last week, connecting on 9-of-16 passes (56%) for just 46 yards and a touchdown. He added 44 rushing yards on 15 attempts, which was also his lowest total in a game since the end of September. Barrett’s struggles last week were emblematic of the entire Buckeyes’ offense. The team had been averaging 453.0 YPG on the season, but was stopped in its tracks by the Spartans defense, gaining just 132 total yards. Star RB Ezekiel Elliott, among the best ball carriers in FBS with 17 TD and rushing for 142.5 YPG, was underutilized last week – gaining a meager 33 yards on 12 attempts while still finding the end zone once. Elliott did not hold back in expressing his frustration with the team’s offensive game plan after the loss, and will need to be used more effectively if the team hopes to defeat Michigan and its stalwart defense. Ohio State’s defense is still among the best in college football, allowing just 14.1 PPG (2nd out of 128 FBS teams) and 298 total YPG.

Under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan has turned its program around, scoring 32.2 PPG (51st out of 128), which is a vast improvement over the team’s 20.9 PPG last season. The Wolverines’ offense has leaned heavily on Senior QB Jake Rudock, who has completed 64.4% of his throws for 225.1 passing YPG, 16 TD and 9 INT. Rudock has been on fire in his past three games, connecting with receivers 70% of the time and averaging 344 passing YPG while tallying 10 TD. Rudock's primary offensive weapons this season have been WRs Amara Darboh (52 receptions, 635 yards, 5 TD) and Jehus Chesson (37 receptions, 535 yards, 7 TD), as well as TE Jake Butt (43 receptions, 566 yards, 3 TD). RB De'Veon Smith has propelled Michigan's ground game, rushing 145 times for 621 yards and six touchdowns. The Wolverines defense has been almost as fierce as their opponent’s this season, allowing just 14.9 PPG (6th of 128) and 263.1 total YPG. The squad has been particularly stout at home, allowing a mere 9.5 PPG and a paltry 71 rushing YPG while keeping its defense on the field for only 25:33 per game.