Five reasons No. 10 Ohio State football will surprise No. 4 Michigan

1. The Buckeyes will force the Wolverines out of their comfort zone

The Wolverines have had a very successful season after what seemed to be the beginning of the end in game one. They lost to Notre Dame to start their 2018 campaign and didn’t look good doing so. Wolverines’ quarterback Shea Patterson completed 66 percent of his passes for 227 yards and one interception. He was also responsible for another fumble that he lost in what could have been a game winning drive to end the game.

Not to be misunderstood, Patterson isn’t a problem with this team. The issue is that he hasn’t been great either. Patterson is just seventh in the Big Ten in passing yards. For reference, Dwayne Haskins has over 1500 more passing yards than he does.

Haskins also has exactly twice as many passing touchdowns than he does. What is impressive to note as well is that Haskins has nearly 130 more passing attempts than Patterson but has only thrown three more interceptions.

More than anything, this could just be the Wolverines not needing to use him as much. Their tremendous defense and run game has allowed them to glide through games without having to take more risks by passing the ball excessively.

The Wolverines are fourth in the Big Ten and 22nd in the nation in rushing offense. Conversely, they are fifth last in the Big Ten in passing offense. Receivers to watch out for in the passing game are sophomore receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, tight end Zach Gentry, and Nico Collins.

The Wolverines are led by senior running back Karan Higdon. He isn’t an incredibly efficient back as he averages just over five yards per carry but does enough to get the job done with the large workload he is given. Higdon has compiled 1106 yards on 206 carries for 10 touchdowns.

He is complimented by junior Chris Evans who has 66 carries and Tru Wilson who has 52. Both average close to six yards per carry.

The key to this game will be to keep the Wolverines’ running backs contained. As noted, they aren’t incredibly explosive like Maryland’s but they can definitely pack a punch.

The Buckeyes must limit them to short carries and get some stops in the backfield. Putting the Wolverines in long down-and-distance situations will force them to use the passing game more than they’re used to.

Getting an early lead would also help in this objective. The Wolverines would absolutely love to hand the ball to Higdon a hundred times in this game if they could.

Finding a way to slow them down will be imperative in keeping them on their heels as they feel less comfortable going pass-first. Expect the Buckeyes to tighten up the run defense and force the Wolverines to pass more often down the field this weekend.