Joel Klatt: ‘Everything is on the line’ in Ohio State-Michigan’s greatest era

The scoreboard has tilted one way for four years, but FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt says don’t be fooled: The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry has never been better.

“We are experiencing the greatest moment in this rivalry — maybe ever — and everything is on the line,” Klatt said on the most recent episode of his podcast, “The Joel Klatt Show.”

This Saturday will mark at least the fifth consecutive year that major stakes are on the line. Even though No. 1 OSU is almost assuredly going to be in the College Football Playoff, it essentially needs to win in order to play in the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time since 2020. No. 18 Michigan, meanwhile, is in a win-and-in situation.

Unlike recent matchups, this year’s version of “The Game” might not be viewed as a de facto playoff game. However, it’s clear what the stakes are — and even if they were lower, that might not make a difference. We all saw Michigan stun Ohio State in Columbus last year as over 20-point underdogs to extend its winning streak in the rivalry to four games.

As Ohio State head coach Ryan Day seeks his first win over Michigan, Klatt put into context the pressure Ohio State faces.

“For Ohio State, they don’t have one player that has beaten Michigan. For Michigan, they don’t have a single player that’s lost to Ohio State,” Klatt said. “So, as we start to build to this game, you have to understand that the pressure on Ohio State is immense.”

Prior to Michigan’s winning streak in “The Game,” the rivalry was more lopsided the other way. Ohio State held an eight-game winning streak over Michigan and had won 17 of the previous 19 matchups (including the 2010 win that was later vacated) over the Wolverines before 2021. 

In the leadup to Michigan’s 2021 win over Ohio State, Klatt said that one of the Wolverines’ top stars outlined what they were hoping for in that specific game and have used that mentality in the matchup ever since then. 

“In the Michigan locker room, all they’re going to be talking about all week is give us a chance in the second half,” Klatt said. “All we’ve got to do is be close. That’s all they’re going to be thinking about. That’s all they’ve been thinking about since 2021. When we went in for meetings before that game. Aidan Hutchinson said that specifically to me. He said, ‘Joel, I just want a chance. I just want it to be a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. That’s all I want.’ And they ended up winning.

“That’s all Jim Harbaugh would talk about in the subsequent years. We just want to be close in the second half.”

Michigan actually won by double-digits in the first two games of its win streak over Ohio State before squeaking out one-score victories over the last two seasons. It might need to follow a similar path to take down this Ohio State team. The Buckeyes’ defense has been one of the best in recent memory, ranking No. 1 in the nation in yards (206.6) and points (7.6) allowed per game. 

It’s obviously a daunting task for Michigan’s offense, especially when you consider that it has a freshman at quarterback. But after its 45-20 win over Maryland on Saturday, Klatt is continuing to buy stock in Bryce Underwood. 

“That game against Maryland was a more consistent performance from Bryce Underwood, where he played at times elite, at times just very consistent, but it stayed there,” Klatt said. “Underwood was 16-of-23 for 215 and two touchdowns. They’re never going to ask him to be a guy that throws for 450 yards because they want to run the football and they did that with [Bryson] “Kozdal and some of their other players.”

But aside from Underwood, Klatt likes what he’s seen from Michigan’s offense of late, as several members of the unit have needed to step up since Justice Hines is sidelined for the season with a foot injury.

“Suddenly, this crime started escalating,” Kalat said. “They were really efficient running the football. They were really good at throwing the football. Andrew Marsh became a real No. 1 outside player as a true freshman. I thought Underwood played one of his best games. Even the game against Northwestern, as much as those big mistakes that happened against Northwestern in the fourth quarter, and they were huge and almost cost them the game, he still at times played the best football he ever played in college.”

With Marsh moving wide, Cosdal was the latest to return to the boom at Michigan. He rushed for 100 yards on 5 yards per carry and three touchdowns against Maryland on Saturday, filling in for the injured Jordan Marshall.

Michigan coach Sherron Moore said after the game that Marshall will likely play. But there is another injury concern that Klatt believes could be huge for the Wolverines, as Max Bredeson was seen using crutches after suffering the injury on Saturday.

“Max Bredeson is a huge key to this offense. When you watch Michigan’s offense, you follow No. 44, and usually the ball gets to where No. 44 is,” Klatt said. “He’s a threat as a blocker — there’s not a lot of players you can say that about — and he’s a big key to their offense and someone they’ll miss if he’s not on the field when they face Ohio State next week.”

Ohio State isn’t exactly healthy either. The Buckeyes’ top two wide receivers, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, missed Saturday’s win over Rutgers. As a result, Ohio State wasn’t great on offense to start that game.

However, Ohio State was eventually able to pull out a 42-9 victory as Heisman candidate Julian Saine completed 13 of 19 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

With Ohio State looking every bit the team looking to win back-to-back titles at this point, a win in Saturday’s game over Michigan could come down to what the Buckeyes do, as opposed to what the Wolverines do. For that reason, Klatt believes Day’s message and Ohio State’s mentality are crucial heading into Saturday’s game.

“In the past years, you have heard a lot about fitness, [the] Game running and matching and things like that and not what he said [on Saturday]“And it’s ‘We’re going to focus on ourselves and be ourselves,’” Klatt said. “That vision he talked about was the exact vision that won the national championship a year ago. After their loss to Michigan, they focused on themselves – what are we and what do we do best?

So, for Ohio State, they’ll say to themselves, “Focus on us.” Focus on us. Focus on us.”

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