Grab Your Popcorn: No. 6 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State To Clash For East Title
With both programs notching wins on Saturday, next Saturday's matchup in Ann Arbor between No. 6 Michigan and No. 4 Ohio State will officially decide the Big Ten East - and likely a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes took care of business earlier in the afternoon, destroying the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans by a score of 56-7. While the score looks bad as is, it could have been so much worse for Tucker and the Spartans. The Buckeyes took a 49-0 lead into the half, scoring almost at will against a Spartan secondary that is one of the worst in college football.
With the win, Ohio State moves to 10-1 on the season with full control of its own destiny. Ironically enough, Michigan faces the same reality.
The Wolverines took the stage at 3:30 pm for a road matchup with Maryland in College Park. The Wolverines took control from the very beginning and never looked back, cruising to a 59-18 victory.
Michigan was led by junior quarterback Cade McNamara, who finished the afternoon completing 21 of 28 for 296 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running back Hassan Haskins added 76 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, while true freshman Donovan Edwards hauled in 10 receptions for 170 yards and one touchdown.
With the win, Jim Harbaugh has reached 10 wins for the fourth time in his first seven seasons. Of course, its the record against Ohio State (0-5) that still takes center stage when it comes to the discussion surrounding Harbaugh's tenure in Ann Arbor. On Saturday, he'll have yet another opportunity to try and knock off the Buckeyes and to send the Wolverines to Indy -but we'll save that for another day.
For now, let's all just take some time to enjoy the fact that the college football Gods have smiled upon us. As far as the Big Ten conference is concerned, It all comes down to Michigan and Ohio State - as it should.