“The Game” goes down on Saturday, but with less stakes on one side. 

After several years of a College Football Playoff level game between Michigan and Ohio State, the Wolverines have cratered in a post National Championship hangover and are catching nearly three touchdowns at rival Ohio State, who is favored to win the National Championship. 

Michigan’s offense has been its weak point all season, but Colston Loveland has produced when healthy. Will he be able to fill up the stat sheet in this rivalry matchup? 

Meanwhile, look for a clean effort from the Ohio State offense who has a significant talent advantage in this one as it looks to secure a Big Ten title berth with veteran receiver Emeka Egbuka. 

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Emeka Egbuka OVER 54.5 Receiving Yards

Egbuka had a big outing against Indiana, who runs a ton of zone coverage, catching seven passes for 80 yards in the blowout victory. 

Michigan, like Indiana, runs most of its defense through zone coverage, which is where Egbuka thrives. 

The pass catcher sees his target share go up by more than five percent against zone coverage with a team high 27%. However, this number is up only four yards from last week despite the big outing. 

Give me the over here. 

Will Howard UNDER 11.5 Rushing Yards

The strength of the Michigan defense is on the defensive line this season, and Ohio State does have three preseason starters out on the offensive line. While I do think Ohio State can avoid too much havoc from the Wolverines to lose this game, I do think we can see a few sacks from the Michigan front seven, which of course will harm Howard’s rushing yard total. 

With a game likely against Oregon on deck with a win in this one, I believe the Buckeyes try to keep Howard clean and not run him too much. Howard had five rushes for -1 yards last week while taking a sack, I can see a similar rushing yard output here. 

Colston Loveland OVER 53.5 Receiving Yards

While I expect Michigan to struggle against an elite defense like Ohio State, Loveland has been the only consistent threat in this Wolverines offense that will likely need to throw at a high clip in this game. 

Ohio State changes up its coverages a lot, but Loveland is clearly the top target in this group, racking 84 targets on the season. He has at least double digit targets in four games already this season, and I can see similar volume in a game the team is its biggest underdog of the season. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Follow Reed on Twitter @ReedWallach and get all his college football bets on betstamp @rw33

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A report was issued from the National Weather Service on Friday at 1:29 a.m. EST for snow until 4 a.m. EST for Cass, St. Joseph and Berrien counties.

“Lake enhanced snow showers were causing light snow accumulations over some roads near and north of the Michigan border. Temperatures away from Lake Michigan have fallen several degrees below freezing. Some streets may develop patches of black ice where wet surfaces have frozen. If you are travelling early this morning, be prepared for snow covered and slippery roads,” says the weather service.