There’s still well over a month until Michigan squares off against Ohio State on Nov. 30 in Columbus, but that doesn’t mean the two rivals aren’t hate-watching each other from week to week. With the Wolverines on a bye week, there’s no question that plenty of Maize and Blue faithful will be tuned in on Saturday night to watch the No. 2 Buckeyes take on No. 3 Oregon – and they’re all hoping for the same outcome.

As he was preparing to head out west to cover the big time Big Ten matchup, former Michigan offensive lineman Taylor Lewan pretty much said what every other Michigan football fan is thinking ahead of Saturday.

“Before out flight took off this morning, Ohio State fans were doing their dumb chants,” Lewan wrote. “I pray to whatever God is out there they get their hearts broken this weekend. Go Ducks.”

For the Buckeyes, this will be their first real test of the 2024 season. After beating up on a handful of MAC schools (including Michigan State) and playing one good half of football against Iowa, their fan base seems to believe they are unstoppable. While there’s no doubt that the roster is loaded with talent, we’re all eager to see what Ohio State looks like on the road in a tough environment against a formidable opponent.

And yes, we’re all Ducks fans this weekend.

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Donald Trump confidently touted to attendees at the Detroit Economic Club luncheon on Thursday that he was named the “Man of the Year” by the county’s Republican Party in 2013. The only problem is that he was not, and the newspaper clipping he brought to prove it had to issue a correction over it.

The former president seemed determined to set the record straight about a long-running dispute that he falsely claims he was named “Man of the Year” by Michigan in 2013.

For years, Trump has asserted Michigan once bestowed him the honor. Multiple news outlets, including the New York Times, have fact-checked the assertion and determined no such award exists and Trump was never given it.

But the former president said that was “fake news” and “quite insulting” on Thursday evening.

So he pulled out the only piece of evidence his team could muster about the claim, a 2023 article from the Oakland Press that said Trump was once named “Man of the Year” at the Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day dinner.

Hours later, the Oakland Press issued a correction at the top of the article clarifying that they incorrectly stated Trump was named “Man of the Year” in 2013.

“Trump was the keynote speaker at the 2013 dinner in Novi, which drew a record crowd. He was not honored as Man of the Year. During the 2023 dinner, Trump was honored as the Man of the Decade which was reported in the 2023 story,” the editors’ note read.

The correction seems to be the culmination of an eight-year saga in which Trump has bragged about winning the Michigan “Man of the Year” at least 20 times while in office, during the 2020 presidential cycle and again during this current presidential campaign.

It was only in 2023 that the Oakland County Republican Party gave Trump his first “Man of the Decade” award – which was already at least seven years since the former president began claiming he won “Man of the Year.”

The Independent has asked the Trump campaign for comment.

Following a 27-17 loss at Washington last Saturday, Michigan’s odds at winning a fourth consecutive Big Ten championship have plummeted.

While the No. 24 Wolverines (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) have only dropped one Big Ten game so far this season, upcoming matchups against No. 3 Oregon (Nov. 2) and No. 2 Ohio State (Nov. 30) are daunting, to say the least. Furthermore, Michigan will face two more currently-ranked opponents this season in No. 23 Illinois (Oct. 19) and No. 18 Indiana (Nov. 9).

Something that wouldn’t have been fathomable for the fanbases of either the Wolverines or the Hoosiers leading up to the 2024 season is the fact that Michigan is now considered less likely to win the Big Ten this fall than Indiana midway through the year. According to FanDuel, the Wolverines’ odds to win the conference title sit at +5500, while the Hoosiers’ odds (+2000) have steadily climbed during their 6-0 start.

This is a stunning turnaround from where oddsmakers had these teams in the Big Ten pecking order entering this season. FanDuel’s preseasons odds listed Michigan (+460) the third-most likely to win the conference, while Indiana (+30000) was tied with Purdue for the worst odds to win the Big Ten prior to the season.

Both the Wolverines and Hoosiers are led by first-year head coaches at their respective programs. However, while Indiana’s Curt Cignetti brought 13 years of head coaching experience to Bloomington, Michigan’s Sherrone Moore has been handed the keys to a program for the first time in his young career.

Moore had both the benefit and the curse of taking over a program that had just won three consecutive Big Ten titles and a national championship. While a certain level of drop off was expected for the Wolverines, following the loss of nearly 20 players and their entire defensive coaching staff to the NFL, Michigan’s level of regression has been surprising nonetheless after the program’s great success in recent years. The Wolverines’ offense is among the worst in all of college football, while their defense has fallen woefully short of preseason expectations.

Cignetti, meanwhile, has led the Hoosiers to their first 6-0 start since 1967, the last year in which Indiana won a Big Ten championship in football. Cignetti and the Hoosiers have no doubt benefitted from a light schedule so far, as their first six opponents have a combined record of 13-19, but what he’s done with a program coming off a 3-9 record in 2023 deserves a hat tip. Michigan and Indiana will meet in Bloomington on Nov. 9, with the Wolverines’ leading the all-time series, 62-10.

FanDuel lists Ohio State (-115) as the clear favorite to win the Big Ten, but the Buckeyes face their stiffest challenger this weekend in a road game at Oregon (+230). That pair is followed closely by Penn State (+450), with a wide gap separating the Nittany Lions from Indiana, and another gap between the Hoosiers and Michigan.

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