COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes jumped LSU to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings with two weeks to go before selection Sunday.
LSU slipped to two and Clemson remained No. 3 while Georgia held on at four. If playoff history holds form, three of those top four teams will reach the semifinals.
Those rankings are not what is occupying the thoughts of players and coaches at Ohio State and Michigan as the two teams get ready for their annual tilt.
“The respect I have for the rivalry is off the charts. It’s one of the reasons that makes it so special to be at Ohio State,” Buckeye head coach Ryan Day said in his weekly news conference.
Anticipating his first Michigan game as Ohio State’s head coach, Day says he knows how important the game is to fans and to his job security.
“It’s not secret that part of your job evaluation as head coach at Ohio State is how you do in this game, we all know that. So, when you take the job you understand that. You could win them all and then not win this game an you’d feel like it’s a disappointment, And, I get that, I embrace it,” he said.
At Michigan, Jim Harbaugh’s job is safe whether his team beats Ohio State or falls to 0-5 in what has become a one-sided series.
Harbaugh is more likely to get a contract extension than a pink slip even if the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines for the 15th time in 16 years and a victory would sure provide a boost for Harbaugh and college football’s winningest program.
It’s not like the rivalry between the No. 1 and No. 2 most successful teams in the FBS hasn’t been lop-sided at other times in its history: This season marks the 100th anniversary of Ohio State’s fist victory over Michigan, which won the first 15 games of the series, from 1897 to 1919.
Three players from the two teams were honored by the Big Ten following their penultimate regular-season games.
Ohio State running back J.K. and Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson shared Co-offensive Player of the Week honors and Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young named the conference’s Defensive Playor of the Week.
Patterson threw for 366 yards and five touchdowns in the Wolverines’ victory at Indiana, becoming the first quarterback in school history with five touchdown passes in regulation and at least four touchdown passes in consecutive games.
Dobbins rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Penn State, which entered the game with the nation’s No. 4 rush defense. He passed Eddie George for third place on Ohio State’s career rushing list with 3,902 yards and needs just 60 yards to pass Ezekiel Elliott for second.
Young, returning from a two-game suspension, recorded three sacks against Penn State, setting the school single-season record with 16.5 and moving into fourth place in Big Ten history. The junior finished the game with a career-high nine tackles, including five solo stops, four tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
The quarterbacks in this year’s version of The Game are poster boys for the NCAA transfer portal.
The Buckeyes are riding Justin Fields, a Georgia transfer who has them undefeated and likely headed for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson is playing his best football of the year for Michigan as the Wolverines enjoy a four-game winning streak.