COLUMBUS, Ohio — What happened before this Saturday is irrelevant. Throw out the records, the statistics, the position by position grades. They mean nothing when it comes to this.
Not only is it the greatest rivalry in sport, but it's also once again two of the nation's top teams playing for a potential playoff spot and who will represent the Big Ten East in the championship game in Indianapolis.
We all know what's at stake every year, so without any more delay here are 10 Things To Know.
- C.J. Stroud has more five-touchdown passing games in his career (4) against Big Ten Conference teams than any other Buckeye.
- Chris Olave has caught a touchdown pass in eight consecutive games, all wins, and ranks second in the nation with 13 TD receptions.
- This is the 117th meeting between Ohio State and That Team Up North and the most games vs. another opponent for each.
- The Buckeyes and Wolverines will be meeting for the 24th time, and the third consecutive game, with both teams ranked in the AP Top 10. Ohio State leads in those meetings, 12-9-2.
- TTUN leads 58-51-6 in wins, but Ohio State is 16-3 since 2000.
- The Wolverines won nine consecutive from 1901-09 for the longest win streak in the series. The Buckeyes have won eight consecutive in this series.
- Ohio State and TTUN have split the last 20 games played in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes are 24-31-4 all-time in games played in Ann Arbor.
- The Wolverines are 10-1 this season with its only loss coming on Oct. 30 at Michigan State, 37-33.
- TTUN boasts one of the nation’s best defenses with numerous Top 10 rankings including in total (306.6), passing yards allowed (178.4) and scoring (16.3) defense.
- The Ohio State/TTUN game has been decided by one score 40 times. Each team owns 20 wins in those games.