Michigan Wolverines

College football odds: Michigan road underdog at Ohio State in top matchup

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Michigan Wolverines are 6-1 straight up and 3-4 against the spread in their last seven games on the road. The Wolverines can earn a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game with a road win on Saturday against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Michigan is a 6.5-point road underdog in Columbus at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In their last 12 games against the Buckeyes, the Wolverines are 3-9 ATS with just one outright win.

Through the first nine games of the 2016 season, Michigan looked virtually unstoppable with a 9-0 SU and 5-4 ATS record with an average margin of victory of 37.3 points per game. But over the Wolverines' last two games, Michigan has averaged just 16.5 points per game with a 1-1 SU and 0-2 ATS record.

The Wolverines will lean heavily on a defense that ranks best in the nation in total yards per game (246) and total points per game (10.9) this Saturday.

The Wolverines were favored in each of their previous seven road games. In its last 11 games as a road underdog, Michigan is 1-10 SU and 4-7 ATS per the OddsShark College Football Database.

Ohio State has scored 42 points in each of its last three games against Michigan, including last season's 42-13 road win over the Wolverines. After beating Nebraska and Maryland by matching 62-3 scores, Ohio State's offense stalled in last Saturday's 17-16 road win over Michigan State.

Michigan isn't the only team in this game with an elite defense; the Buckeyes rank fourth in the nation in yards per game against (280) and third in scoring defense allowing 13 points per game. The Buckeyes are 6-2 ATS in their last eight Week 13 games.

The total on Saturday is set at 45.5 points on the college football betting lines. The OVER is 11-4 in Michigan's last 15 games against Big Ten opponents.

Ohio State and Michigan enter this Saturday as two of the top three teams in the College Football Playoff rankings, but only one will survive this showdown. The Buckeyes have won 11 of their last 12 games against Michigan, but this will be the toughest Wolverines team that Ohio State has faced since both teams were ranked in the Top 2 back in 2006.

This article originally appeared on