Michigan has beaten Ohio State just twice since Jim Tressel‘s debut season of 2001 and has never beaten an Urban Meyer-coached Buckeyes team. This year’s game happens to be in Columbus, where the maize and blue have not won since 2000.
Still, the Wolverines are favored to end those streaks this year. They’re ranked higher than Ohio State in every major poll, and Las Vegas established them as a 4.5-point favorite. They also have this: the personal guarantee of running back Karan Higdon.
“Yeah, I do,” Higdon said, in a video tweeted by Toledo Blade writer Kyle Rowland. “That how I feel. I believe firmly in my brothers, and this team, and this coaching staff, and as a captain, I’ll take that stand. Why not?”
Karan Higdon guarantees a Michigan win over Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/xWNzj3K2rp
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) November 19, 2018
Higdon, a senior, is part of a resurgent offense that makes Michigan a solid favorite in this game. He’s rushed for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns. Combined with the Wolverines’ clearly superior defense, the signs point to the conclusion that Michigan should beat Ohio State for the first time since 2011, thereby clinching the program’s first trip to the Big Ten Championship and putting them on the doorstep of their first College Football Playoff trip.
Which all leads to one question: What’s going to happen in Ann Arbor if they don’t win?