Paul Finebaum weighs in on Blake Corum injury ahead of Michigan vs Ohio State in The Game

The severity of Blake Corum‘s knee injury could make or break No. 3 Michigan‘s chances of defeating No. 2 Ohio State in 2022’s edition of The Game.

SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum added fuel to the fire, noting that an unhealthy Michigan team might be in for a long day in Columbus next weekend without the services of its Heisman Trophy candidate. He used the DEFCON levels to hammer his point home.

“My understanding of DEFCON is DEFCON 1 is the highest, so I’m going DEFCON 0. I think this is a tremendously important problem for them,” Finebaum said on SportsCenter Sunday morning. “I know that Jim Harbaugh said after the game that he could have gone back in it, but thank goodness the injury was not that severe. But it’s a problem especially knowing it’s going to be very cold in Columbus and the opposition is Ohio State.

“He needs to play at full strength, and if he does, I think that’s going to adversely affect Michigan and what’s only the biggest game of the millennium so far – or somebody told me that.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

The outcome of The Game could potentially spell the end of the either team’s College Football Playoff hopes, as the winner will go on to the Big Ten Championship game, while the loser will turn its attention right toward its bowl game and won’t have another chance to redeem themselves.

A victory over Ohio State would be a program-changing win for the Wolverines. While Michigan ousted the Buckeyes in 2021 and made the College Football Playoffs, the Wolverines had the unfortunate luck of battling eventual national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs, in the Orange Bowl and finished the season 12-2.

Both teams are undefeated going into The Game for the first time sine 2006 – No. 1 Buckeyes defeated the No. 2 Wolverines 42-39 in that classic matchup. Michigan hasn’t beat Ohio State in Columbus since 2000, and hasn’t won back-to-back matchups against the Buckeyes since 1999-2000.

The Game kicks off Saturday at noon ET live on FOX.