Urban Meyer highlights his greatest concern for Michigan, Ohio State as ‘The Game’ looms

There are two weeks before Michigan and Ohio State meet for The Game. Ahead of that game, former Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer highlighted his concerns for both Michigan and Ohio State ahead of their meeting.

On Urban’s Take with Tim May, Meyer explained that neither team has played a difficult strength of schedule, leaving questions about how they’ll handle a tough opponent and making this a much more important game.

“The concern is that the Big Ten is not good this year,” Urban Meyer said. “The Big Ten, the bottom half of the Big Ten, normally you have Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa is good defensively. But usually, you’ve got those teams and you’ve got a Minnesota or a Nebraska that’s a really good team. They’re not.”

Ultimately, when it comes to the College Football Playoff, the weak Big Ten schedule leaves very little room for error. A loss could eliminate either team from the Playoff, especially given how competitive the field is overall this season.

“It’s not a good league this year. So, you’ve got two teams at the top. Penn State turned out to be, everyone was excited about them, but they don’t look like they’re on the same par as the other two teams. So, it’s back to the Big Two and Little Eight. When I grew up, that’s what everybody said, and it’s the top two teams.”

One thing that Urban Meyer is interested to see is how Michigan’s offensive line holds up against Ohio State. The Wolverines ran it down Penn State’s throat, but they also struggled in pass protection.

“Now, what happens when two sledgehammers collide? Ohio State has had two of them, Notre Dame and Penn State. The Wolverines have had one, Penn State,” Meyer said.

“So, and Penn State, if you watched that game closely, the right tackle for the Wolverines really got worked over early in that game. They ran the ball 32 straight times like you said, and I kind of heard because they were struggling to drop back pass. You are not gonna be able to run 32 times again. Certainly not against the Buckeyes and certainly not in the Playoff. So, they better make sure that offensive line is equipped to handle some of these good pass rushers coming up.”

Tom Brady makes bet with CJ Stroud over The Game

Both Ohio State and Michigan have produced numerous excellent quarterbacks in the NFL. That includes players like the legendary Tom Brady and premier rookie CJ Stroud.

Ahead of The Game, Brady is confident in his Michigan Wolverines. In fact, he’s so confident that he jokingly bet one of his Super Bowl rings on it.

“Alright so, we got a bet,” Brady said. “So, if Ohio State wins . . . you get one of my Super Bowl rings. And if Michigan beats Ohio State, then you got to give me all your youth, your agility, your time in the 40 and all your future years in the NFL. How about that?” 

Stroud was in, saying, “That’s a bet.”

Obviously, the two quarterbacks were just having some fun. At the same time, it would be hilarious to see one of them try and collect on it.