Michigan - Ohio State Game Predictions

So the game is tomorrow. I've been keeping my head down and trying to ignore the hype, but there's no avoiding it now. So I may as well weigh in with some silly predictions of my own. It seems the thing to do when you have a blog. Taking a page from Brian Cook at mgoblog (the best michigan sports blog on the net), I'll break it down to my fears, my hopes, and my predictions.

Five things I do not want to see

• Troy Smith repeatedly breaking containment. Let's face it, Smith has played great against Michigan over the years. I think Michigan's defense is playing faster and more "athletic" than in past years, but I still worry about containment.
• A Michigan defensive back slipping while defending Ted Ginn. That dude is scary fast; slip = touchdown.
• Michigan receivers playing dropsies on 3rd down. Please catch the ball, boys.
• Seeing Garret Rivas attempting lots of field goals. The red zone offense has sputtered a lot; we need touchdowns, not field goals.
  
• Henne throwing passes to linebackers. This has happened much less this year than last, but still happens.
  

Five things I would love to see

• Steve Breaston making plays on kick returns. Set the offense up well, Stevie B, short fields are wonderful things.
  
• David Harris stuck to Troy Smith like toilet paper stuck to one's shoe. Harris has played like a monster this season, we need another big game out of him.
  
• A (successful) long pass to Mario Manningham early. Gotta stretch that OSU defense and show them (and me) that Mario is healthy.
• A 100+ yard game out of Mike Hart. If he gets going, and the receivers can stretch the defense, I will feel much better.
  
• Consistent pressure from the defensive line alone. If we can pressure without blitzing, that frees up the linebackers to shadow Smith and cover the short stuff.

Five predictions

• Mike Hart has a good, but not spectacular, game. 80-90 yards or so.
• Two sacks by the Michigan defense.
• A special teams touchdown. Not sure which team gets this, though.
• A couple of trick plays by both teams. OSU's works; Michigan's doesn't.
• Final Score: 24-13, Ohio State.