Michigan-Ohio State: Statistical head-to-head preview

The Buckeyes of Ohio State are so close to perfection they can taste it. Naturally standing between them and the best hope for 2012 they could've possibly mustered is the much hated Michigan Wolverines. Michigan, while eliminated from the Big Ten Leaders Division championship race, could still very conceivably play their way into BCS at large bowl consideration with a win on the road in the hostile confines of Ohio Stadium.

In order to asset how things might play out this Saturday afternoon, we take a look how these teams matchup objectively from a statistical perspective. A few quick odds and ends from what we noticed from this exercise:

• Ohio State's pretty clearly got the much better offense. It's not a total surprise, but given how much Michigan's struggled in run defense (as well as getting to the quarterback), that could play a pretty pivotal role in deciding how this game plays out.
• In spite of their inability to get to the quarterback on a pass rush, Michigan's tackles for a loss are pretty daunting cumulatively. If they can stay true to their numbers on Saturday, it could be a long afternoon for Braxton Miller, Carlos Hyde, and the Ohio State offense.
• Remember when Ohio State was good at punting? /le sigh
• Devin Gardner's been an absolute beast on third down conversions, but even before he took the reigns, the Wolverines were extremely efficient in that regard. If Ohio State can force the Wolverines into punting situations (and keep them from living up to their billing from that standpoint), it'll go along way from determining the outcome.

Without further adieu, here are how the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes stack up:

Advantage	Conf	National	Actual	Category	Actual	National	Conf
	Rank	Rank				Rank	Rank
	5th	36th	194.55	Rushing Offense	245.45	9th	2nd
	6th	97th	200.5	Passing Offense	180.8	103rd	8th
	5th	68th	395.1	Total Offense	426.3	45th	3rd
	3rd	47th	30.8	Scoring Offense	38.2	17th	1st
	6th	52nd	151.36	Rushing Defense	116.82	17th	3rd
	7th	29th	116.6	Pass Efficiency Defense	116.1	28th	6th
	1st	1st	152.1	Pass Defense	250.1	8th	11th
	3rd	12th	303.5	Total Defense	366.9	39th	7th
	3rd	17th	18.1	Scoring Defense	23.0	34th	5th
	10th	99th	15	Sacks	26	30th	3rd
	4th	53rd	65	Tackles for Loss	57	79th	8th
	10th	94th	-6	Turnover Margin	+1	55th	5th
	5th	54th	9.29	Punt Returns	10.87	28th	2nd
	4th	52nd	22.25	Kickoff Returns	19.67	91st	7th
	3rd	49th	41.59	Punting	38.78	105th	8th
	1st	16th	11	Sacks Allowed	25	90th	11th
	1st	7th	52.08%	3rd Down Conversions	43.45%	45th	4th