Five things: Ohio State at Michigan

COLUMBUS, Ohio — We look at critical areas and key players, as No. 3 Ohio State heads to Michigan for The Game in hopes of keeping pace in the BCS standings and trying to wrap up another perfect regular season (ABC, noon).

Miller moment: The Wolverines haven’t had much to rely on consistently, but one area where they’ve largely succeeded this season is slowing down opponents on the ground. They’re likely going to do everything they can to keep Carlos Hyde, Braxton Miller and the nation’s sixth-best rushing attack from beating them, and against a veteran offensive line and those dynamic runners, that’s likely going to take an extra defender or two in the box. That approach helped hold the Buckeyes to 26 points in 2012, but Miller is a different quarterback than he was as a sophomore. He may need to prove it with his arm a few times to keep the Wolverines honest. The junior might also find his way back in the Heisman Trophy conversation if the combination of his right arm and his legs put up more big numbers in yet another win.

Silver bullet: All the Buckeyes had to do was let Ryan Shazier off his chain. Since turning the junior linebacker loose more often as a blitzer and finding different spots to line him up closer to the line of scrimmage, Shazier has been an absolute nightmare for opposing offenses, which can’t seem to keep him out of the backfield. Over the past four games, Shazier has piled up an eye-popping 11.5 tackles for loss, but that doesn’t even completely capture how disruptive he’s been. Shazier has to be accounted for on every play, and that’s opening up opportunities elsewhere for defensive linemen like Noah Spence, Michael Bennett and Joey Bosa to wreak some havoc. Those Buckeyes will be drooling after watching film all week of a Michigan offensive line that has given up more tackles for loss than any team in the country.

Continue reading this article at ESPN: Five things: Ohio State at Michigan