GAME MATCHUPSOURCED CFB RESEARCH
Big Ten / Big Ten · 2026

Ohio State vs Michigan

A sourced 2026 comparison of Ohio State and Michigan. Readable numbers, no betting predictions.

Metrics use completed games only. Missing source fields are shown as unavailable. Stored CFBD game-teams data for Ohio State (2026), fetched 2026-11-03T22:20:26.511Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD game-teams data for Michigan (2026), fetched 2026-11-03T21:20:57.512Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD season-stats data for Michigan (2026), fetched 2026-11-03T21:20:55.210Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD player-season data for Ohio State (2026), fetched 2026-10-29T02:05:23.668Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD player-season data for Michigan (2026), fetched 2026-10-29T02:05:22.567Z, was reused while refresh is pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD FBS games fetched 2026-11-03T22:44:14.596Z; refresh pending or unavailable. Stored CFBD FBS membership fetched 2026-11-03T22:44:14.586Z; refresh pending or unavailable.Source: CollegeFootballData API. Per-game averages use completed games with reported values; yards/play = total yards / (rushing + passing attempts); turnover margin = opponent turnovers minus team turnovers; third-down and red-zone rates = conversions / attempts when reported. Possession comparisons pair each offense with the opposing defense, not a predicted winner. Historical meetings cover the current and previous three seasons.Fetched 2026-10-23T19:23:08.551Z

Program A · Big Ten

Ohio State

6-2
VS
Program B · Big Ten

Michigan

5-3

Team comparison

Ohio State and Michigan, 2026 season
MetricOhio StateMichigan
Record wins65
Points Per Game PPG36.621.3
Points Allowed Per Game PPG15.516.4
Total Offense yds/g474.8316.4
Total Defense yds/g273.5250
Passing Yards/Game yds/g315.3178.4
Rushing Yards/Game yds/g159.5138
Third Down % %44.243.9
Red Zone % %Not availableNot available
Turnover Margin +/-2-4
Sacks total1117
Yards Per Play yds6.775.14

Highlighted values are the better side for that metric where a direction applies. Not available means no value was returned.

Unit against unit

Ohio State offense against Michigan defense
MeasureOffenseDefense
Scoring vs points allowed pts/g36.616.4
Offensive yards vs yards allowed yds/g474.8250
Offensive yards/play vs yards/play allowed yds/play6.774.3
Michigan offense against Ohio State defense
MeasureOffenseDefense
Scoring vs points allowed pts/g21.315.5
Offensive yards vs yards allowed yds/g316.4273.5
Offensive yards/play vs yards/play allowed yds/play5.144.47

Common opponents

Common opponents, 2026
OpponentOhio StateMichigan
IowaW 31–14L 19–20
IndianaW 19–15L 6–13

Recent results and games

Ohio State recent completed games
OpponentDateLocationResultScore
USCOct 31, 2026AwayL18–30
IndianaOct 17, 2026AwayW19–15
MarylandOct 10, 2026HomeW45–16
IowaOct 3, 2026AwayW31–14
IllinoisSep 26, 2026HomeW42–19
Michigan recent completed games
OpponentDateLocationResultScore
RutgersOct 31, 2026AwayW28–21
IndianaOct 24, 2026HomeL6–13
Penn StateOct 17, 2026HomeW21–18
MinnesotaOct 3, 2026AwayL14–20
IowaSep 26, 2026HomeL19–20

Head to head

Meetings recorded by CFBD and returned for this page
DateOhio State resultScore (Ohio State–Michigan)Location
Nov 29, 2025W27–9Away
Nov 30, 2024L10–13Home
Nov 25, 2023L24–30Away

Limited to the meetings CFBD recorded and returned here. This is not an official all-time series record.

Team strength

Ohio State strength ratings, 2026
MeasureValue
Opponent Strength (Elo Rating), completed schedule1,589.9
Remaining schedule strength1,753
Full schedule strength1,644.3
Conference Strength (Elo Rating)1,682.1
Opponent-adjusted offense (point-differential units)13.9
Opponent-adjusted defense (point-differential units)18.7
Opponent win pct76%
Opponent points for36
Opponent points against19.9
Home opponent strength1,278.8
Away opponent strength1,901
Neutral opponent strengthNot available

Coverage: 8 of 8 completed games rated; 4 of 4 remaining rated. 12 FBS and 0 FCS opponents. Values are Elo-scale ratings and point-differential units, not national ranks or forecasts.

Michigan strength ratings, 2026
MeasureValue
Opponent Strength (Elo Rating), completed schedule1,636
Remaining schedule strength1,752.3
Full schedule strength1,674.8
Conference Strength (Elo Rating)1,682.1
Opponent-adjusted offense (point-differential units)5.5
Opponent-adjusted defense (point-differential units)17.9
Opponent win pct69.9%
Opponent points for34.9
Opponent points against16.9
Home opponent strength1,704.7
Away opponent strength1,430
Neutral opponent strengthNot available

Coverage: 8 of 8 completed games rated; 4 of 4 remaining rated. 12 FBS and 0 FCS opponents. Values are Elo-scale ratings and point-differential units, not national ranks or forecasts.

Strength methodology

Elo is a team-strength rating named after its creator, Arpad Elo. Higher ratings generally indicate stronger teams.

As of2026-11-04T00:22:46.620Z
Season2026
SourceCollegeFootballData API
CFBD FBS games and FBS membership feed only; SP ratings are not used. A game is completed only when CFBD marks it completed, both scores are present, and kickoff plus an 8-hour safety buffer is strictly before the as-of time. Games starting at or after as-of are remaining; games in the safety window are excluded from both groups. Completed schedule strength averages each FBS opponent's pregame Elo for that matchup. Remaining schedule strength uses each scheduled FBS opponent's latest postgame Elo from an eligible completed game before as-of. Full schedule strength is the mean of rated completed and remaining FBS slots; ratedCompleted/ratedRemaining and FBS/FCS opponent counts expose partial coverage. FCS opponents are counted but never assigned Elo. Opponent record and points are computed from that opponent's completed schedule games before each encounter, excluding the encounter itself. Opponent-adjusted offense is team points minus opponent prior mean points allowed; opponent-adjusted defense is opponent prior mean points scored minus team points allowed. Conference strength is the mean latest eligible postgame Elo for conference members with such a rating; missing Elo is never imputed. Conference nonconference records count each completed FBS-vs-FBS cross-conference game once for each conference. Early-season/preseason CFBD Elo can reflect initialization rather than meaningful season results.

What the sourced data shows

  • Descriptive statistical lean: Ohio State (strong evidence; not a game-outcome prediction; CollegeFootballData API, 2026).
  • Points Per Game: Ohio State 36.6 PPG; Michigan 21.3 PPG (CollegeFootballData API, 2026).
  • Yards Per Play: Ohio State 6.77 yds; Michigan 5.14 yds (CollegeFootballData API, 2026).
  • Points Allowed Per Game: Ohio State 15.5 PPG; Michigan 16.4 PPG (CollegeFootballData API, 2026).
  • Yards per play allowed: Ohio State 4.47 yds/play; Michigan 4.3 yds/play (CollegeFootballData API, 2026).
  • Turnover margin per game: Ohio State 0.25 +/- per game; Michigan -0.5 +/- per game (CollegeFootballData API, 2026).
  • Completed schedule strength: Ohio State 1589.9 opponent pregame Elo; Michigan 1636 opponent pregame Elo (CollegeFootballData API, 2026).

Statements above come only from the returned data on this page. They are descriptive, not a prediction.

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