Rival Views: King of the Big Ten

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate which team is the best in the Big Ten.

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I’m going to be called crazy by some, but I’m going with Michigan over Ohio State right now. Does that mean I think the Wolverines will beat the Buckeyes in late November when they play in Columbus? Ask me in a month or so.

So why do I think the Wolverines are a better team than Ohio State right now in the Big Ten? It comes down to defense, experience and leadership. While Ohio State clearly has the more talented roster as Urban Meyer just continues to re-load in recruiting, the defense of Michigan is better and they have more senior playmakers that won’t panic if things go wrong.

Ohio State is No. 3 in the country in total defense while Michigan is No. 5, but the Wolverines have played the tougher teams and are earning valuable experience in some tight games. No, I’m not talking about Rutgers this past weekend, that was a joke, but wins over Colorado, Penn State and especially Wisconsin so far impress me more than the Buckeyes' win over Oklahoma, a team that is clearly struggling defensively and not playing at the level they should.

Michigan has senior leaders like Jehu Chesson, Amara Darboh and Jake Butt as well as the likes of Chris Wormley, Ryan Glasgow, Ben Gedeon and of course Jourdan Lewis on defense. And the leadership of Jabrill Peppers is hard to match.

Ohio State is one of the youngest teams in college football and a few of the things I saw this past weekend against Indiana made me think someone could knock them off this season. Maybe it won’t be Michigan, as Wisconsin, Nebraska and Michigan State all loom before the Wolverines, but right now I’m going with the leadership and experience at Michigan over sheer, raw talent at Ohio State.

Sorry to the Team Up North, but Ohio State remains the best team in the Big Ten and until Michigan can beat the Buckeyes, it has to be that way.

Let’s remember Michigan has had one major competitor so far this season in Wisconsin and slipped by, 14-7, a couple weeks ago. Plus, quarterback Wilton Speight has put up nice numbers, but other than the Badgers, he hasn’t been tested at all this season.

Michigan is a nice turnaround story and definitely in contention for a bid to the College Football Playoff, but that spot goes through Ohio State on Nov. 26 and it definitely won’t be easy.

We should also remember that last season – with all the hype around first-year coach Jim Harbaugh – Urban Meyer brought the Buckeyes to Ann Arbor and left with a 42-13 win and a lot of bragging rights.

Michigan is much better than last season, but Ohio State is still the best in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes are averaging more than 53 points per game, Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel are dynamic in the run game, quarterback J.T. Barrett is a huge threat throwing and running and the wide receivers are super talented.

This is a young defense, but they’re hungry, competitive like Meyer’s teams tend to be and they’re flying all over the field. Oklahoma might be down this season, but it says something that Ohio State went in there and pulverized the Sooners.

I suspect the buildup to the Ohio State-Michigan game will be great and there will be so much discussion about how both teams might deserve a bid to the Final Four. I also suspect the Buckeyes will handle their business again and win the game.