🕒 It’s Time For Jim Harbaugh To Deliver

Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game is going to get spicy, and Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t have it any other way. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS]( In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Jim Harbaugh has a chance to get the defining win of his Michigan coaching legacy ... we take a look at why NFL scouts will flock to Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game ... are we are treated to a slow-mo video of the Buffalo Bills eating some well-deserved turkey. The hype is here, it’s rarely been bigger, and Jim Harbaugh is buying into it. No nonsense about this just being another game, no blathering pretense about staying calm and treating things as a normal week. Harbaugh said in July that Michigan was going to beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten title or “die trying.” Well, Michigan’s head coach is not backing off now. ‘’It’s here,” he told reporters this week. “It’s happening.” The stakes are monumental this Saturday, for all kinds of reasons. The first, most obviously, is just because it’s “The Game,” one of the most storied rivalries in sports. The next is that it’s essentially a play-in tussle for a position in the Big Ten Championship and a virtual eliminator for a potential spot in the College Football Playoff. [STORY IMAGE 1] There really isn’t much need for the elaborate commercials for this clash at the Big House (12 p.m. ET on FOX), not when you’ve got a built-in hype man who has been setting the stage for this slugfest for months. All the way back in spring practice, Harbaugh changed the name of a Michigan training drill to “Beat Ohio” and made zero attempt to keep it a secret. So yeah, it’s going to get spicy. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. Because, for Harbaugh, there’s more up for grabs than the Big Ten East title and the opportunity to extend the season (plus bragging rights). “A lot on the line,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a true playoff in that sense. In the College Football Playoff world, this is the start of the playoffs. The team that wins will advance. The team that doesn’t won’t. It’s that, and it’s also the big game, The Game, the rivalry.” [STORY IMAGE 2] It’s time to deliver Jim, because here comes your moment. One chance to make all that ugly history of never beating the Buckeyes as Michigan’s coach seem that much less significant. One shot at providing the defining win of your Wolverines legacy, one tilt to make everyone feel like, despite some ups and downs and frustrations, that you were the right hire after all back in 2015. And every reason to believe with totality that a triumph in Ann Arbor would have the delicious dual effect of bouncing Michigan into the CFP top-four rankings at just the right time while bumping their hated foe just outside it. Harbaugh’s contract was altered drastically when it expired at the end of last season, heavily cutting his guaranteed pay in favor of a year-to-year arrangement seen by many as a kind of “prove it or lose it” ultimatum. [STORY IMAGE 3]( Michigan has been good enough this season that he should be given another chance regardless of what happens this weekend, especially coming off a 59-18 win over Maryland last week. However, you feel like Harbaugh’s pride could scarcely survive yet another loss to Ohio State, not after five defeats for him and eight straight (as well as 15 of 16) for the program. Not after the embarrassment of last season, which finished 2-4 and the sneers of derision that they’d ducked the Buckeyes – despite the real reason for the rivalry game’s cancellation being COVID-19 disruption. Ohio State is listed at -7.5 with [FOX Bet](. The Buckeyes were particularly emphatic last weekend, crushing the souls of Michigan State and sending the strongest possible signal of intent. Behind coach Ryan Day and quarterback C.J. Stroud, the Buckeyes have won nine straight and, far from being bothered by Harbaugh’s big talk, you get the sense they’re kind of enjoying it. “We always have one eye on them, it’s just the way we do business,” Day said. “We certainly don’t need extra motivation for games like this.” [STORY IMAGE 4] Many are calling this the most important college football game of the season. It is, according to FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, “sucking all the air out of college football - and rightly so.” No argument here. It’s a blockbuster, a heavyweight tussle, a showdown for the ages and one not to miss. Wait a minute, I’m starting to sound like a hype man. Let’s leave that to Harbaugh. [STORY IMAGE 5]( Hands Off Cleaning Power sponsored content [The Roborock S4 Max]( is the definition of hands-off. The smart vacuum has the technology to map up to four floors of your home, knowing exactly where it can and can’t go during each clean. You can set it and forget it, trusting that the Roborock S4 Max will vacuum your entire home, carefully avoiding No-Go Zones created in an easy-to-use app. [The Roborock S4 Max’s]( 2000Pa of suction power works just as efficiently on carpets as it does on hardwood, boosting suction power to Max mode when it detects it’s hit the carpet. With a simple scheduling feature, you can tell your [Roborock S4 Max]( to clean the kids’ rooms every weekday after they head to school and have it sweep under the table each night post-dinner, while having the flexibility to manually start it after a big kitchen spill. Take 34% off the Roborock S4 Max through 11/29! [IN OTHER WORDS] - Both Ohio State and Michigan are loaded with NFL talent, so [FOX Sports NFL Draft expert Rob Rang says scouts will flock to “The Game.”]( - The Rams redid their roster after last season’s playoff loss to Green Bay. On Sunday, Sean McVay will learn if the changes worked. [FOX Sports NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks has the story](. - After Gonzaga dominated UCLA, [FOX Sports College Basketball Analyst Andy Katz has a new set of college hoops tiers]( with four teams making the cut at each level. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills put on a passing clinic en route to a commanding 31-6 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving Day. Allen passed for 260 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to TE Dawson Knox, who joined Allen following the game for a well-deserved Thanksgiving turkey leg. Check out this slo-mo video, which shows Allen and Knox, along with Stefon Diggs and Jordan Poyer, enjoying some turkey. This is great content. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Duke Blue Devils vs. Gonzaga (ESPN, 10:30 p.m. ET) Paolo Banchero and the No. 5-ranked Duke Blue Devils take on Chet Holmgren and the No. 1-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. Ohio State at Michigan (Saturday, FOX, 12 p.m. ET) C.J. Stroud and the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes battle Aidan Hutchinson and the No. 5-ranked Michigan Wolverines in a Big Ten clash. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (Saturday, ABC, 7:30 p.m. ET) Caleb Williams leads the No. 10-ranked Oklahoma Sooners into Stillwater to take on Spencer Sanders and the No. 7-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET) Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts. Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET) Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams battle Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts: Colts +3 From FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd: Carson Wentz under duress is prone to mistakes, so a lot will depend on the pass rush Tampa Bay can get on Wentz. But my feeling is, I would take the Colts and the points. Good home team and their defense gave a lot of problems to (Buffalo quarterback) Josh Allen. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Nothing that comes easy is worth a dime.” - Woody Hayes [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900