It’s time for war.

The LL Cool J song wasn’t playing at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday as it used to during the Urban Meyer years, but the message could still be heard loud and clear as Ryan Day and four of Ohio State’s top leaders met with the media four days ahead of The Game. The Buckeyes’ confidence entering this year’s rivalry game appears very real, but Ohio State isn’t overlooking the Wolverines despite their 6-5 record.

We share their confidence and believe Ohio State will end its three-game losing streak against the team up north on Saturday, but we also aren’t taking the Wolverines lightly. While Ohio State holds most of the advantages in the matchup on paper, Michigan will test the Buckeyes in the trenches – at least with its defensive line vs. Ohio State’s offensive line – and that’s usually where this game is decided.

We share our thoughts on where we see Ohio State having the advantage and where we see the Buckeyes being challenged in this matchup and make our predictions for how The Game will play out on this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays. We also have some Thanksgiving week fun at the end of the show by building our ideal Thanksgiving plates (with plenty of football analogies from Dan).

The full rundown for this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:07 Andy’s Personal Thoughts on What Makes the Ohio State/Michigan Rivalry So Special
• 4:38 This Game Means Everything to Ohio State, and Ryan Day Clearly Understands That Now
• 8:42 Buckeyes Are Approaching This Game As A War
• 10:50 Ohio State Seemingly Views Michigan As A Bigger Threat Than Indiana Was Last Week
• 13:20 Controlling the Line of Scrimmage is Michigan’s Road Map to Victory
• 15:55 Both Defensive Lines Have the Edge Over Each Other’s Offensive Lines
• 23:02 Ohio State’s Defense Should Dominate If It Can Take Away Michigan’s Offensive Strengths
• 27:43 Will Howard Proving He’s One of Nation’s Best QBs and He Understands The Rivalry
• 34:37 Jack Sawyer, Jeremiah Smith, Arvell Reese Among Players to Watch in The Game
• 38:06 Score Predictions for The Game
• 39:56 Building Our Ideal Thanksgiving Plates