MY THOUGHTS.....MICHIGAN

                          On Saturday, the Ohio State Buckeyes put together their best game of the year in knocking the stuffing out of Michigan 42-13.  It was Ohio State’s largest margin of victory in Ann Arbor since 1961 and fourth-largest in the past 50 years.  It was also Ohio State’s 13^th victory in 15 games in the 21^st Century making this the most one-sided rivalry in the country behind only Navy’s dominance of Army in this decade.

It’s hard to find an adjective to describe Ohio State’s offensive output against a Michigan defense which entered Saturday as the No. 2-ranked defense in the country, allowing just 263.1 yards and 14.9 points per game. The Buckeyes were dominant, overwhelming, and unstoppable, piling up 482 total yards, including 369 on the ground, and 42 points.  On offense, there were plenty of accolades to go around, as they took advantage of Michigan miscues on the defensive side of the ball throughout the game.  Perhaps the biggest Michigan miscue was the roughing-the-punter in the first quarter that jump-started Ohio State.  Two plays later, Ezekiel Elliot ran for 66 yards and two plays after that, J.T. Barrett ran it in for the first score of the game.  The Michigan defense simply had no answer for Barrett and Elliot, as Elliott became the third Ohio State back in the last nine games (Chris Wells in 2007, Carlos Hyde in 2013) to rush for over 200 yards in The Game.  Barrett added 139 on the ground and was 9 of 15 passing for 113 yards and a touchdown toss to Jalin Marshall that was as perfect a throw as I’ve seen.  Much has been made about offensive coordinator Ed Warriner moving from the sideline to the press box, where he called plays alongside quarterbacks coach Tim Beck.  It paid off, as I noticed Ohio State ran uptempo to finish off drives as Michigan’s defense had trouble adjusting to the gap zone and gap scheme plays being thrown at them.  

Halftime adjustments, particularly on the defensive side of the ball were paramount in this game.  Michigan threw all over Ohio State in the first half as quarterback Jake Rudock completed 14 of his 24 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown. The Wolverines converted 8-of-11 third-down attempts as the Buckeyes had trouble getting pressure on Rudock as he comfortably found receivers running free.  But most of that changed in the second half for Ohio State as it started to make Rudock feel uncomfortable and eventually knocked him out of the game when Joey Bosa delivered a huge hit on a sack in the fourth quarter. In the second half, Michigan managed just 138 yards of total offense, 133 of which came through the air. The Wolverines converted just 1-of-8 third-down attempts in the second half.  The Wolverines were never able to find traction in the run game, and I noticed the Buckeyes brought more pressure on Rudock on second and third downs.  Joey Bosa was the player of the game on the defensive side of the ball.  He finished with only three tackles and two quarterback hurries, but he manhandled the Wolverine offensive line all game long.  His sack knocked Rudock out of the game and he showed his athleticism with his fourth-quarter tip and interception of Michigan’s backup QB Wilton Speight in which he nearly scored.

Penn State was unable to do the Buckeyes a favor, so Ohio State’s string of three consecutive outright division titles comes to an end.  So, they await their bowl destination, which should be announced on Sunday December 6.  

Finally, it should be noted the only reason Michigan has the overall edge in the rivalry is due simply because Michigan started playing football earlier (1879) than Ohio State (1890), their program was further along in the beginning.  As a result, Michigan won 13 of the first 15 games played (the other two were ties).  Let’s take a closer look, however:
Since 1916 (100 years): OSU 47, Michigan 46, 4 ties
Since 1941 (75 games): OSU 38, Michigan 33, 4 ties
Since 1966 (50 games): OSU 26, Michigan 22, 2 ties
Since 1991 (25 games): OSU 15. Michigan 9, 1 tie
21^st Century: OSU 13, Michigan 2