MY THOUGHTS.....Michigan

 

Ohio State lost to Michigan 30-24, which all but eliminated Ohio State’s hopes of making the four-team CFP.

An early interception thrown by QB Kyle McCord, which gave the Wolverines the ball at the 7-yard line, giving them an easy first touchdown, may have proven to be the difference.  He also threw a pick on Ohio State’s last-ditch drive of the game, but still managed to throw for 271 yards and Michigan’s defense, as other defenses, had trouble keeping up with Marvin Harrison Jr. as he hauled in five catches for 118 yards and a touchdown.  Cade Stover hauled in three and had a 32-yarder in which he dragged a couple of Wolverine defenders for extra yardage.  Emeka Egbuka hauled in three and had the other TD reception.  Michigan’s defense has been tough to run against all year and Saturday was no exception.  TreVeyon Henderson netted 60 yards and a touchdown, yet the Wolverines held him to a mere 3.2 yards per carry.  Chip Trayanum fared somewhat better, with a 6.1 average, yet only had six carries.  The inconsistency of the offensive line in run blocking, an issue all year, without a doubt, was the factor in the offense gaining a mere 107 yards on the ground and averaging less than four yards per carry.  To the offensive line’s credit, they limited Michigan’s defense to just one sack of Kyle McCord. 

Steele Chambers led the way for Ohio State’s defense with 13 tackles and Sonny Styles and Tommy Eichenberg both played well with seven stops apiece.  Ohio State’s defense gradually wore down in the second half.  Michigan was able to get at least five yards on each of their first down plays, which made their play-calling on second and third downs that much easier.  They did most of their damage on the ground; 122 out of their 156 rushing yards came in the second half.

Next year could be a defining season for Coach Ryan Day.  Although he’s 56-7 at Ohio State, the only current B1G coach to win a CFP game and play for a national title and has kept Ohio State within the top five programs in the country, he’s now 1-3 versus Michigan, (even though at least two of those games are likely to be vacated) 1-4 as an underdog, and 1-6 versus top five teams: the only win coming in the 2020 CFP against Clemson.

So, now, the Buckeyes will wait until next week to find out their bowl destination and opponent.