Hail to the Victors! For the third season in a row, Michigan proved to be superior to Ohio State. It was a tight game from start to finish, but ultimately, Michigan's defense sealed the victory with a good pass rush by Jaylen Harrell and an interception by Ohio native Rod Moore. This was perhaps the most satisfying win of the three straight wins vs. the Buckeyes, because all the excuses for Ohio State were stripped away - there was no snow, there was no Connor Stalions, and there wasn't even a Jim Harbaugh. Both teams were (relatively) healthy. And Michigan came out on top.
Hit the jump for more.
I hate Ryan Day. Ryan Day is a good coach. These two things are not mutually exclusive. I do not like Ryan Day. I think he's a poser, from his beard and his hair to the way he behaves in front of the press to how he acts with his team. He's kind of a dork. He went after Lou Holtz following the win against what turned out to be a 9-3 Notre Dame team, because Holtz said OSU wasn't a tough team. Why is the head coach of Ohio State worried about Lou Holtz says? That's insecurity. Also, Day coaches for Ohio State, so the hatred is built in. But Day is 39-3 against Big Ten opponents and 56-7 overall. His only three losses in the conference have been to a very good Michigan football team. He trained C.J. Stroud, who's the best rookie QB in the NFL this season. He trained Marvin Harrison, Jr., who's the best WR in college football. And if we're being honest, Day did something very similar to what Jim Harbaugh did. When Harbaugh couldn't beat Ohio State with Don Brown as defensive coordinator, he made a change defensively and hired Mike Macdonald and then Jesse Minter. Harbaugh committed to the run game and decided to try to "out-tough" Ohio State, and it was successful. Day has tried to meet Harbaugh's challenge. He hired Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State, and the defense has markedly improved. This Ohio State team hung tough for 60 minutes. Kyle McCord just wasn't good enough to get the job done at the end of the game, but on the heels of developing Stroud, there's no shame in sending out a quarterback who's completing 65.6% of his passes for 9.1 yards per attempt, 24 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. This is a good football team. Michigan is just better. Jim Harbaugh wasn't a bad coach when he lost his first five games against Ohio State, and Day isn't a bad coach now. Somebody has to lose The Game.
Poor Zak Zinter. I was reminded of Jake Butt when Zinter went down. Butt decided to play in the bowl game against Florida State, and he ended up tearing his ACL. Zinter decided to come back for his senior season, and he broke his fibula and tibia against Ohio State. You hate to see that happen to anyone, but especially a guy who came back for his senior year, putting off the NFL for a season. Jim Harbaugh addressed the injury afterward, promoting revenue sharing as a way to let players be compensated for putting their bodies at risk.
Alex Orji makes an appearance. I truly enjoy the creativity Michigan has shown over the past few seasons. I feel like creativity was missing from Michigan's offense for several years, from the Brady Hoke era through the first several years of Harbaugh. Harbaugh did some mildly fun things with short yardage stuff, extra offensive linemen, etc., but it's hit full speed with the flea flickers, halfback passes, seven offensive linemen, etc. Add in backup quarterback Alex Orji, the modern version of Dan Villari. Orji disappeared for a huge chunk of the season, only to appear in the biggest game of the year for 2 carries and 22 yards. He ran a QB counter play, first for 20 yards and then for 2. After that he disappeared from the field, never to return. This is a guy that Harbaugh said could be the best kick returner in school history, and he gets dusted off for 2 rushing attempts against OSU. Throw in a 34-yard halfback pass from Donovan Edwards to Colston Loveland, and Michigan football is fun to watch. It's a great mix of good ol' smashmouth football and offensive wizardry.
Michigan played a so-so game. The athleticism and creativity of J.J. McCarthy really saved the day. If we're being honest, I think Ohio State had the better athletes. Michigan receivers couldn't shake loose, and Michigan's #1 corner Will Johnson couldn't hold up to Marvin Harrison, Jr. one-on-one. From a pure talent perspective, Ohio State should win this battle - and that's saying something since Michigan is probably going to have 15-20 players drafted in 2024. But Michigan is just better coached and tougher. If you put winged helmets on Ohio State players' heads, they're winning this game, because they'd be coached by Harbaugh, Sherrone Moore, Jesse Minter, etc. The X factor in this one was McCarthy (16/20, 148 yards, 1 TD; 4 carries for 17 yards), who created when the pocket broke down and threaded a perfect pass to Roman Wilson between two defenders for a touchdown.
For the third year in a row, I was wrong. I apologize. You deserve better. In 2021 I didn't believe Michigan would win because they hadn't in a long time. Last year I didn't think they would win because it was at Ohio Stadium. And this year I thought the absence of Jim Harbaugh would be too much to overcome. And I was wrong, wrong, then wrong again. Don't believe me when it comes to predicting games against OSU. I cannot be trusted.
On to Iowa. Hopefully there's no hangover from this game going into next weekend, when Michigan will play Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game. Iowa has a great defense, but their offense is horrendous. They're #124 in scoring offense and #133 in yards per play. Obviously, Michigan should win that game and opened up as a -21.5 point favorite, but I hope the coaches and players remain focused on that instead of thinking about the playoff.
In a lifetime spent watching THE University of Michigan play games with balls, I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed any game less. As ridiculous as it reads, it felt that the weight of the world hung on every snap.
ReplyDeleteI can also say that I have never enjoyed any single play more than I did Rod Moore's pick. Although the Roman Wilson TD is right up there. What a spectacular throw!!!
There is a four letter word that I use way, way to often, but I think is absolutely appropriate in this particular instance, %^#$ Ohio State ... and Ryan Day ... Sparty too while I'm ranting.
I've said that the Sparty game is only about the hitting. The OSU game is only about the ground game. They couldn't hold up against our offensive line in the fourth quarter. The "Beat Ohio" drill works and Biff Poggi should be recognized around here for as long as we play football on national tv.
I still feel sick about Zak Zintner.
Karson Barnhart did a nice job sliding over. I was mildly surprised when he moved over in favor of Jones coming in at tackle over El-Hadi coming in at guard. I can't imagine that Barnhart has been taking lots of snaps at guard.
I agree that Day is a good offensive football coach. He's also a very stout recruiter, enormous advantages in recruiting notwithstanding. He'd be a chump moving to Texas A&M. Evil Roany wants to watch him melt down at OSU. He is certainly getting the heat, and appears to be feeling it.
Iowa too, will be tougher than last year.
Roanman
Zinter is a massive loss. Hopefully team can keep rallying around him. Barnhart does seem better at RG than RT and seemingly pairs well with Jones. We should be OK on the field and hopefully ZZ heals up 100%
DeleteI don't agree that Iowa will be tougher than last year.
DeleteThe defense has probably taken a small step back although this maybe imperceptible because it remains a top 5 defense either case. But hey - we've faced two other top 5 defenses already - PSU and OSU - so we should be ready for that challenge. Iowa is less intimidating than either although they are also less likely to make dumb mistakes. No doubt they are formidable still.
Their offense is FAR worse than last year's unit though, given everything they've lost at QB, TE, and OL. Iowa's offense is worse than MSU and Bowling Green. Of our opponents so far, only ECU - the worst offense in all of D1 by at least one metric - is worse than Iowa. These 3 teams combined for 9 points against us. Total. Vegas thinks Iowa will score 6.
You never know until you play of course, but we shut down Iowa's offense through 3 quarters last year and I'd expect similar results this year. Iowa was thoroughly destroyed by PSU. Their best win of the year is probably...Rutgers? That game was 6-0 headed into the 4th. Beyond that, they've won 5 one-score games against mediocre teams. Despite their impressive top 20 ranking...this is not a top 20 team. They could easily be 6-6. They are glorified Rutgers.
I agree about the weight of the world being on every snap. I would prefer for these games to have SLIGHTLY less weight. Not only was it for the Big Ten Championship game berth and a win against OSU - which are inevitable - but it was for the sign-stealing, the smack talk, etc. Someone else said this was like 3 wins wrapped into one, because this win sort of validated 2021 and 2022 . . . and a loss this year might have invalidated 2021 and 2022.
DeleteHopefully wen can get back to just worrying about football in 2024.
Great post Roanman, I agreed from start to finish. As presently boring as the season was, this game had me off my seat for over 3hrs!
DeleteThunder, the only disagreement I have regarding creativity is on Edwards. Holding on to the HB pass until The Game makes sense, but with the regular season over, we never scratched the surface of his potential ... he's more than a sub for Corum, but the CFB world only has a bad angle & blown assignment from last year's Game to show for it. Greedy JE wanted more for him
@ je93 9:52 a.m.
DeleteI think they tried a couple things with Edwards; they just didn't work out. There was an early bubble screen to Edwards where they faked motioning him into the backfield and then threw the ball to him, kind of like they did with the Blake Corum jet sweep several weeks ago.
I think Edwards showed more last year than just those plays against OSU. He played well against Purdue, and he had some decent runs against TCU. He also had that massive game against Penn State in 2022 and one against Maryland in 2021.
I don't disagree that WE - the MICHIGAN faithful - knew about Edwards ... heck, we can sit here & argue who the next Right Guard will be ... but "The Don" is known around CFB based on his 2o22 Game
DeleteHe's a special talent, and - as I said in his preseason countdown - I think a coach like Meyer or one of these modern offensive gurus would have produced more Edwards moments in three years. It could be the difference between a high draft pick & somewhere in the 3-4th round
The NFL doesn't care much about production nor college fame. Their scouts are not idiots blindly looking at rushing totals. NFL scouts know about Donovan Edwards and they know he is not starting only because he is behind Blake the Great.
DeleteOf course they know who Edwards is; they know all draft eligible players. But every issue discussed here will be on Edward draft profile, including vision & balance. Getting creative with him is what can make his potential more evident, rather than hopeful
DeleteEdwards potential has been evident since high school. He demonstrated his productivity at the end of 2022. Nothing more is needed.
DeleteNothing more? Hes looking at a 5th Rd right now. A couple months ago it was 3rd. M fans thought he had a chance at 1st Round. Edwards himself thought he was the second coming of Barry & Walter ... the more 2023 went on, the lower his draft stock
DeleteTrending the wrong way, so there's that
To clarify, this game is now my all time favorite ... now that it's over.
ReplyDeleteRoanman
Man, picking a favorite OSU win is like picking a favorite child. Love them all!
ReplyDeleteFor me 2021 was probably the most enjoyable and satisfying. To win at long last after such a long drought, to do it at home, and do it with the snow coming down. The game never felt fully in hand but we built our halftime lead up from 1 point to 15 points in the 3rd - a huge contrast from previous years where we faded badly after halftime. And then the 4th quarter we traded TDs with OSU but it came with HH getting TD after TD. That was something else. It was competitive and then it transitioning to feeling dominant. Can't top it.
Yesterday felt more like a MUST WIN because of all the dumb sign stealing narrative, OSU hatred elevated higher than ever, and the drama of this being the end of an era in college football. But it was stressful throughout and the end felt like we were just barely hanging on. If we had sealed it on the long final drive, with Blake plunging in for a clinching TD - I might have felt different LOL.
Well said. It was tremendous. And notable that there was no foolish instances of personal fouls or taunting (until the last minute INT I guess).
ReplyDeleteNotable that snap counts at edge show Stewart and Moore playing more than the starters against OSU. My preseason predictions are guesses like anyone elses and are often wrong but this is one that I got right. Wasn't that way all season long but against OSU Michigan went with the more talent (IMO) options. Seeing Stewart hold up on the edge was a big difference from the early season and Moore batted down a pass as well. Seems like the coaches are comfortable with a 50-50 split so maybe some of the snap difference was situational - but I would not be surprised to see it in the post season as well.
ReplyDeleteI will go 70 UM/ 30 OSU but I get your point.
ReplyDelete" I think Ohio State had the better athletes. Michigan receivers couldn't shake loose, and Michigan's #1 corner Will Johnson couldn't hold up to Marvin Harrison, Jr. one-on-one."
ReplyDeleteI disagree.
OL-UM
QB-UM
RB-UM
TE-UM
WR OSU
DL UM
LB- UM
S UM
CB...push.
Special Teams ...UM
Coaching UM
Try harder, you promised
Better athletes and better players aren't the same thing.
DeleteDB - OSU has a massive athleticism advantage in the secondary, other than Will Johnson Michigan's guys are not blue chip recruits or on NFL radars. Theirs are - they just aren't coached as well. This is the position where "athleticism" is most directly manifest.
WR - obviously, even with Roman's speed and Semaj's quickness, is massive advantage to OSU.
TE is probably a push at best if we're just talking athleticism. Barner is a 3-star kid transferring from Indiana and Bredeson is a walk-on. Stover and his backups are NFL-bound blue chippers and only Loveland is at their level athletically.
LB is a win for Michigan but that's somewhat scheme -- OSU is going with the beef approach and we've got a converted RB/DB playing at an elite level. Barrett gives us the edge.
DT we win but DE we lose.
I think it's closer than most people want to admit overall. To your point. But the stuff on the marquee (DB, WR, QB, RB, Edge) is advantage to OSU in aggregate.
Perhaps the biggest place where we have an athleticism advantage is OL. Nugent and Keegan aren't necessarily great athletes but Zinter, Henderson, Jones, and Barnhart are all very agile and powerful players who can plow through you or get out and block in space. OSU does not rack up STARZ on the OL the way they do other players - this is one spot where MIchigan seems to recruit at least as well. AND we do more with what we get because Sherrone Moore is a boss.
@McCarthy, I think ohio has a clear advantage at WR, CB & DE
DeleteAt Corner, they have better athletes, and guys like Burke fought desperately. That rip on Wilson's TD was late IMO, but he definitely played through the whistle
By contrast, at WR they have elite talent, but I was happy to see how poorly their effort was when things got physical. On the first INT, watch the best WR in CFB, MHJ,let Will Johnson make his way toward the end zone; no ohio WR Jones the chase. On the last, MHJ is in position for a PBU, but watches Moore seal the game ... it all started with Enbuka's drop ... loads of talent, dearth of grit
That was a key difference in this contest
Got a lot of star gazers here. It is a football game, not a track meet.
DeleteSigned;
Tom Brady, Mike Hart, Braylon Edwards.
Brady and Edwards were blue chip recruits.
DeleteMichigan couldn't really afford to do stupid stuff this game. Too much was riding on it. They certainly could have done it, of course. It was almost like going to your grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party - yes, you COULD get embarrassingly drunk, but this wasn't the right time or place.
ReplyDeleteMSU can't afford to do stupid stuff against us, but it never stops them.
ReplyDeleteMichigan State can afford to do stupid stuff, because their standard is lower. There's no expectation of greatness at MSU. If they're clowns and lose the game, that's the standard. If Michigan clowns around at this point, the risks are much higher - they lose their reputation, miss out on a potential national championship run, etc.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Yep. They'll tell you otherwise, but the toddler-reactions to the players' toddler-reactions is where they tell on themselves.
ReplyDeleteThunder, what are your thoughts on the last FG? I thought we should go for it, and placed a tremendous burden on our D - without our only truly good Corner - to defend the best WR room in the nation
ReplyDeleteIt worked out, but at the time I thought Moore lost his mojo with that call