Michigan - Ohio State Recap: Wolverines Dominate in the Shoe

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Roger l. McNamara

Coin Toss, Kickoff.  All were present.  Coaches, marching bands, cheerleaders, media, student bodies, alumni and others ensuring that every seating and standing space in The Columbus Horseshoe was occupied.  Each team took the field with a depth of talent.  For visiting Michigan, leading stats were:

• QB  J.J. McCarthy, 10-0 as a starter; RB Donovan Edwards; WRs Cornelius Johnson and Ronnie Bell; Defenders Will Johnson, Mike Sainistril and Michael Barrett; PK Jake Moody; Wolverine partisans were concerned that ace running back Blake Corum would see limited action following last week’s leg injury, which proved indeed the case.

Ohio State’s roster featured:

• QB   DJ Stroud, widely regarded as a Heisman Award favorite; WRs Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison, Jr;, and Julian Fleming; Tommy Eichenberg and J.T. Timolol leading the defense from their linebacker positions;  and PK Noah Ruggles.

Coaches.  At the sideline helm for Michigan was 58 year old --- and Ohio native --- Jim Harbaugh.  He is one of only two head coaches in School history --- Fielding Yost the other --- to nail down 10+ wins in each of his first two seasons.  His teams had compiled a 61-24 record over eight campaigns, but it was not until last year’s meeting that he scaled the heights over Ohio State.

The Buckeyes were led onto the field by 43 year old New Hampshire born Ryan Day, whose 45-4 record over four seasons includes a 16-4 mark against ranked opponents, consecutive appearances among  the National Playoff Quartet, one triumph in each the Sugar and Rose Bowls.  A near unanimous belief prior to kickoff was that both squads would be well prepared.  Or so it was generally thought.

The Play.  Looking only at a few statistical comparisons points to what appears a close final score:

                                                                            Mich        OSU 

                                          Total Yards               530          492

                                          Passing Yards           278          349

                                          Rushing Yards          252          143

                                          First Downs                16            23

                                          Total Plays                 60            77

                                          Possession Time     28:14       31:46

It is said that appearances can be deceiving.  Not shown in the above table are three additional markers:

Michigan penalized only 5 times for a mere 30 yards, Ohio State whistled for 9 violations costing it 91 yards, many coming in pivotal moments;  2) Stroud was picked off twice, while McCarthy emerged unblemished in that sense; 3) Yards Gained Passing Per Pass Attempt:  Michigan a sparkling 11.12, Ohio State a feeble 7.27.   Margins of this magnitude in this category will unfailingly point to the winner --- Saturday’s game was no exception.

A Game of Two Halves.   The teams exchanged thrusts and parries over the opening 30 minutes, Michigan held to a single yard rushing from scrimmage and Ohio State riding Ruggles’ leg to carry a 20-17 lead into the locker room.   The rest belonged all to the Men Up North.  Behind a powerful offensive line dominating a once vaunted defense, Michigan torched its rival with a resumption of a running game, good for four 2nd Half TDs while its defense restricted the Buckeyes to a lone field goal.  Final score:  Michigan 45-23.  It now rightfully and confidently advances to the Big 10 Title game on December 3 while Ohio State stumbles back to a drawing board.  Web site commentators posted the following summaries in reviews of Saturday’s games:       

WINNERS.  For Michigan, another win in this series and the high possibility of another conference championship and College Football Playoff berth means it's time to redraw the Big Ten power structure. Until proven otherwise, the Wolverines are the league's best.

For the first time in decades, the Buckeyes and everyone else in the Big Ten is chasing Michigan. Eight seasons into his tenure and just two years after facing a very uncertain future at his alma mater, Jim Harbaugh has delivered on the lofty expectations placed onto the program upon his arrival in 2015. 



AND FOR LOSERS.   Ohio State: After getting completely dominated at the line of scrimmage by Michigan last year, Ohio State devoted time and resources to becoming a more physical program. There wasn’t much evidence of change on Saturday. The Buckeyes were blasted by the Wolverines yet again. Early on, OSU keyed in on Michigan’s running game but got beat over the top multiple times by a UM passing attack that had very few long touchdowns entering Saturday’s game. And when Michigan had the lead, it put the game away with the ground attack as Donovan Edwards reeled off touchdown runs of 75 and 85 yards in the fourth quarter. That’s a tough look for Ryan Day’s program.

Aptly put, in each case.