Ohio State 42, Michigan 13
Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog
One team came prepared.
Ohio State's coaches prepared for Michigan's soft edges with an attack heavy on the power read. The Buckeye defense prepared for every wrinkle the Wolverines could conceive to utilize Jabrill Peppers and stopped them.
Michigan looked unprepared to deal with the Buckeye running game. The scheme was too passive and the adjustments ineffective, especially a move to a 3-man line. The linebackers weren't prepared to tackle Ezekiel Elliott in the gap or track JT Barrett in space. Nobody was prepared to block Joey Bosa.
For the tenth time in eleven years, Ohio State won The Game. The Buckeyes ran at will; Michigan couldn't trust its run game enough to even use it without ample trickery. While Michigan's 9-3 record and obvious team-wide improvement stand as a testament to the remarkable work of Jim Harbaugh, today's game showed just how much ground the program must make up on their chief rival.
Unlike last year, Michigan will get a full slate of bowl practices to work on their issues, and they'll face a quality opponent in a decent bowl game. Much like two years ago, there's a good chance they'll have to play that game with their backup quarterback, as Jake Rudock exited the game with an apparent shoulder or collarbone injury after taking a huge hit from Bosa.
Ohio State looked like a playoff team today. Michigan looked a long way off. That's exactly what we expected heading into the season; it's still hard not to be disappointed after seeing how the last few months have played out.
November 28th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^
they took Indiana's playbook and made it their own. The difference here was they had a competent defense that could stop our offense.
It's alright. We just didn't have the numbers. Had Mone and Glasgow been available this would have been a lot more compelling.
AND WE NEED A F'N RUNNING GAME!!!!
I just hope it doesn't screw up our recruiting.
November 28th, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^
Screw up recruiting? Urbz just got a huge boon to his recruiting pitch. Wanna beat rivals thoroughly? Come to OSU.
November 29th, 2015 at 7:47 AM ^
except state.
then he forgets how to coach.
November 28th, 2015 at 4:41 PM ^
Although I'm surprised this game wasn't closer, the sad truth is that Urban had everything he needed on his roster when he walked in the door, has had 4 years to implement his scheme and get even better talent that matched his scheme on the roster.
Harbaugh just has more work to do to get there, Michigan was just much farther down I think than OSU's one year abberation; things overall have certainly improved this year but even though we have talent in spots he needs better and faster players across the board...it'll happen but we have a serious problem at LB especially that they need to address rapidly if they want to beat a team with OSU's talent moving forward.
November 28th, 2015 at 4:42 PM ^
OSU used tempo to keep Michigan in base defense and prevent them from substituting, it was the same thing that Indiana did. All year, Mattison and Durkin have done a great job mixing up defenses, but that required changing personnel. Unable to change personnel, OSU (and IU) found their tactical advantage and leaned on it as much as possible. If it wasn't for tempo and that stupid penality on Kineel on the punt, Michigan holds these guys within reason. Michigan will have to find answers at LB and DL play to beat OSU in those base sets.
Only great news is all those NFL draft picks on the OSU side are taking off... but we've said that before! Ikes.
November 28th, 2015 at 4:45 PM ^
Today sucked. The coaches were bad, the players were worse, and we got beat. Big deal. Harbaugh is still building something here, and the team still exceeded expectations. I hate to say "wait till next year" but you know what? When you are a first year coach of a 5-7 team, yeah, you do have to kind of wait until next year. Turnarounds take time. We were good enough to compete with everyone on the schedule except our arch rival. The talent gap was exposed. It takes time, but it WILL change.
November 28th, 2015 at 4:48 PM ^
Desmond said it best at the beginning of the game, Jim doesn't have his guys yet. Nevertheless, we'll be good next year with almost the same team coming back, likely key playmakers emerging from the ranks and a QB equal to or greater than Rudock emerging from the competition. It's year 1 in Harbaughs AND Durkins system. Don't extrapolate one poor game against a juggernaut team and historically great coach onto next years results. This really sucks today but the sky is not falling. Jim Harbaugh is our head coach.
November 28th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
I don't understand how OSU owns Michigan. I'm sure it'll change eventually, cycles and all that, but damn the rivalry just isn't a rivalry right now. I know people believe this is another 10 year war, but it's a brutal start to a war.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:34 PM ^
mailed it in his last few years, then a horrifically bad fit for a replacement, then trying to fix that with some yes man. That's how we are in the place we are right now.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:17 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 4:53 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 4:59 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 5:05 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 5:07 PM ^
Harbaugh needs to take the Meyer recruiting approach: grab the elite kids from the area and the kids who fit the system then get the hell out. I've watched Meyer come into the DFW area and cherry-pick some of the top recruits the last few years. UM has too many slow-ass Michigan kids who simply can't compete.
And it's so obvious after watching the MHSAA D1 and D2 finals. These teams look like JV squads compared to the elite Texas high schools.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^
Michigan's roster is a mixture of Midwestern and national recruits and has been for decades. Michigan's problem is not slow Midwestern kids it's a lack of talent and player development. UM tried to compensate for Millen--er, Hoke''s hit-and-miss recruiting and awful player development this year. They did well enough to go 9-3. Obviously, there are greater needs.
Some of UM's fastest players are from Michigan. Lewis, Cole, Harris, Johnson. So not only have you misidentified the problem you have also expressed a factually incorrect statement.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 5:21 PM ^
Did I expect to win this game? No. Did I expect to be embarrassed? No. Way too many times we showed no fight. If I was Harbaugh I would show how many times our offensive lineman missed a block and then just stood there to watch our back get tackled. I would show them how many times we allowed our d-line to get blocked and be fine with that. There was absolutely no fight. We need to get nasty in a rivalry game where all you want to do is punch the other team in the mouth. Miss a block whatever, but then make a corner or safety pay for it. So far to go up front on both defense and offense.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 6:42 PM ^
He takes all the Midwestern afterthoughts that UM, ND and OSU pass over, and turns them into studs that knock off those teams nearly every year. If you find the right players for your system and put them in position to succeed, then you can beat the Sabans and Meyers of the world, and all the five stars that come with them.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 5:07 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 5:57 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 6:18 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 8:18 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:16 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 6:22 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:44 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 8:31 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:24 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 8:07 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 29th, 2015 at 9:25 AM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 5:11 PM ^
but satisfied with the season. Lack of depth killed em. They won 9 games and only got soundly beaten once. Give the man some time. Go Blue!!
November 28th, 2015 at 5:13 PM ^
I hate those guys and wanted to beat them badly. However, the future looks bright to me and in time we will match OSU's talent level. I think we have better coaches.
I remember how I felt this time last year.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:17 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 5:18 PM ^
Yeah, we got stomped by effing smug-ass Meyer, but I have hope for the future. During the Hoke era, I was becoming resigned to sucking. Not anymore. If you know Harbaugh at all by now, he will have this team ready for next year.
Something was off today. The players did not have the Harbaugh fight we have seen much of this year. Maybe it was Durkin drama, maybe they were distracted by any of the other drama going on. Maybe they just had an off game. Something was off. And it was painful to watch.
But keep some perspective. We had another board this week about Chad Carr's passing and everyone was writing about serious things in life and how there are more important things than football. Now many have returned to writing as if this shitty performance is the worst thing ever in the history of the world. Get over yourselves.
And Go Blue.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:05 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 6:16 PM ^
It's your fault for thinking that they were anything more than an slightly above average team. UM beat who their talented dictated thy should beat and they lost to teams they were predicted to lose to.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^
Not bad for year 1.
With a fully healthy DL and a hopefully improved ground game, I think we do much better next year in the shoe.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:28 PM ^
and at linebacker next year. Hopefully Drevno can get that line to take anothe step or find guys who can. The running game dearly needs to improve. The defense really needs to find linebackers who can make plays. The defense in general needs to learn how to create turnovers. That is one thing they failed to do all year save for Maryland.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:17 PM ^
I'm thinking that a Harbaugh-coached team will get better at running the ball each year until they are doing unto others as was done unto us today
November 28th, 2015 at 5:27 PM ^
If we want to be elite, we need to be able to run the ball when we want, and we must be able to stop the run. Of course, we need an elite-level QB as well, but if we can't run at will and stop the run, our ceiling is below that elite Alabama/OSU type-level.
EDIT: this was meant for a comment up the thread.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:25 PM ^
The use of the hurry-up will kill a team that is thin at talent. OSU learned from Indiana and had the horses to keep pounding our line. The difference between OSU's 1st & 2nd string (and maybe even the 3rd) is a fine line, at Michigan there is a much greater difference and it showed.
Ohio State kept our defense on the field and between Barrett and Elliot, they exploited the match-ups. Kept 'em on the field and pounded 'em.
Sadly, our O-line doesn't match-up with a deep, talented OSU defense, YET. So opening holes for our backs just didn't happen.
I think laying off the coaches would be smart right now. Harbaugh will build that second string and be ready next year.
Those of you selling your tickets or advocating firing somebody: Shut the hell up and learn about the game or go jump on somebody's bandwagon.
November 28th, 2015 at 6:43 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 28th, 2015 at 5:27 PM ^
But the season was great, I'd have taken 9-3 w/ Citrus Bowl a year ago - no questions asked. And you would have too. Not sure people recall how bleak it once felt? Where is all the fairweatheredness (word?) coming from? Harbaugh and DJ Durkin cannot out-scheme a power read - it's the defensive talent, stupid. And specifically at LB, very weak. IU ripped us too. This wasn't a surprise to anyone - those who said we would lose to OSU focused exclusively on our inability to contain this with our talent. It happened.
Like the Whos of Whoville after the Grinch robbed them blind, I couldn't be happier about the current state of the program and the future notwithstanding the loss to an OSU team riddled with NFL talent and an exceptional coach with all of his recruits.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:29 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^
November 28th, 2015 at 5:36 PM ^
Ace, I generally enjoy reading your posts, but the overall theme of this one... is, in my opinion, just a little irrational fan-type immature.
Look, it's a disappointing end to a season that exceeded most reasonable/realistic expectations for year one under Harbaugh. Let's see what he can do after recruiting his own guys for awhile.
Give credit to Meyer and his staff for a decent game plan coming in and making good halftime adjustments, and give credit to their players for executing well. I, for one, am not about to castigate Michigan's coaching staff or players for being ill-prepared. There is a clear talent disparity between these two teams once you take off your rose colored (maize or blue colored?) glasses.
We weren't good enough. Not a crime.
After watching what Indiana did to our defense, are you THAT surprised by what you saw today? We played a team with an Indiana-type offense but not an Indiana-type defense. We'll be better. The future is bright.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:49 PM ^
Unfortunately we had back to back coaches that set the team back for years. OSU went from Tressel and had one bad year with Fickle and replaced him immediately with Urban. They have simply done a better job managing their football program over the past 10 years which is the reason we have struggled against them over this time period. We finally got serious last year and hired Harbaugh which was a great move. However, he can't over come 10 years of mediocrity in this first year against a very talented team. We just don't have enough overall team speed and athleticism to compete against a team like OSU right now. Harbaugh understand this and will most defnitely address this shortcoming. Yes, it would have been great to beat OSU but I'm very pleased we are 9-3 in his first year with the opportunity to play in a good bowl game. I suspect we will be even better next year with the following year being a year we compete for a national championship. Keep the faith.
November 28th, 2015 at 5:50 PM ^
Need more athleticsm on the team.
At the beginning of this tenure, I didn't believe Harbaugh would need 2-3 years to build the team and for most of the season it didn't look like he would. But today kind of emphatically showed the gap that exists between this team and the top of college football. I fully expect the team to keep getting better, but only beating OSU once in a decade is really, really, really sucks.
Comments