Sam & Donovan, Choppin' It Up on the Links
Was it weakness?
Weakness? No - it was a scheme they practiced and implemented for an entire year to prepare for - and stop - Michigan's offense - COLD.
IF you watched the game (which I'm pretty sure you did) - you probably reached the same conclusion I did. The Buckeyes have done - and continue to do an incredible job recruiting. The Scarlet and Gray have among the most talented rosters in the college game. There's no way Michigan can even come close to them.
Oh, it's a good reason they actually play the game - instead of deciding it on paper.
I LOVE Jim Knowles. I LOVE the defensive scheme the Buckeyes play. I hope, beyond hope, they don't change a thing.
P.S. I had a chance to spend some time with Donovan's father during a game last fall. What a fine man his father is. What a fine young man Donovan is. It's a pleasure cheering him on.
I do have to agree with what Brian said on the podcast last week: Jim Knowles was a boneheaded hire, and shows another Ryan Day weakness. Why would you hire a Big 12 coordinator when Jim Leonard, and other good B1G coordinators are potentially available? I'd be terrified to have Jim Leonard on the sideline for OSU.
Something I love on the OSU boards is this rumor that Jim Knowles defenses are better in the 2nd year. The irony, of course, is that we have utterly shut down their offense two years in a row with successive first-year coordinators. My hypothesis, is that good coaches can coach right away. And if game 12 of your first year, which also happens to be the biggest game you've ever coached in, the game you were hired to win, sees you gloriously shitting the bed, then you're probably not a great coach, and year 2 may not be the awakening of the leviathan.
Bushwood - please don't forget the venue. It's not that the Buckeyes "made a mess" while they were on the road. They "made a mess" in their bed at home! Maybe it was the weather? Oh, that was a factor last season - too warm, too sunny, too nice of conditions - this Knowles D is designed for the "nastiest of everything".
On a slight tangent, I think ND is going a bit sideways - or seems to be hovering. The game between the Bucks and the Irish later in September, in South Bend, could be revealing in a number of ways.
Until proven otherwise, I don't see Notre Dame doing anything of consequence. But it will be good for the OSU hype machine. I'd love to see OSU beat everyone 49-3 until the end. Anything that softens their resolve to fight (i.e. not having to fight until The Game the last 2 years), is good by me.
I don't know if Michigan's defense has utterly shut down OSU's offense the last 2 yrs. In 2021, Stroud was 34-49 for 394 yds and 2 TDs, and they ran the ball for 64 yds on 30 attempts. In 2022, Stroud was 31-48 for 349 yds, 2 TDs and 2 int, and they ran for 143 yds on 29 attempts.
Michigan's defense has done a really good job of bending but not breaking too much. In 2021 they made OSU kick a couple field goals and in 2022 OSU kicked 3 field goals. In both of those years, Michigan has also been able to create some turnovers.
I'm going to show you how a mathematical proof works.
Theorem (and a Jim Harbaugh quote). The most overrated statistic in football is......"everything but points".
Fact: Ohio State's non-Michigan average for 2022 = 46 ppg
Fact: Ohio State scored half that against UM
Fact: Ohio State's non-Michigan average for 2021 = 47 ppg
Fact: Ohio State scored 60% of this against UM
OSU is averaging 55% of their season scoring total against UM the last two years. To me, that is "shutting them down". Maybe you have different standards. Maybe you care about stats besides points. But I don't. Maybe you weren't around to see the blowouts of the 2017-18 games, but holding them to what we did was incredible. I'm sure OSU's offense felt "shut down". Not to mention, our DC's obviously realized that OSU cannot score easily from within the 20's, and built the gameplan around this. Any dazzling numbers by Stroud you want to quote, were largely by intent of the defense
The Don, taking names and kicking some buckeye ass!!
OSU soft.
Haskins just scored again.
This is football. It'd be great to win a national championship, but winning the game against your rival is what it is all about. Granted it was different back then (no playoff), but in 97 I don't even remember the Washington St. game. I do remember Woodson and OSU.
This is absolutely true. I remember the ‘97 season well as a high schooler at the time. I remember very little about the WSU game except for what’s been reinforced through highlights over the years. The OSU game, however, I can recount vividly.
Bo,
I think you - and, many Michigan fans (often me included), are way, way off on our understanding of the Buckeyes strategy - especially in the 2021 game in Ann Arbor.
So, what are we (collectively) missing? The Buckeyes strategy was to overwhelm Michigan on offense. This meant - the Buckeyes wanted the ball in their hands as much as possible. IF you explore the statistics in more depth - you would see that the Buckeyes won the "time of possession" battle by over three minutes. The Buckeyes ran 79 plays (to tire out Michigan's defense) - whereas Michigan's offense only ran 61 plays.
The Buckeyes, very cleverly - would allow Michigan to score - and score quickly - just to allow their offense to get back on the field. One thing we didn't see much of was - the two point conversion. I think the Buckeyes planned to score TD's and use two point conversions after each TD to "claw back" from the 14 point deficit at the end of the third quarter in 2021. They just ran out of time.
Should you look even deeper - and, at the 2022 game in Columbus, you might note - the TOP was almost identical (within a couple of seconds - of the 2021 game). The Buckeyes are perfecting this approach. In 2022, after the Bucks closed the deficit to 8 points, they were beginning the same strategy - let Michigan score so we can get the ball back.
Haskins, Edwards, Michigan's OL, play calling, scheme, conditioning - all of that - mean little. The Buckeyes are only allowing Michigan to score - and score quickly - so they can showcase their offense.
Great video.
However, I wish his name was Edward. Imagine a back called "Edward Edwards".
Donovan Edwards doesn't strike me as guy who was scared when Ryan Day told his team they were "going to hang a hundred on [us]."
So, The Don hung 75 on them. Then he hung 85. Too bad the game didn't last longer.
I mean, we didn't really see anything.
Like he said, they were in Cover 1 and Cover 0...our line was just better, blocked the plays beautifully, and all it takes is one false step or poor angle by the defense and The Don is hitting his head on the goalpost.
That's what happens when you sell out against the run.
See...this is why this generation needs NCAA Football, run a goal line all out blitz or call punt block and don't get home. The other player breaks that first line and it's to the house.
To OSU's credit, if they would've tried to play softer, Michigan would've gladly walked down the first on a 13 play drive, all runs and 4.5ypc.
Hell, they tried that in '21 and Haskins still got a few nice runs before he broke the long one (hurdle play).
Damned if you do, damned if you don't when you're going up against the 2x Joe Moore Award winners.
Hail yes!
Edit: And in 2023, JJ's second year, and with a lingering resolve to avenge that last CFP loss, our new offense seems poised to be even more diverse, unpredictable, and explosive.
I would love to see us being intentional about helping our WR's to get into the League, like our rival whose a$$ we've kicked the past two years. And I'd love to see JJ really perfect his craft, lots of reps, yards, and tuddy's in the passing game.
+1 for overall post
-1 for “tuddy’s”
I predict four tuddys in the natty.
millennials 🙄
"tuddy" sounds vulgar in a creepy way.
This would be a fun analysis if you could get the stats. Is a TD more likely when a defense is selling out on [3] plays because of the big play, or is a TD more likely with a "softer" D on [14] plays?
He saw nothing. There was nothing there. He ran forward and was untouched. But keep picking OSU, national media. We're just here, enjoying the rings
/\winner.
And Donovan’s smile and pause when he looked at the camera after saying it’s about our OL and their DL. Priceless.
A. Longest distance between golf holes I've ever seen.
B. Sam has now entered career Nirvana and deserves all of it.
C. Thank God Henderson committed in so early on March 27, 2020.
Soooo fun. Thanks.
How is OSU going to line up when they see both Corum and Edwards in the backfield this year? Play action to Corum with a short slant to Edwards over the middle? JJ and Edwards roll out left, fake swing past towards Edwards followed by a throwback to Corum on a wheel route? I get all twitchy just thinking about it.
P.S. Note to OSU: don’t forget to cover C.J. down the sideline or Loveland running a deep seam route while all this is going on…
I’d be ok if they forgot to do those things
The whole zone scheme was designed for defenses that over pursue and have poor run fits.Hence back to back 85 and 75 yard runs to the crib.If you are in straight man or man free all you do is run your man off.No help beyond the 2nd level.
Watching those runs reminded me of the RichRod days - wait, hear me out…
RichRod’s whole offense was predicated upon dicking with LBs and DBs, so that when a runner makes it through the LoS, he’s going a long, long, way.
How many Denard runs see a massive pile right at the LoS, then all of a sudden Denard is 15 yards downfield and there’s nobody else on the screen? A lot.
OTOH, the best way to stop a RichRod offense was to make sure nothing got past the LoS. If you could do that (MSU could in those days), everything else fell apart.
The good news about our offense is that we eventually adapt and punish defenses for crowding the LoS. OSU, for some reason, decided to continue to fire their entire LB and secondary at the LoS like they’re 2009 Mark Dantoni playing against Rich Rodriguez. But if you do that against a good OL, your edge rushers get sealed and then the RB has nothing but daylight ahead of him.