BursleyBaitsBus

September 10th, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^

Idk if Michigan would fare any better against IU and OU. Just as young in the secondary as OSU. Mayfield is the most efficient passer in college

jmblue

September 10th, 2017 at 5:26 PM ^

I think we may be overselling Indiana here.  Their two QBs passed for 197 yards on 30 attempts yesterday.

And while no one doubts that Baker Mayfield is a stud, OSU fared much better against Mayfield last season, in Norman.  His stat line last year is more what you'd expect when an elite passer faces an elite pass defense - some victories for both sides.  This year it was all Mayfield.

Ahriman

September 10th, 2017 at 8:14 PM ^

While Ohio has a very good defensive line, their linebackers are okay and their DBs don't seem good at all. With Coach Brown's aggressive defense/multiple looks and Michigan's better LBs, opposing QBs should have more trouble scoring than they would against Ohio.

Coach Brown's defense has the following stats:

2015: BC  S&P+ 12.4 Ranking: 2

2016: Michigan S&P+ 7.7 Ranking: 2

2017 (2 games): Michigan S&P+ 13.2 Ranking: 3

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaa


For comparison.

2016: Ohio S&P +13.6 Ranking : 5

2017 (2 games): Ohio S&P+ 16.1 Ranking: 9

Farnn

September 10th, 2017 at 4:24 PM ^

Not sure how good UVA defense is, but Lagow who threw 65 passes for 410 yards against OSU was benched after going 3/10 for 25 yards against UVA.   Cobbs was held to 5 catches for 62 yards after getting 11 for 149 against OSU.

OneBadMutha

September 10th, 2017 at 4:34 PM ^

All I care about with OSU is how they match up to Michigan. Speight needs time in the pocket or he does dumb things. The Michigan offensive line is having issues pass blocking. OSU has athletes in their secondary so I would expect them to be decent by the end of the season. If you were to say their pass rush has been weak, that would be the best news for Michigan fans.

MontuckyYooper

September 10th, 2017 at 10:05 PM ^

The bottom line is that both OSU and MIchigan are very young teams at certain positions (WR, CB, S for MIchigan and WR, CB, LB, RB, for OSU).  Both of these teams are going to be A LOT better in November than they are now.  How much the young players on both teams develop will be crucial to who comes out on top this year in The Game.  I like our chances with Coach Harbaugh and staff.  

The Fugitive

September 10th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^

Who else on OSU's schedule can truly threaten them through the air?
 

Army - NO
UNLV - no
Rutgers - lol
Maryland - probably not
Nebraska - maybe
Penn State - Yes
Iowa - probably not
Michigan State - no
Illinois - lol
Michigan - I hope so

They won't be down there for long. The rest of their non-con and B1G qbs are going to aid that statistic drastically and they will improve on the field by the end of the season.

All that said, fuck Ohio State.

SouthOfHeaven

September 10th, 2017 at 11:32 PM ^

I don't think it's out of the question for OSU's secondary to make a couple of those QB's look pretty damn good. They certainly had me fooled into thinking Richard Lagow was impressive. There's no way he's the 3rd or 4th best QB on their schedule.

 

Remember when Gary Nova blew up our defense? How about Nick Sheridan balling all over Minnesota? Unless they drastically improve, OSU's pass defense looks bad enough to make at least one of those mediocre QB's on their schedule a star. 

 

There's a lot of season left, but dead last is pretty awful no matter what, especially with the disruption you'd think a d-line with as much talent as theirs would cause. Ouch. 

 

Ty Butterfield

September 10th, 2017 at 4:52 PM ^

OSU always seems to improve as the season progresses. The O-line for Michigan can't block a wet paper bag.