Try to win a shoot out or drag the game into the mud?
I think most people are going to want Michigan to go for broke on offense and take chances on big plays. Problem I see is that OSU will want this game to be a track meet. Would it be better for us to make this game a slog by bleeding the clock on offense and shortening the amount of possessions? I know it’s easier said than done but I feel like our only chance is to control the game on the ground and win time of possession significantly. On defense, make them eat up clock by not giving up the home run ball and hope they make mistakes and kick FGs. And keep Moody off the field unless it’s fourth and goal from the 20. Field goals won’t beat this team. I think we can only win if we have a reverse of the MSU game where we win by scoring all TDs and OSU kicks a bunch of field goals.
November 22nd, 2021 at 11:57 AM ^
We do not have an NFL QB and 3 NFL WRs - playing for a shootout will result in immense pain.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:48 PM ^
Us playing slower doesn't change what they do on offense. MSU and ol Mel tried to "street fight" with them last week, and ... well.
November 22nd, 2021 at 7:39 PM ^
Don’t get down by two TDS within the first few minutes and you can play your game. Sparty fucked up immensely in their first few drives and couldn’t recover after getting behind by that much that early. Get a score during one of your first two series and get one three and out during our first two and things will be looking very good for you guys.
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:00 PM ^
We do have an NFL QB and 3 NFL receivers.
Unfortunately JJ is a year away and Bell is injured. Anthony is an NFL wideout as well, Edwards could easily be a slot WR in the NFL, and ALL is an NFL wideout/TE.
Per usual, we have stars, just not all aligned like OSU which relentlessly brings in full classes of 4 and 5* kids.
I’m hoping for Sparty type flukish win against them (shit weather, turnovers, officiating) After 20 years, I feel we are due 1 of those that Sparty seems to get against us ever other year. Unfortunately, OSU just never seems to shoot themselves in the foot against us.
November 22nd, 2021 at 7:45 PM ^
That's not quite the same as four dudes who have already played well enough to get drafted high.
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:05 PM ^
We absolutely need our DL and LBs to dominate up front. If we can get some hands on Stroud throughout the game and hands in passing lanes then we can absolutely slow down their offense. If we are not dominate up front I fear it's going to be a long afternoon because our offense is not designed to keep up with theirs. And our back 7 is doing fine but OSU's passing attack is a different animal and our guys will give up big plays.
I guess my point is we need to drag Stroud into the "mud" (turf). If we are successful doing that then we have a really good chance of winning.
November 22nd, 2021 at 11:57 AM ^
Spray the field with water and let it freeze overnight ...
November 22nd, 2021 at 3:06 PM ^
I prefer gasoline. Lets so those fuckers run through a wall of fire
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:00 PM ^
Drag it into the mud.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Play the game in the Mud Bowl.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:02 PM ^
I think the answer is pretty simple - if UM is behind by one possession or in a better scenario, they will take it slow. If they're behind by 2 possessions, they'll pick up the pace. Taking it slow doesn't just mean running the ball though.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
I think you're spot on... OSU has been running a lot more Zone after the rocky start to the year, so the defense has been susceptible to quick low and mid zone throws. You guys already have a tough running game, supplement that with underneath throws and you'll gain yardage, but more importantly eat clock and keep our offense off the field.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:04 PM ^
Control the game on the ground AND in the pass game. Can't be one dimensional. First downs are more important in controlling time of possession than a running clock.
Hope we can do what Nebraska/PSU/Tulsa/Oregon have done against their offense and we have a chance.
The end of the Don Brown year has given us PTSD in thinking that they'll score 60 in this game every time. This can be a "normal" OSU-UM game again.
We can do this. I believe.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:37 PM ^
This can be a "normal" OSU-UM game again
I know we've been bombed the last 2 times we've played them, but in 2018 and 2019, we just utterly killed ourselves with penalties, drops, insane first down play calling, horrendous fumble luck, and failure to score touchdowns in the redzone.
Despite all that, the 2018 drubbing was 24-19!!! at the half. Yes, the year their offense destroyed our defense with crossing routes was a 1 score game at halftime on the road. If we legit knew how to adjust on defense (DON!) we could have held up. In 2019, we made so many mistakes in the first half, it was insane. Score was still only 28-16 at the half (and we really should have been tied but holy shit it was such a carnival of miscues, my god). Even a year before, the 2017 game was tied at the half, 14-14 (Ohio State helped us a lot in that one with several miscues of their own).
My point is, this game, even in the worst years, tends to be pretty normal for a half. Then Ohio State adjusts and we collapse under the pressure to comeback. So the keys to me are to avoid costly mistakes (something we literally haven't done vs Ohio State in I don't know how long) and MAKE SOME FUCKING ADJUSTMENTS in the 2nd half.
Nebraska held Ohio State under 30 points in Lincoln 2 weeks ago by playing solid defense and getting their offense out of rhythm. If we've been prepping for this team all year (like they supposedly say), we should be able to do something similar.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:26 PM ^
Well said Homie J.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:05 PM ^
I want a shoot out in the mud...
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Can we go back to a natural surface just for this game?
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:05 PM ^
The obvious answer is to shorten the game, make it more high variance and hope that OSU get a bit unlucky and/or we get a bit lucky. Prevent explosive plays at all costs. Hope Ojabo and Hutch can knock Stroud out of rhythm.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
This.
It doesn't matter what we do offensively if we can't get into Stroud's head. Or ribs.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
And drop like 4 dudes back into the parking lot to prevent any 20, 30, 40 yard touchdown bombs that speed the game up and break the back of the defense. Giving up a touchdown on a 12-play, 9 minute drive is absolutely fine (because that's the kinda game we like to play). Giving up a touchdown pass of 45 yards that only eats up 2 minutes of clock is how Ohio State breaks the spirit of their opponents early.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:06 PM ^
My favorite anecdote is 2016 Notre Dame vs Navy. Nd scored on all but one of their possessions but still lost to navy because they only had 6 possessions
Navy had 4 td possessions of over 70 yards and each was 8 plays or longer. Nd kicked two fgs and lost by one
We need to limit possessions, pray for turnovers, and score on every possession. Sounds…difficult
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
This and just hope to god for once we get a bunch of one-sided calls our way. We just need a few key holding calls and/or PI calls to go our way and that may just swing the game.
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:03 PM ^
I think this is really the key. Mostly clean calls and a few wtf calls that go our way for a change.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:06 PM ^
i think the only way FieldTurf could be made into mud is if you melted the little dots into a kind of tar.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:07 PM ^
This just in: scoring touchdowns is good
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:13 PM ^
Yep, I love these threads. OSU is going to score when they have the ball most times. Michigan needs to do the same. If they kick field goals or punt more than a couple of times, they are going to lose. I don't care if they score on the first play of the drive or on the last play of an 10 minute drive, they just have to score when they have the ball.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:19 PM ^
I was talking with friends about this recently: how many points would Michigan realistically need to put up in order to win this game? Almost everyone said that the number was right around 45 or so.
That's...a tall order.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:32 PM ^
Actually you do care. You prefer the 10 minute drive & score. Limiting the # of plays your D has to face vs. their O is the only way to victory. Track meet is an automatic loss. In fact if we score first in under 2 minutes. I’m not at all relieved. All you did was guarantee them more possessions.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
So you aren't relieved if UM's drive ends in a score? If UM scores first in under 2 minutes, the score is 7-0. It is most likely going to be 7-7 after that very soon. Would you rather them not score and take 8 minutes off the clock? If they score when they have the ball, they win. If they don't score when they have the ball, they lose. Sure, longer drives help the defense in some cases, but the defense most likely isn't stopping OSU anyway. They have to score and score lots.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^
Michigan has athletes who can make plays in space and OSU's corners aren't demonstrably better than UM's in my opinion. Michigan needs to play its game and see if they can keep scoring and, more importantly, generate a couple of turnovers on defense. Because I don't think they'll get a ton of punts out of OSU but they could get some FGs in the redzone and that might be enough if they can take the ball away 2-3 times.
November 22nd, 2021 at 2:07 PM ^
Formula for Michigan victory:
1. Michigan gets 6 stops on 12 OSU offensive possessions. Stops can be by punt, turn over, failed 4th down, end of half.
2. Michigan has the best offensive game plan and in-game play calling of Harbaugh's 7 years at Michigan, and the players play their best game of the year.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Neither extreme tbh. It doesn't need to be 9 minute drives and 3 yards and a cloud of dust or 90 yard bombs. Move the chains but capitalize on opportunity for big plays. Score points on most drives and focus on TD's vs FG's. That may be captain obvious but just move the chains and capitalize on opportunities and I think you will have the appropriate mixture.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
From 1991 to 2002 the field at Michigan Stadium was soggy natural grass.
UM won 5/6 The Games played in that time span in Ann Arbor.
Tear the fieldturf up and turn it into a mud bowl, it's the only way to be sure.
November 22nd, 2021 at 4:35 PM ^
Wow, I never realized that the start of Michigan's downfall in the rivalry might have had something to do with the field changes.
I know we've had a few real good teams since 2002, but not many.
It stands to reason that Michigan's traditional man ball style of play was better suited for a slow field.
I remember when OSU use to bring some talented teams to Michigan and be forced to play a slow black and blue slugfest game.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:11 PM ^
I don't think we have the OL to manball our way down the field with Haskins, if that's what you're asking. we're not going to blow OSU off the line with Power
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
Second and 9 is death. Stop doing that.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
There are two answers to this, I'd say:
1) Michigan needs to come in with an offensive gameplan that's ready to try some new things, especially in the passing game. There needs to be a degree of gambling on upside built in, even tho grinding with Haskins will also be important. Based on how the offense has added concepts and unveiled interesting new plays all season--often successfully--I'm hopeful we'll see some clever things this week
2) That said, I'd be happy if this game took place in a Great Lakes Monsoon rainstorm (a la ND 2019) or an actual blizzard. Appears that's not in the forecast, but I do think that would favor Michigan since we've spent all year developing our physical run game and OSU wants to pass more than anything
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Neither extreme strategy will have a chance of working. We don't have the horses to purely keep up, and if we go super-conservative and focus on TOP, that won't work either -- as we know from countless examples.
Nope, we need to sustain drives by utilizing a smart mix of run and pass, taking the big plays as they come. We have to have our best scheme and play-calling game of the year. On defense, we need to make OSU work for their points, limiting big plays. We need to win special teams decisively. I'm not confident this strategy will work -- especially on defense -- but it's our best chance.
EDITED: Several commenters have said this. I'm late to the party, but it seems like this is a reasonable consensus.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
I think they'll stack the box to start with and make us prove that we can throw the ball on them. If we can't gash them early with some throws it's going to be a long day. If we can force them to back out of the box, then we can go balanced and hopefully sustain drives on them. But Gattis needs to have some wrinkles ready in the passing game to force them back.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:58 PM ^
This. Our run game will only be important if we set it up correctly in the 1st half. We can't run on every single 1st down, or even half of them. We have to hit enough passes to push Ohio State out of the box. That includes not running into the guts of the defense on 3rd and short. Gamble every so slightly with a short TE route or a screen pass to a RB (hello Donovan Edwards) or slants to Roman Wilson/Andrel Anthony. Once Ohio State has been forced to respect our passing game, then we can go back and forth, mixing in both and keeping them on their heels at that point
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Yes, mud will work...
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:31 PM ^
MeanJoe07 agrees:
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
Was this you, RG??
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^
Decided to stay away from the mud after the cousin Zeke incident.
November 22nd, 2021 at 1:05 PM ^
He's a lean....mean....fightin' machine.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
OSU is built for a shootout. The Michigan defense will have to slow down that buckeye offense. Penn State and Nebraska was able to do that this season and our chances are good.
That doesn't mean that OSU will be held to under 35 pts, but if they can be contained to around 40 pts, Michigan has a chance to pull this out. The buckeye defense has improved thus far, they are not world beaters so Michigan needs to score TDs in the RZ and have been capable these past few games.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:19 PM ^
Win the line of scrimmage. Emotions will be high early in the game. Don't give anyone free yards with stupid penalties.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
Yes. 2006. That game still haunts me.
November 22nd, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
Getting into a shootout with OSU sounds like certain death. Only way I see this game remaining competitive into the 4th quarter is if Michigan drags it out and scores points off turnovers.