So... From a Wolverine perspective, what went wrong for the Buckeyes?
Obviously their fans are in full-on meltdown mode, with some even calling for Gene Smith to decline a bowl invite. And we're on cloud nine after having endured not just the losing, but endless taunting from Buckeye fans for most of the past 20 years. But trash talk aside, what do you think went wrong went wrong for Ohio State?
For one thing, their defensive playcalling seemed a bit too aggressive. Knowles' blitz-happy schemes left OSU with no safety help in the secondary, leading to all three of our long TD pass plays. On offense, for some strange reason they abandoned the run game, despite the fact that it seemed to be working for them in the first quarter.
But that's X's and O's. They might have overcome their playcalling and scheming mistakes, but it felt like there was something else at play. Despite their supposed hunger for revenge after last year, OSU seemed to evince a strange lack of killer instinct. When JJ scored on that QB keeper to put as ahead 31-20 with about 7 minutes to play, I thought we would win the game, but I expected that we would have to withstand a late OSU rally to pull it out. I didn't expect that they would completely collapse down the stretch and end up handing us a blowout victory on their own turf.
Urban Meyer or Jim Tressel's teams would not have folded in the fourth quarter like that. It was as if Ryan Day was coaching like a guy who was trying to convince himself of his own toughness and mettle rather a guy who had confidence in his own toughness and mettle.
The body language of OSU players and coaches was not what you would expect from the number two team in the country playing at home in a huge revenge game, let along a revenge game in a rivalry that they've dominated for two decades. CJ Stroud seemed to panic and lose his nerve down the stretch, which I think is what caused those two INTs.
Interested in hearing others' observations on what they saw from OSU that seemed different from years past.
November 27th, 2022 at 3:05 PM ^
From an Ohio State alum perspective it is very simple. Right now Michigan is more disciplined, commits fewer drive killing penalties, and is more physical. Anytime either team loses in this rivalry the loser can point to mistakes they made in reasons they lost but what it comes down to right now is that Michigan was the better team yesterday. Harbaugh has created a cohesive identity that his kids have bought into. The great thing about this rivalry is that each game feels like the winning team gets the final word which it should but also the fight never ends. I lived through the Cooper years where it felt like we would never win again and I’m sure many of you felt the same way over the last two decades. Now here are two years later and the pendulum has swung in your favor and congrats on that. I mean that with no sarcasm. All of this is what makes this the best rivalry in sports and no matter who wins year in and year out it will never change. Enjoy the win I hope this changes next year but may the best team win.
November 27th, 2022 at 3:08 PM ^
86-50 in the last two games. At this pace, Day will only need to play us two more times before he's hung a hundred on us.
November 27th, 2022 at 3:13 PM ^
From an X and O perspective, they had their deepest player 6 yards off the line on 3rd and 8. Johnson gets behind them and goes 69 yards for a touchdown. The rest is history.
When it rains, it pours. Proving we could be explosive got in their heads.
November 27th, 2022 at 3:23 PM ^
1) Michigan's identity is "tried, true & proven". Nothing experimental and overly-flashy and meets the B1G standard that this conference has taken pride in & is known for over 100 years. We are smash-mouth football with a tough/variable defense, young 5* QB and good receivers, great special teams. This is the championship formula.
2) OSU hired Day to take the mantel from Urban Meyer. When his teams meet resistance 1-2 times per year, they lose in the trenches. That is soft culture, and his 5* players deserve a tougher/tighter mental and physical learning environment.
November 27th, 2022 at 3:28 PM ^
What went wrong? They are scared of us. People underestimate the psychological aspect of this game, but they knew going into this game we had the advantage. Not saying it was true, but we are in their heads.
November 27th, 2022 at 3:37 PM ^
Being who we thought they were! This Michigan team wasn’t losing yesterday but the game could’ve been closer, possibly epic with a Tressel team. Imagine Troy Smith at the helm a la 2005 - I still think about that game. He came back from double digits in 4Q and locked up the Heisman. Jerk.
November 27th, 2022 at 3:41 PM ^
What happened? They suck. They have a QB that folds the instant that he's under any kind of pressure. They have an assistant for a head coach, and quality control analysts for assistants. The only actual good thing about OSU football is their receivers. But even they struggled against a guy that moved from WR to DB this year.
They are on the start of a long downward trend, and they know it. Which is why they are melting down over Fickell going to Wisconsin, and demanding that the previous guy that they complained endlessly about should come back.
November 27th, 2022 at 4:01 PM ^
They overreacted to last year too much and hired a DC who designed his defense around beating last year's Wolverines. Then we unleashed JJ!
November 27th, 2022 at 4:02 PM ^
First half, they were dominant in all ways but score. They had shut down the running game. They were moving the ball. They needed better red zone production, and a couple defense mistakes resulted in two Michigan scores.
I could see them, with good reason, thinking at half time that they need to keep doing what they were doing. But just improve red zone some. Not every single defense mistake will result in a score against you. Stay the course. Dominate the stats. Shut down the run. Move the ball.
However, Michigan has been *outstanding* getting improvement coming out of half time. Michigan defense, which was pretty good in the 1st half, became amazing in the 2nd half. Michigan offense -- McCarthy said post game that the offensive plan wasn't adjusted -- kept pushing and saw things start to work better.
Michigan's efforts started to work better abruptly, not gradually. That makes it harder for the opponent to see changes and make adjustments. For Ohio State, it seemed like "OK, it's working, it's working, it's working. Oh, shit!"
Also, I do think a significant aspect was morale. In many years prior, Ohio State could play confident and loose. All the pressure was on underdog Michigan, and Michigan often played worried and tight. When things started to go against Michigan, you could see the morale drain away and the feeling of doom and resignation take over.
Because of last year, now that shoe was on the other foot. Ohio State was under all the pressure. So much pressure not to lose, but worry that it could happen again. Michigan survived Ohio State knockout blows in the 1st half and landed some of their own. Michigan defense starting doing its boa constrictor impersonation. Michigan offense landed some big explosive plays. For Ohio State, worry and a sense of doom and resignation started to take over.
November 27th, 2022 at 4:25 PM ^
They were born.
November 27th, 2022 at 4:56 PM ^
They look like we look when playing MSU. You are the favorite and have more talent but you tighten up and make mistakes when things don’t go well. They look like they did in the 90’s the mental edge has completely flipped.
November 27th, 2022 at 5:59 PM ^
You can say the whole "nothing but cover 0" thing is "just" X's and O's.
But, imo, it's that, not any intangible factor, that lost them this.
I really have no idea how they do in this game playing sane defense, but it wasn't a good idea in the first half or the second half.
November 27th, 2022 at 6:55 PM ^
The defensive coordinator was the problem for them, and the solution for us. Knowles called a game largely like Don Brown used to for us, very boom or bust, and then refused to adjust once it was clearly not working.
On the opposite side our coverage was sophisticated, smothering, and confusing to the offense, so no matter how long Stroud had to throw, nobody was open, the receivers not named Harrison were rattled, and started dropping contested passes left and right.
November 27th, 2022 at 10:36 PM ^
They focused on revenge, they needed to show respect.
November 28th, 2022 at 1:23 AM ^
When Ohio St had rough moments in games throughout the year, it was always chalked up to either the weather or “saving the good stuff for Michigan.” Well, it turns out they didn’t save anything, this is all they had.
the real problem they have on offense is the qb isn’t a run threat. You don’t have to be like urban used to be with your qb getting 10-15 a game, but you’ve got to have it as your backup if the weather sucks or the passing game just isn’t clicking. You can’t spread the field all day and not have the qb as a threat in the running game in the event the pass stalls. Clemson never ran Trevor or Watson unless it was a big game for them or in case they just had a clunker where nothing was working. It wasn’t first option, but it was in the bag.
Ohio state doesn’t have that. They don’t have a culture of “let’s get that 3 yards we need,” and I think that bleeds into the defense being easily pushed around. That defensive game plan is what you expect from an underdog team like Indiana that knows it’s gotta be wild to make the game close, not a team full of five stars. They’ve hired a new dc, so why can’t Ryan Day have a defense that functions?