Ohio State -- What Happened and What it Means -- I

Nov 29, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Darron Lee (43) sacks Michigan Wolverines quarterback Devin Gardner (98) at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Posted at 5:30am — 12/1/2014

Michigan Wolverines: Ohio State — What Happened and What it Means — I

Variations On Familiar Themes — Michigan Loses To Ohio State

The locals in Columbus were expecting a 30 plus point blowout. But at the end of 60 minutes of football were delighted to have a two touchdown win. It can be easily posited that two touchdowns were provided by Michigan to Ohio State via turnovers and that was the final difference. This is why turnovers are like banshee screams in the night, they always haunt the offending team.

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The first familiar theme is mistakes put Michigan behind the eight ball. Right off the bat Devin Gardner throws a pick that gives Ohio State a very short field. Ohio State breaks a nice run and Barrett throws an easy touchdown. Later, when things were tough, Bosa forces a fumble in a collapsed pocket situation all too familiar to Michigan fans.

The next part of the game involved an unfamiliar theme: Gardner was on target and Funchess was catching the ball. Michigan went deep, and actually hit a big play. Ohio State can be had if a team attacks the back seven of the defense with a quarterback receiving sufficient time. Butt gets a touchdown on a nice play action play. Sadly, these are things that were expected all year and never came to fruition; so theme number two is offered.

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Theme number three is game management. Michigan needed to milk every second off of the clock to prevent Ohio State to score at the end of the half. Ohio State scores with seven seconds left. To the author this late score changed the entire outlook of the game. Why so? Ohio State got the ball in the second half and had a typical spread series with big yardage and an easy score. Ohio State was now in control. Michigan would come back, but too little and too late in the fourth quarter.

This leads to theme four: Michigan again melted at the end of a half and in the fourth quarter when a defensive stop was essential. Barrett simply takes off on a scramble and runs by a flat-footed Ryan and everyone else, probably in man coverage, to score the late touchdown. Later, with Barrett hurt, Michigan’s defense still cannot get the job done. Little pressure was evident. Elliot finds a small slice and goes to the house on fourth and one against a stacked line. He cutback against a line flow going the other way.

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Michigan played pretty well against a team with far more talent at the skilled positions. But the historical weaknesses again doomed the effort. In the preview the author stated the offense would need to score in the mid 20’s just to hang around; that is pretty much what happened. The donations on the fumble and interception were the real difference, that and one team taking over in the fourth quarter. The latter shortcoming, time after time, denotes once again the need for mental toughness and perhaps better conditioning. There is no pill for mental toughness; it must be developed. Ohio State has nasty drills and conditioning challenges to infuse this trait. Barwis did the same years ago, but 275-pound linemen and a lack of real athletic talent could not flip Michigan into the success mode.

Part II at noon we will talk about the interim AD Hackett and the job he will have to decide soon.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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