Michigan football dismantled Ohio State for the second year in a row and here are five things we learned from the Wolverines’ win.
We are a day removed from Michigan football’s stomping of Ohio State in the Shoe and man, it feels good.
The victory last season was truly something special. It ended the reign of terror and showed that Jim Harbaugh can beat Ohio State, which was his one big hurdle.
You wondered if it was going to be a one-time thing or if it was just the start. Harbaugh seemed to know all along. He said after last year’s win and even after the playoff loss to Georgia, “This is just the beginning.”
He was right. It was just the beginning.
Michigan football hasn’t lost a game since that Orange Bowl defeat and on Saturday, they silenced their critics for good with a 45-23 beat down of the Buckeyes, including a 28-3 second half.
Michigan opened the first half with 10 rushing yards. 10. Urban Meyer was gloating before the game and at halftime about how Michigan couldn’t run the ball.
Well in the second half, that’s exactly what the Wolverines did. J.J. McCarthy was spectacular and just like in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines had the Buckeyes ready to quit in the fourth quarter.
C.J. Stroud threw two interceptions. Ryan Day refused to go for it on fourth-and-short and selling out to stop the run burned Ohio State as Michigan was simply better, tougher, and more disciplined.
Oh, and all the speed Ohio State is supposed to have? Well, Michigan football has plenty of that too as Donovan Edwards can attest.
Truly, Michigan football is making me feel things I haven’t since 1997 and it’s going to be exciting to see what happens. Next on the agenda is winning a second Big Ten championship next week.
But first, let’s look back at five things we learned in Michigan football’s win over Ohio State.
Jim Harbaugh is the best head coach in the Big Ten
The comment made by Jim Harbaugh had to really stick in the craw of Ryan Day for the past year, “Some people were born on third base and thought they hit a triple.”
That was Day, who once said Ohio State was going “Hang 100” on Michigan the next time they played. Well, it took two games for the Buckeyes to score 50 against the Wolverines and the problem is that they allowed 87.
Ryan Day said last season was a failure after losing to Michigan and then spent the entire offseason revamping the defense and preparing for this game.
Well, Ohio State’s season ended in failure again. After getting demolished at home, Ohio State doesn’t deserve a playoff berth and frankly, Day may not have his job much longer.
That hot seat talk has shifted from Harbaugh to Day and I love it. Jim Harbaugh is the best coach in the Big Ten and maybe in the country.
Harbaugh certainly owns Ryan Day and you have to give the man credit, he went back to his roots and rose from the lowest possible moment to achieve things no one thought he could.
Michigan has incredible staff (built by Harbaugh), a tremendous culture, and a ton of talent. The future is bright and as Harbaugh said, this is just the beginning.
But also, “It’s our time” as he said earlier this month and after watching Michigan just blow by Ohio State 28-3 in the second half in Columbus, I tend to believe him.
J.J. McCarthy has arrived
This is what we have been waiting for from J.J. McCarthy.
All season long, McCarthy was really close and had some stellar moments. However, his deep ball was just off and the receivers didn’t do him any favors.
Everyone knew Ohio State was geared up to stop the run and for much of the game, the Buckeyes dared McCarthy to beat them and he did.
When Ohio State had the advantage in the first half, McCarthy threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Johnson, and then a 75-yarder to Johnson.
Those two plays allowed the Wolverines to hang around and go into the half down by just three. In the third quarter, a beautiful 45-yard touchdown to Colston Loveland sent shockwaves through the Shoe.
Then, after me asking for it numerous times, McCarthy started to run. He gained a few first downs and scored on a three-yard touchdown run that put Michigan up 11.
From there, the offensive line, Donovan Edwards, and the defense salted away a win, but McCarthy was nothing short of spectacular. I actually predicted he would throw for two touchdowns, run for another, and get close to 300 total yards.
And while I was worried after he missed a couple of throws early, he was money — all day and Michigan football wouldn’t have won without him.
It was always going to take a special quarterback to end the losing streak in Ohio and McCarthy turned out to be one. He’s got the “It” factor as Harbaugh said and when he said after the game, McCarthy that is, “That the job isn’t done” it gave me goosebumps.
The kid is special and I feel stupid for doubting him in the slightest.
The offensive line is still the best in college football
Ohio State was determined to stop the run in the first half. The Buckeyes wanted to make sure that wasn’t going to happen again so they loaded the box.
it worked early and at times, Michigan football was getting beat up front. But having a commitment to the run is something that tends to pay off in the second half and it sure did for the Wolverines.
People will remember the two long runs by Edwards and for good reason. But thinking back, there were lots of other key moments.
Facing a fourth-and-one on the first drive of the second half, at around his own 30-yard line, Jim Harbaugh didn’t hesitate to go for it and Edwards drove forward for a key first down.
One a third-and-three right before the third quarter ended, Michigan football handed the ball to Edwards who again, got a key first down.
McCarthy got some key first downs running too, including the three-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. When Michigan needed to run the ball in the second half, it did.
And in the final 30 minutes of the game, Michigan ran for 245 yards and three touchdowns, proving that the Joe Moore Award should be returning to Ann Arbor.
Jesse Minter and the defense are incredible
Michigan football fans were concerned when Mike Macdonald went to the Ravens because he was the architect of the game plan that allowed the Wolverines to beat the Buckeyes.
But, Jim Harbaugh knows how to hire assistant coaches and he hit a home run with Jesse Minter. Michigan’s defense gave up a bunch of yards to C.J. Stroud but he only threw two touchdowns and his last two drives of the game ended with interceptions.
Outside of one deep ball, Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t kill the Wolverines and for the second year in a row, Michigan football put out the blueprint for beating Ohio State.
It starts with stopping the run. Michigan struggled with that in the first half but stonewalled Ohio State in the second. Then it was just about guys making plays.
Michigan only got one sack but Braiden McGregor made three huge plays — two of them batted passes. Mike Sainristil had two tremendous pass breakups including one in the end zone in the fourth quarter and Rod Moore had two pass breakups too.
Only two teams in Big Ten play — Maryland and Illinois — have scored second-half touchdowns against the Wolverines and Jesse Minter’s adjustments are becoming the stuff of legend.
He sure had C.J. Stroud confused in the second half and with Michigan’s near-perfect execution, Ohio State didn’t score a single touchdown when it mattered most.
Championship culture wins out
This goes back to Jim Harbaugh as much as anything but after everything that went wrong in 2020, he was smart enough to know a change needed to be made.
He overhauled most of his staff and the results have been incredible. This is back-to-back 12-win seasons for Michigan football, two straight over the Buckeyes and now five straight wins over Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State combined.
Those were the three big games on the schedule heading into 2022 and Michigan won each of them by 22, 22, and 24. The Wolverines have owned the second half all year and they did it again on Saturday.
You could tell once Ohio State started to get personal foul penalties and when Ryan Day was too scared to test Michigan’s defense on fourth down again, that it was game over.
Sun Tzu said, “Every battle is won before it is ever fought” and that was exactly what we saw on Saturday.
Ohio State talked a big game. The Wolverines didn’t. Harbaugh said both teams were going great and Michigan would find out about themselves in Columbus.
What they found out, is that last year wasn’t a fluke.
Michigan football is the better team, has the better program, and has the better head coach. It’s also looking like one of the best Wolverines teams we have ever seen.
That debate will wait for when it’s all said and done, but for now, we can say with confidence that the rivalry has shifted — the Big Ten runs through Ann Arbor — and it’s all because of Jim Harbaugh.