Michigan football proved it was tougher than Ohio State on Saturday and one Buckeyes’ assistant lashed out at Roman Wilson after a loss.
If you watched the Michigan football-Ohio State game on Saturday, and you have a grip on reality, you won’t have any doubt who which team was tougher or better.
Michigan football out-rushed the Buckeyes for the third straight season. The Wolverines also delivered some big hits in the secondary and key plays when it mattered most.
Not only is Michigan physically tougher — the Wolverines proved they are mentally tougher too. Michigan went 3-for-3 on fourth down — twice converting on touchdown drives, while Ryan Day chose to kick the ball twice.
Let's Dance 🕺#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qvf4wqO6yn
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 25, 2023
The outcome only seems more predictable if you look at the pre-game conduct of Day and the Buckeyes. The video of quarterback Kyle McCord dancing is funny, but not as funny as the video of Day trying to “pump up” his team.
— Kirk Campbell (@CoachKCampbell) November 26, 2023
Tough isn’t saying you are tough. It’s a seven-play touchdown drive, covering 75 yards when the game was tied. It also included a touchdown one play after Michigan football lost Zak Zinter for the game due to a gruesome injury. When Ohio State got the ball next it went three and hunt, when a Buckeye receiver dropped a pass after getting drilled by Quentin Johnson.
The crowd is back in it.
— Due# (@JDue51) November 26, 2023
Emotions on the sidelines are spilling over.
They just got the lead back.
Need a stop.
Quentin Johnson comes over the top and absolutely hamblasts Ebuka. pic.twitter.com/6Ukd93oadF
Then, when Ohio State got within three, 27-24, there were eight minutes on the clock. The Wolverines miked seven minutes off the clock and converted a third-and-one on their way to a field goal that forced OSU to try and score a touchdown instead of a field goal.
3rd & 1
— Due# (@JDue51) November 26, 2023
Watch the push from Barnhart. Nugent, Keegan, Henderson, and Loveland. Just blasted a hole through the heart of the defense to pick up the first. pic.twitter.com/h9e1vYPjhr
That’s toughness.
At this moment, the play is over.
— Due# (@JDue51) November 26, 2023
Touchdown.
Anything after this is inconsequential. pic.twitter.com/NtN3pmjR0r
Roman Wilson made one of the biggest plays of the game, catching a 22-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put the Wolverines up 14-3. After the game, Wilson called out the Buckeyes for being soft with their “Louis V’s” taking a shot at Marvin Harrison Jr.
Roman Wilson when asked about the Buckeye's toughness and physicality: "They want to put on the Louis V, the $1,000 outfit and you wanna act hard .. but when were out there, they're not hard. I see the film. You're not tough." pic.twitter.com/vJRf6fda61
— Marlee Wierda (@marleewierda) November 25, 2023
That struck a chord with Tim Walton, the Ohio State secondary coach, who said Wilson sounded “stupid” and said Wilson “wasn’t tough” because the refs gave him a touchdown when it should have been an interception.
lol you gotta be kidding me with this https://t.co/gyOLsK8sOE
— Steve Lorenz (@TremendousUM) November 26, 2023
Wilson caught the ball at the five-yard line, so the idea that he didn’t have control by the end zone is ridiculous. Denzel Burke took the ball out of Wilson’s hands three yards into the end zone — three yards after the play was officially over.
Burke’s effort was akin to knocking the ball out of a running back’s hands after he crossed the goal line. It didn’t even need to be reviewed and I have no clue what Joel Klatt was talking about (he sounded like an Ohio State homer all day).
Yet, it’s not surprising that Walton would try to blame the refs. Ohio State is softer than soft-serve ice cream and can’t accept it got beat.
That’s why it blamed the “signs” after getting pounded by a combined 38 points in 2021 and 2022. It’s also why Walton is grasping for straws instead of accepting reality.