Ryan Day trying to prove he's tough
Buckeye fans have rightly pointed out that Ryan Day tried to run the football instead of spreading it out.
However, there were some reasons for that. For starters, Michigan football played a light box. Yet, even with just 5-6 guys in the box, they were able to stop the run because of the effectiveness of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.
Graham had five solo tackles. On the other side, Ohio State, couldn't stop the run even though it knew Michigan couldn't pass and knew what was coming.
Michigan had to guard against explosive plays and still held OSU to just 77 rushing yards. The former three-star linebacker recruit, Mullings, gained more yards than Ohio State's tandem of five-star running backs combined.
In terms of the pass defense, Wink Martindale called a masterpiece. He confused Will Howard, which is what you need to do.
After all, the Buckeyes came out passing on the final drive and got one yard on four attempts. More pass attempts don't guarantee success. Howard threw two picks. Jeremiah Smith didn't catch a single pass longer than 10 yards.
Not a single Ohio State receiver had a reception longer than 18 yards. That's baffling. But when your pass rush is lethal and you can stop the run, while playing coverage, a team like Ohio State is going to struggle.
Ryan Day should get blamed because he should have gone up-tempo, thrown the ball, and tried to wear Michigan out that way. But you still have to protect and I don't think he trusted his offensive line.
Yet, he absolutely was out to prove he had a "tough team" and cared more about his own ego than putting his players in the best position to win the game.