The Writing Was on the Wall that Ohio State Would Finally End the Streak Against the Team Up North
The Michigan Wolverines had beaten Ohio State in four straight seasons, with three of those games being upset victories. After their 13-10 win on the road in Columbus despite being a 19.5-point underdog, it was easy to understand why bettors would want to back what is a better Wolverines team this season back in the Big House. Michigan’s offense last year ranked 129th in the nation by averaging only 286 yards per game. Now they have the number one freshman recruit in the country under center with freshman Bryce Underwood, and there is life again on offense. Yet the problem this year’s Wolverines face in this year’s showdown with the Buckeyes is simply too many injuries to critical players. Alabama transfer running back Justice Haynes remains out, and he is one of the most explosive backs in the country. Sophomore Jordan Marshall has been good in his absence as the lead back, yet he is questionable with an injury that kept him out last week. In his absence, freshman running back Bryson Kuzdzal ran the ball 20 times for 100 yards with three touchdowns last week in a 45-20 victory on the road at Maryland. Yet in this rivalry game, ball security and blocking on passing downs are skills that will make the difference. The offense will also be without starting left tackle Evan Link. On defense, the hope was that veteran senior free safety Rod Moore would offer the unit leadership after suffering a season-ending injury last year. But he had not played since their loss to USC and has been declared out for this game. Both Haynes and Moore were named captains at the beginning of the season. Linebacker Ernest Hausmann was questionable, and his loss would be devastating since he is the team’s second-leading tackler and third-best generator of pressure on the quarterback. Tight end Max Bredeson was also questionable with an injury, and although he does not get many touches, the senior lines up all over the field and personifies the toughness and does the little things that head coach Sherrone Moore wants for this team. The Wolverines have great young talent with three redshirt freshmen now starting on the offensive line, along with a future superstar freshman wide receiver, Andrew Marsh, who has already become Underwood’s favorite target. But they were probably a year away from competing against the best teams in the nation, especially the ones that have been obsessed for 365 days to rectify their upset loss to them last season. Michigan’s best win was on the road at Nebraska or at home against Washington. Those results are not college football playoff worthy. The Wolverines had covered the point spread in just three of their previous eleven games at home after winning their previous game. They had covered the point spread in just seven of their previous nineteen games at home at Michigan Stadium. They had covered the point spread in four of their previous eleven games at home when the oddsmakers installed the over/under from 42.5 to 49.Head coach Ryan Day probably realized he was too conservative in his game management in the Buckeyes’ three-point loss at the Shoe last year. He was coaching not to lose, and they lost. After his team picked up the pieces to convincingly win the national championship, he probably learned his lesson. We expected Ohio State to play very aggressively in this game to take advantage of their talent advantage. As last year demonstrated, the Buckeyes can lose this game and still go win a natty. Sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith did not play last week, and wide receiver Carnell Tate is questionable with an injury. Smith was expected to play, and there looks to be a good chance that Tate will join him on the field. This looks like a team that has been circling the wagons to rest, heal, and prepare for this game. Ohio State had not lost since getting beaten by the Wolverines last year. They came off a 42-9 victory against Rutgers last week, and they have covered the point spread in eighteen of their previous twenty-five gams after winning their previous game by 17 or more points. They had covered the point spread in nineteen of their previous twenty-six games after holding their previous opponent to 14 points or less. The biggest question for this team beginning the season was how much production they could count on from their quarterback. Now coming into “The Game,” freshman Julian Sayin has 27 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. He entered “The Game” leading the nation in on-target passing rate and is turning the ball over in just 2.3% of his dropbacks when under pass rush pressure. It is fair to say he has been everything that the Ohio State fans could have hoped for before the season started. The Buckeyes had covered the point spread in twenty-six of their previous thirty-seven games when the oddsmakers installed them as the favorite, and they had covered the point spread in five of their previous six games when the oddsmakers installed them as the favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. They have covered the point spread in eight of their previous twelve games on the road when playing a winning team. Almost everything went right for the Wolverines early on in the game. They scored a field goal on their opening drive with Jordan Marshall running the ball well despite his injury. Sayin then threw an interception on his first drive, which set Michigan up for a second field goal. Moore was managing the game to keep his team close before entering the fourth quarter. Yet the Buckeyes caught a huge break when Smith bobbled a would-be touchdown pass, stepped out of bounds before retaining possession, yet the referees did not overrule the touchdown ruling on the field. The Buckeyes then scored a crucial touchdown at the end of the first half to make the score 17-9, with them then receiving the ball first in the second half. They controlled the line of scrimmage on offense and defense and eventually had their offense on the field for over 40 minutes. In the end, Ohio State advanced to the Big Ten championship game with a 27-9 victory against the dreaded Team Up North , and Team Del Genio comfortably won our NCAA-F Big Ten Game of the Year. Good luck - Team Del Genio.
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