It has taken me a while to write this recap of The Game because
I needed to calm my frustrations. I
thought I had come back down to earth on Monday, but then talking to coworkers
just stoked the fire again. If you didn’t
see any of the football game on Saturday, you can probably guess that Michigan
lost. It was a more frustrating loss
than any of the 3 Rich Rod suffered, because in this one the team gave us a
little hope and the coaches ripped it away… over and over again.
Saturday was a tale of two halves. The first half saw both offenses move the
ball at will which led to a 21-20 half time lead for the good guys. Due to a near red zone fumble and terrible
clock management, Ohio was only down 1 point.
The score should not have been closer than 24-17. The second half saw Michigan’s offense run
head first into a brick wall for 15 minutes, while the defense did the best
they could to hold the conference’s best offense to 2 field goals. I don’t want to spend time writing about
coaching, but this loss squarely lies with the staff.
In the first half, I was impressed with Michigan’s play
calling. They seemed to mix in Denard’s
runs with Devin’s throws well. The
Wolverines also ran a few sets with both Devin and Denard on the field, which
gives the defense a lot more to think about.
Yes, Michigan scored on big plays, but they also had 2 good drives
thrown in that Ohio got lucky only resulted in 7 points. The offensive line was
struggling in pass coverage, but the play action game seemed to make the
defense pause just enough for Devin to be mostly clean in the first 2
quarters.
In the second half I was blown away with the defensive effort. They just looked bad in the first half. Ohio could run up the middle for 6+ yards,
they were getting little to no pressure on Braxton Miller which allowed him to
sit in the pocket and pick apart the secondary.
For a defense that had not given up more than 200 yards through the air,
the Bucknuts had 156 in the first half. While the defense really struggled to
slow down Carlos Hyde for the entire afternoon, they made Miller the focal
point and really limited his rushing attempts.
Mattison started dialing up a few more blitzes which resulted in some
big sacks that number 5 was lucky to hold onto. I thought Frank Clark had his
best game of the season (like last year’s game against Ohio). If he can bring that much intensity to every
game next season, there is no reason why he can’t be an all conference type
player. JT Floyd got picked on in the first possession, but then held his own
the rest of the game. Ohio took a few
shots deep, but then settled for screen passes and slants for much of the 2nd
half. While the Buckeyes were able to
get yards in the second half, the defense only surrendered 6 points. Even though the offense continued to give the
ball back to the scarlet and grey in great field position. Michigan did not pass midfield the entire 2nd
half, meanwhile, Ohio started 4 drives on Michigan’s side of the 50. It looks like as long as Mattison is coaching
on the sidelines in Ann Arbor, Michigan will have one of the best defenses in
the conference, if not the country.
I was really disappointed with the play calling in the
second half. I am not going to pretend
to be a football strategy genius, but as I sat on my parents couch I correctly
called close to 75% of Michigan’s 2nd half plays. If I could do that, how much better was the
Buckeye defensive coaching staff picking out plays? It is hard to gain yards on any team if they
know the exact play that is coming. Yes,
Devin did not have a good half of football, he became indecisive and a number
of throws were a step or two late which let the defense correct itself and
defend the pass. But, even now 4 days
after the game, I am at a loss of the 2nd half offensive game
plan. I know we should give the Borges a
little more time to get “the guys he wants to run his offense,” but watching on
Saturday was extremely confusing and frustrating. Why do we completely open up the playbook for
the lowly Iowa Hawkeyes only one week prior, then shut it tight and become
Lloyd Carr-ish predictable. Rich Rod
ruined any chance of Michigan implementing the spread offense for a long time,
but it doesn’t mean we have to back to the leather helmet era.
Looking ahead, Michigan blew its good chance of going to
back-to-back BCS games with a win on Saturday, and now will likely have to
settle for the Capital One Bowl where they will play a better team than
Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. I guess that
means that the B1G could bring that trophy home again. The Wolverines will likely play Georgia, LSU,
South Carolina, or Texas A&M. Those
matchups look daunting, but hopefully with enough time to prepare Michigan can
bounce back for a big win against a top 10 SEC team (unlike what happened in
Dallas to open the season). Even though
there is still the bowl game to get excited for, my focus has shifted to
basketball season and the book has closed on the frustrating 2012 Michigan
football season.
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