Tag: Ohio State

Preview: Michigan vs. Ohio State

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RUSH OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is the #15 rushing team (218 yards/game) and averages 5.08 yards per carry, which is #30 in the country. That’s good, not great, but it’s impressive considering Michigan’s starting quarterback isn’t much of a threat to run at all. Hassan Haskins topped 1,000 yards last week and now has 216 carries for 1,063 yards and 13 touchdowns. Fellow star running back Blake Corum (778 yards, 10 TD on the ground) has missed the majority of the last three games with a lower leg injury, but he dressed for last week’s game at Maryland and I would expect him back in action against the Buckeyes. Offensive line wise, Michigan is securely #1 in the country in tackles for loss allowed with just 2.18 per game; Georgia is next best with 3.18 per contest. Ohio State is #20 in tackles for loss (7.27 per game) and #11 in rushing defense (102 yards allowed/game). They allow just 3.1 yards per carry (#12) but have faced just 363 rushing attempts, which is the 15th fewest; I guess that’s what happens when you score a bunch of points and teams have to pass to try to catch up. Safety Ronnie Hickman (6’1″, 205 lbs.) leads the team with 83 tackles, followed by linebacker Cody Simon (6’2″, 233) with 47, safety Bryson Shaw (6’0″, 195) with 44, and linebacker Teradja Mitchell (6’2″, 239) with 44. Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (6’2″, 235) is the biggest TFL guy with 5.5 in the run game this year. Michigan can’t get in a track meet with OSU, so they will have to try to run the ball and sustain drives to keep the defense fresh.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

Top 10 Longest Plays vs. Ohio State

1. Desmond Howard 93-yard punt return TD (1991)
2. Dave Raimey 90-yard kickoff return TD (1960)
3. Donovan Edwards 85-yard TD run (2022)
4. Devin Gardner 84-yard pass to Jeremy Gallon (2013)
5. Charles Woodson 78-yard punt return TD (1997)
6. Jim Harbaugh 77-yard TD pass to John Kolesar (1985)
7. Denard Robinson 75-yard TD pass to Roy Roundtree (2012)
8. Donovan Edwards 75-yard TD run (2022)
9. J.J. McCarthy 75-yard TD pass to Cornelius Johnson (2022)
10. Drew Henson 70-yard TD pass to Anthony Thomas (2000)

Hit the jump for video of #1, #3, #4, and #8. Sadly, I couldn’t find video of Raimey’s kickoff return.

Morning Roundup: December 29, 2019

Yes, this was targeting:

Was this targeting? #CFBPlayoff #Clemson #OhioState #clemsonvsosu pic.twitter.com/IFy6RY9Pdp

— 4.8 40 Sports (@foureight40) December 29, 2019

People are throwing out some solutions for the targeting rule, so I might as well throw my hat into the ring as a rule maker.

A lot of people – I would venture to say most – don’t understand “targeting.” The problem, in my opinion, is the word “targeting.” It seems to imply that there has to be something intentional about it. If you go out for target practice, you’re intentionally trying to shoot at a precise spot (a hay bale, a bullseye, etc.). If a missile hits its target, yes, it was intentional.

“Targeting” in football doesn’t have anything to do with intent. You either do it or you don’t. You can’t:

1. Lower your head to make contact with the crown of the helmet.
2. Create forcible contact to the head/neck area.

So change the terminology. Call #1 “spearing” and call #2 “targeting” or “head-hunting” or “flibbergibbing” or whatever you want. But I’ve discovered that a lack of education on a topic causes a lot of outrage. The “powers that be” of NCAA football need to show up on a national, widely watched broadcast and explain “targeting” or “spearing” or whatever the call ends up being. They need to show examples. And those examples can be provided on Youtube, Twitter, websites, etc. anytime there’s a question about “targeting.”

I’m glad LSU and Clemson are the two representatives in the national championship game. I’ll be rooting for LSU.

Meast ‼️ @tress_justin @CoachBenHerbert @TankWright pic.twitter.com/2jSwcHOQXl

— Josh Uche (@_Uche35) December 28, 2019

Maybe This Is As Good As It Gets

The Ohio State program is humming along at a pace that’s unprecedented for the Buckeyes. They have finished 1st or tied for 1st in their Big Ten division for the last eight seasons. To put that in perspective, Woody Hayes had six straight seasons finishing #1 or tied for #1 in the Big Ten, and Jim Tressel had five (six if you count the aborted Tatgate season). They have also beaten Michigan 15 out of the last 16 meetings, with the lone blip coming against one-year interim head coach Luke Fickell.

Hit the jump for more.

Ohio State 56, Michigan 27

The seniors played like crap. I said this on Twitter, and someone responded saying they’re looking forward to the seniors moving on. I wouldn’t go that far, but I was very disappointed in their lack of poise. I was reminded of Shawn Crable hitting Troy Smith late out of bounds…and that reminder came numerous times. Why did senior captain Carlo Kemp untie Dobbins’s shoe? 15 yards. Why did senior captain Khaleke Hudson jump offsides on a 4th-and-4 Ohio State punt? 5 yards and a first down. Why did Hudson not keep outside contain when OSU got under center and ran the ball at him? Huge gains, one of which was a touchdown. Why did senior quarterback Shea Patterson keep trying to run outside instead of cutting up to follow his blockers? -3 yards each time. Why did senior Josh Metellus decide not to play his deep half in cover 2? Touchdown. These were major gaffes. It annoys me that Cam McGrone hit Justin Fields out of bounds when Fields was already losing yards, but at least McGrone is just a young guy who’s only been starting for less than a full season. The seniors have no excuse.

Hit the jump for more.