B1G Week 13: The Game

Quote Originally Posted by HockeyNight11:

@UNIMAN  They just grind man. Wear down the OSU DL and don’t change the plan no matter what happens.  OSU D was pretty solid overall. McCord made some big big throws in that game but one huge mistake / massive play by Will Johnson. Was an unbelievable game to be at!

Quote Originally Posted by HockeyNight11:

Michigan / OSU Will try to keep this brief. Second year in a row I have these teams power rated within a point. FWIW, dogs have been covering machines when undefeated teams meet the last game of the regular season and often win outright. Doesn’t really affect this game but interesting nonetheless. The game I keep thinking about is OSU/ND. I consider ND to be Michigan-lite. solid OL, quality QB, run the ball well, and then solid defensively. Bottom line is OSU probably should have lost that game, game literally slipped through ND’s hands. Henderson was really good running the ball for OSU, but one huge difference is the size of the interior of Michigans DL. I’d consider ND to be small on the interior whereas Michigan is not only big there but athletic too. Containing the edge vs Henderson will be important, keep him inside and it’ll be a tough go. Keeping OSU off schedule puts the ball in McCords hands. Looked to be limping pretty good today, and has a leaky OL protecting him vs the best front they’ll have seen all season. When under pressure Kyle McCord has the lowest passer rating in the B1G. There are some bad QBs in this league and he’s at the bottom of that stat. Obviously OSU has weapons on the outside but if the run game isn’t good, or Day just abandons it the way he likes to do then I think the path to victory gets really narrow for OSU.  For Michigan, don’t be fooled by the ‘what have you done for me lately’ stuff. UM went on the road and beat 2 of the top 4 whereas OSU was home against 2 of the bottom 3. Went into the home of the #1 run D at the time and finished the game by running for 37 straight minutes. Impressive. Karsan Barnhart is a concern for me in protection, but honestly I want to see JJ moving around tomorrow. Contrary to McCord, JJ is #1 under pressure with a rating above 100 (McCord in the 40s). It’s where he’s best, and he can also do some damage with the legs. The OSU defense has prided itself in not allowing the big play this year. That’s great and all, but that plays right into the strength of the Michigan O. Corum is a bull and will churn 3-4 yards out of nothing. They’ll be completely content with long drives picking up small chunks at a time. I think OSU can be run on, and I do think this opens up the pass game some for JJ too. Knowles defense puts responsibility on the safeties, it’s complicated, and although I sort of wish ransom was playing - not having his experience back there hurts.