How OSU fares after the rivalry game

Technically, an Ohio State football season hasn’t died again at the hands of Michigan. But it certainly felt like it on Saturday, as the heavily favored, No. 2-ranked Buckeyes lost 13-10 to the 7-5 Wolverines.

Additionally, the proud rivalry was marred by an on-field brawl after the game.

How did the Buckeyes do on Saturday? Vacation is granted in a ratio of zero to five.

Criminal offense in the US state of Ohio (0 sheets)

Of course, a team with a $20 million payroll and three NFL-rated receivers had a 20-point lead over an average team, but only managed to score 10 points. The Buckeyes entered the game with a major advantage in the passing game, which became even more apparent when it was announced Saturday morning that Michigan’s star cornerback Will Johnson could not play, but the Buckeyes insisted on passing the ball to the strength of the Wolverines’ run defense to ram.

The result was a loss of 77 rushing yards on 26 carries, or 3 yards per attempt.

More:Does Ohio State have the best college sports tradition? Vote now!

Every time it looked like the Buckeyes were going to create more space by extending the field, they returned to the running game. It was almost as if the coaches’ headset cords had been crossed and Sherrone Moore was telling Ohio State quarterback Will Howard where to go with the ball. “Hey, let’s try big No. 55 again!”

Howard chose a bad day to play his worst game as a Buckeye. He finished 19 for 33 for 175 yards, a touchdown and two really bad interceptions. His legs weren’t a factor as he rushed for 10 yards on four carries.

Jeremiah Smith had five receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown on seven targets.

Ohio State Defense (4 Sheets)

The fact that Michigan’s first two scoring drives were 2 and 3 yards and did not include a first down highlights the predicament the Ohio State defense found itself in all day. Michigan threw for just 62 yards and was 7 for 14 on third down and 0 for 1 on fourth down. The Wolverines also had the ball for seven minutes longer than the Buckeyes.

With the Buckeyes’ defense at the goal line again, it looked like Ohio State’s offense was going to win the game. But that offense never surfaced.

More:Is Ohio State the best college for sports fans? Vote now!

When the defense finally missed a tackle, Kalel Mullings ran 27 yards to pretty much seal the game.

Ohio State special teams (0 sheets)

Jayden Fielding missed field goal attempts of 38 and 34 yards, and Joe McGuire had a weak 31-yard punt that put Michigan in position to score a field goal.

McGuire did land one punt inside the 5, fielded by Jayden Ballard, but he averaged just 36 yards on three punts.

More:Does Ohio State have the best college sports tradition? Vote now!

Ohio State Coaching (2 sheets)

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and his staff get all hands on deck here. As for the offensive coaches, it looked like they came together and vowed together to prove once and for all that they can play hard, even if this team isn’t built or constructed that way.

Ryan Day, of course, is 1-4 against Michigan and had his team’s entire season built around this game.

Fun Quotient (2 sheets)

It was a great game if you like bad offense and childish post-game behavior that results in police pepper-spraying players on the field.

The rest of us will just appreciate the intensity of the rivalry, the sunshine, the bands and defenses playing with great effort.

As Michigan running back Kalel Mullings said, “We had 60 minutes to fight on the field and now people want to fight? I don’t like that.”

Michigan Wolverines (4 sheets)

Michigan is not a good team, but played well and stopped Ohio State’s offense all day. The Wolverines hit the ball when they were on offense and pulled a trick or two when needed.

More:Is Ohio State the best college for sports fans? Vote now!

Officials (4 sheets)

The officials had no influence on the outcome of the game, and that’s how it should be. A good touchdown catch by Jeremiah Smith in the second quarter, passing Michigan’s Zeke Berry on the way to the ball, was a good no-call. It was similar to a key play against Oregon when Smith was called for offensive pass interference.

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How OSU fares after the rivalry game

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