The time has arrived, we are back with the 121st meeting between Ohio State and Michigan in what is simply known as "The Game".
There is no bigger game in college football annually, and once again, we have conference title and postseason implications on the line.
This series dates back to 1897. Michigan leads the all-time series 62-51-6. There has always been an ebb and flow to this series, and the current trend this decade is Michigan wins. This author likes that. You can say in my true fandom lifetime that I have seen the bookends. I started watching this series in the late 1980s and watched quite the run by the Wolverines with a 10-2-1 run during the John Cooper years. The start of this century was all Buckeyes, though, as they won 16 out of 18. The tide has turned, though in the 2020's and that begs the question...
Is Ryan Day their new John Cooper?
Perhaps. Cooper had some great teams and frankly should have won a National Championship in the 1990s. But, he didn't. Day was able to rebound from last year's upset and win a playoff. That was a nice consolation prize (yes, I am kidding) for losing the biggest game of the year. Once again, all the pressure is on Ryan Day and his Buckeyes!
Last season was wild, even to the most diehard Michigan fans. Losing so many seniors from the 3-time Big Ten Championship teams, plus a big amount of the staff to the NFL, led to a pretty substandard season. They did come into that game with some momentum in November, but with a pretty average at best QB, no one saw them scoring enough to win, including me. Ohio State had a 20-million-dollar roster, a great set of receivers, and two future NFL RBs. Add in a damn good defense. Michigan also had multiple draft picks on defense, and that is why they stayed in the game.
Coach Moore said all week and afterwards that he simply wanted to get to the 4th quarter with a reasonable score and win from there. That had honestly become the mantra during the winning streak. Let's get into the final stanza with a chance to win. Reliable defense, a great running game, and good kickers go a long way. We saw @Frank Costanza mention this in the week #14 discussion thread. The longer Michigan stays in this one, the more the pressure mounts, especially on the road. I'll tell ya what, thanks goodness for that playoff last year, or this might be a hot seat game for Day.
So, let's start talking about the '25 edition of Mich-OSU!
There are the basic stats and schedules so far for each team.
My issue with Ohio State, for capping, is that they have been basically playing exhibitions for 3 months now. That isn't their fault. We expected the November game vs Penn State to be a top 5-6 matchup. Things happen. They also don't have Indiana, USC, or Oregon on their schedules this year. I can edit this and say the win at Washington is quite quality. That was very nice, early on with a young QB on the road. That Texas game seems so long ago. Frankly, Texas was pretty bad on offense at that point, too.
So, I have been saying this for weeks, but capping OSU for this game, Indiana next week, and then the playoffs isn't as clear cut as some might think it is. They are a helluva team, and we'll see in the next 6 weeks whether this is their best defense in years. So far, they are tracking that way. Let's look at a few numbers, though...
Taking a look at the OSU Schedule -- Here is the ranking of the opposing RUSH Offenses --
Texas #110
Ohio U #15
Washington #57
Minnesota #126
Illinois #94
Wisconsin #113
Penn State #63
Purdue #93
UCLA #84
Rutgers #89
Michigan sits at #10 nationally -- but there are 3 injuries back there we will discuss in a bit --
Only one team ran for over 100 on the Bucks -- Texas with 166
If I remember correctly, Penn State had some early success on the edges.
With any good team, we have to realize that the opponent plays catch-up and might run less --
In my opinion, their front is good, but it's their LBs that make this front 7 so damn good.
The Buckeyes in 2025 are built quite a bit differently than the first 5-6 years of the Day era. Those teams wanted to score, score, and score some more. Their skill position recruiting was incredible (and still is), but they didn't focus on the trenches, maybe as much as they should have. We've seen Michigan punch them in the mouth for years now. The 2023 team was much 'tougher' but came up a bit short. Last year was a combination of many things. This team this year may not be the most flashy, but they get the job done.
I've mentioned quite a bit the last 5-6 weeks, my concern for their running game. They started to show out vs UCLA and Rutgers, but everyone is beating up on the Scarlet Knights. Maybe that was the start of something, though.
Remember, the biggest stat key in The Game is whoever wins the rushing battle usually wins the game.
So, let's talk about that Michigan run game and all these injuries...
Simply put, the Michigan OL keeps getting better and better in the run game. They REALLY shine in 4th quarters when it's time to close out wins. The RB stable started with a lot of Justice Haynes and some Jordan Marshall for the first 6-7 weeks. Haynes was low-key a Heisman candidate until the injury. Such a bummer, as he was going to run for 1600-1800 yards and really have a memorable one year in Ann Arbor. Oh, what could have been? Great kid though, and good luck in the NFL. Marshall struggled at times early on as Haynes was so damn good! This made the workload shift from sharing to single-digit carries at times for Jordan. Here's the thing with #23, he is so much better when he receives bulk carries. He was also forcing runs early on, trying to show he could make big plays. Now, he is being himself and is performing at an all-league level...
So, of course, Marshall suffers an injury at Wrigley Field. I thought it was a season-ender. Moore says he could have played last week. Coach speak? We'll see. So, during that wild game at Northwestern, they turned to walk-on Bryson Kuzdzal. This kid just runs HARD! He got the start in College Park and ran for 100 yards and 3 TDs. He never gives up on a run. Love him!
Also suffering an injury at Maryland is the heart and soul of the offense, FB Bredeson. A Senior Captain. If you don't remember him, he's the one who laid out Caleb Downs in the Rose Bowl. He's a champion and the heart of the offense. He did say today he plans on playing. I am guessing 99% of others in his situation do not play here. The thing is, he's so vital to every part of this offense. We'll see early on how much he can contribute.
As for the rest of the UM offense, Andrew Marsh has exploded in Big Ten play and been one of the best freshmen in America. The beauty of that is that it slides McCulley to the #2 spot, and he's playing much better in that role. Meanwhile. 18-year-old Bryce Underwood has shown flashes of brilliance and also made freshman mistakes the last month. Overall, he has been pretty good with turnovers, but games vs Purdue and NW were not good in that department. All that being said, his passing has been exquisite since the bye week. He hit the frosh wall and needed that break + teaching moments. Learning and perfecting the RPO is all part of the process. I cannot wait to see the next two years with this guy.
On defense, Michigan has been pretty damn good aside from the USC game. In that game, they were hit in the mouth and seemed to learn a lot. The run defense is excellent. The linebackers have been banged up, but they are a very good unit. The secondary has plenty of talent, but they have some lapses, and this is a scary game for that -- with all the WR talent back there. Wink Martindale can either be very good or very bad in the fans' eyes. How he calls this game will be critical. How aggressive will he be?
The biggest problem for Michigan this year is special teams. I told you all before the season that this would lose them a game or two. The punter sucks. The place-kicker was an all-American last year but has regressed a bit this year. Thankfully, they finally pulled the plug on Morgan returning kicks. He's AWFUL. Dom won the game last year for Michigan and he simply cannot be missing kicks this week.
So, I'll wrap this up for now with some Michigan quick hitters....
-This is the youngest team in the Big Ten
-They have 3 freshmen on the OL
-Injuries to the starting RB and starting FB
-QB1 is 18 years old
-The defense has been committing dumb penalties all month, a lot of offsides
Someone did a comparison of each Michigan team this decade(stats). The defense is pretty darn close. The offense is close as well, in yards, but is quite a bit behind in points. They have not been efficient in the red zone.
Can Michigan win as a DD underdog at home? Absolutely.
How can they do that?
Win the running game, win the turnover battle, and be rock solid on special teams. From there, I hope you can move the ball a bit on this defense. On the other end, stop the run and make Sayin's life uncomfortable.
Any surprises? I think there are a few Underwood-designed runs we haven't seen yet.
My fear? Marshall and Bredeson are still banged up. That means the running game is doing very little. At that point, the game falls on the young QB, and a few turnovers build up. The thing about Bryce is that he struggles for a series or two after a turnover. That is part of the learning process.
I will say, the biggest issue I see for Michigan in this game is pass protection. As good as the OL run blocks, their pass protection is average at best. Now, if they give him some clean pockets, this could be a lot of fun.
Again, get this game into the 4th quarter and let the opposing coach feel the pressure. That plan has been working for several years now. We'll see..
As far as a prediction? I do feel this is a learning game. The Bredeson injury is so big. Don't ask me why, but I keep having this 2005 vision in my head. I am not sure why. Maybe it was the girl I was banging then
Go Blue.
There is no bigger game in college football annually, and once again, we have conference title and postseason implications on the line.
This series dates back to 1897. Michigan leads the all-time series 62-51-6. There has always been an ebb and flow to this series, and the current trend this decade is Michigan wins. This author likes that. You can say in my true fandom lifetime that I have seen the bookends. I started watching this series in the late 1980s and watched quite the run by the Wolverines with a 10-2-1 run during the John Cooper years. The start of this century was all Buckeyes, though, as they won 16 out of 18. The tide has turned, though in the 2020's and that begs the question...
Is Ryan Day their new John Cooper?
Perhaps. Cooper had some great teams and frankly should have won a National Championship in the 1990s. But, he didn't. Day was able to rebound from last year's upset and win a playoff. That was a nice consolation prize (yes, I am kidding) for losing the biggest game of the year. Once again, all the pressure is on Ryan Day and his Buckeyes!
Last season was wild, even to the most diehard Michigan fans. Losing so many seniors from the 3-time Big Ten Championship teams, plus a big amount of the staff to the NFL, led to a pretty substandard season. They did come into that game with some momentum in November, but with a pretty average at best QB, no one saw them scoring enough to win, including me. Ohio State had a 20-million-dollar roster, a great set of receivers, and two future NFL RBs. Add in a damn good defense. Michigan also had multiple draft picks on defense, and that is why they stayed in the game.
Coach Moore said all week and afterwards that he simply wanted to get to the 4th quarter with a reasonable score and win from there. That had honestly become the mantra during the winning streak. Let's get into the final stanza with a chance to win. Reliable defense, a great running game, and good kickers go a long way. We saw @Frank Costanza mention this in the week #14 discussion thread. The longer Michigan stays in this one, the more the pressure mounts, especially on the road. I'll tell ya what, thanks goodness for that playoff last year, or this might be a hot seat game for Day.
So, let's start talking about the '25 edition of Mich-OSU!
There are the basic stats and schedules so far for each team.
My issue with Ohio State, for capping, is that they have been basically playing exhibitions for 3 months now. That isn't their fault. We expected the November game vs Penn State to be a top 5-6 matchup. Things happen. They also don't have Indiana, USC, or Oregon on their schedules this year. I can edit this and say the win at Washington is quite quality. That was very nice, early on with a young QB on the road. That Texas game seems so long ago. Frankly, Texas was pretty bad on offense at that point, too.
So, I have been saying this for weeks, but capping OSU for this game, Indiana next week, and then the playoffs isn't as clear cut as some might think it is. They are a helluva team, and we'll see in the next 6 weeks whether this is their best defense in years. So far, they are tracking that way. Let's look at a few numbers, though...
Taking a look at the OSU Schedule -- Here is the ranking of the opposing RUSH Offenses --
Texas #110
Ohio U #15
Washington #57
Minnesota #126
Illinois #94
Wisconsin #113
Penn State #63
Purdue #93
UCLA #84
Rutgers #89
Michigan sits at #10 nationally -- but there are 3 injuries back there we will discuss in a bit --
Only one team ran for over 100 on the Bucks -- Texas with 166
If I remember correctly, Penn State had some early success on the edges.
With any good team, we have to realize that the opponent plays catch-up and might run less --
In my opinion, their front is good, but it's their LBs that make this front 7 so damn good.
The Buckeyes in 2025 are built quite a bit differently than the first 5-6 years of the Day era. Those teams wanted to score, score, and score some more. Their skill position recruiting was incredible (and still is), but they didn't focus on the trenches, maybe as much as they should have. We've seen Michigan punch them in the mouth for years now. The 2023 team was much 'tougher' but came up a bit short. Last year was a combination of many things. This team this year may not be the most flashy, but they get the job done.
I've mentioned quite a bit the last 5-6 weeks, my concern for their running game. They started to show out vs UCLA and Rutgers, but everyone is beating up on the Scarlet Knights. Maybe that was the start of something, though.
Remember, the biggest stat key in The Game is whoever wins the rushing battle usually wins the game.
So, let's talk about that Michigan run game and all these injuries...
Simply put, the Michigan OL keeps getting better and better in the run game. They REALLY shine in 4th quarters when it's time to close out wins. The RB stable started with a lot of Justice Haynes and some Jordan Marshall for the first 6-7 weeks. Haynes was low-key a Heisman candidate until the injury. Such a bummer, as he was going to run for 1600-1800 yards and really have a memorable one year in Ann Arbor. Oh, what could have been? Great kid though, and good luck in the NFL. Marshall struggled at times early on as Haynes was so damn good! This made the workload shift from sharing to single-digit carries at times for Jordan. Here's the thing with #23, he is so much better when he receives bulk carries. He was also forcing runs early on, trying to show he could make big plays. Now, he is being himself and is performing at an all-league level...
So, of course, Marshall suffers an injury at Wrigley Field. I thought it was a season-ender. Moore says he could have played last week. Coach speak? We'll see. So, during that wild game at Northwestern, they turned to walk-on Bryson Kuzdzal. This kid just runs HARD! He got the start in College Park and ran for 100 yards and 3 TDs. He never gives up on a run. Love him!
Also suffering an injury at Maryland is the heart and soul of the offense, FB Bredeson. A Senior Captain. If you don't remember him, he's the one who laid out Caleb Downs in the Rose Bowl. He's a champion and the heart of the offense. He did say today he plans on playing. I am guessing 99% of others in his situation do not play here. The thing is, he's so vital to every part of this offense. We'll see early on how much he can contribute.
As for the rest of the UM offense, Andrew Marsh has exploded in Big Ten play and been one of the best freshmen in America. The beauty of that is that it slides McCulley to the #2 spot, and he's playing much better in that role. Meanwhile. 18-year-old Bryce Underwood has shown flashes of brilliance and also made freshman mistakes the last month. Overall, he has been pretty good with turnovers, but games vs Purdue and NW were not good in that department. All that being said, his passing has been exquisite since the bye week. He hit the frosh wall and needed that break + teaching moments. Learning and perfecting the RPO is all part of the process. I cannot wait to see the next two years with this guy.
On defense, Michigan has been pretty damn good aside from the USC game. In that game, they were hit in the mouth and seemed to learn a lot. The run defense is excellent. The linebackers have been banged up, but they are a very good unit. The secondary has plenty of talent, but they have some lapses, and this is a scary game for that -- with all the WR talent back there. Wink Martindale can either be very good or very bad in the fans' eyes. How he calls this game will be critical. How aggressive will he be?
The biggest problem for Michigan this year is special teams. I told you all before the season that this would lose them a game or two. The punter sucks. The place-kicker was an all-American last year but has regressed a bit this year. Thankfully, they finally pulled the plug on Morgan returning kicks. He's AWFUL. Dom won the game last year for Michigan and he simply cannot be missing kicks this week.
So, I'll wrap this up for now with some Michigan quick hitters....
-This is the youngest team in the Big Ten
-They have 3 freshmen on the OL
-Injuries to the starting RB and starting FB
-QB1 is 18 years old
-The defense has been committing dumb penalties all month, a lot of offsides
Someone did a comparison of each Michigan team this decade(stats). The defense is pretty darn close. The offense is close as well, in yards, but is quite a bit behind in points. They have not been efficient in the red zone.
Can Michigan win as a DD underdog at home? Absolutely.
How can they do that?
Win the running game, win the turnover battle, and be rock solid on special teams. From there, I hope you can move the ball a bit on this defense. On the other end, stop the run and make Sayin's life uncomfortable.
Any surprises? I think there are a few Underwood-designed runs we haven't seen yet.
My fear? Marshall and Bredeson are still banged up. That means the running game is doing very little. At that point, the game falls on the young QB, and a few turnovers build up. The thing about Bryce is that he struggles for a series or two after a turnover. That is part of the learning process.
I will say, the biggest issue I see for Michigan in this game is pass protection. As good as the OL run blocks, their pass protection is average at best. Now, if they give him some clean pockets, this could be a lot of fun.
Again, get this game into the 4th quarter and let the opposing coach feel the pressure. That plan has been working for several years now. We'll see..
As far as a prediction? I do feel this is a learning game. The Bredeson injury is so big. Don't ask me why, but I keep having this 2005 vision in my head. I am not sure why. Maybe it was the girl I was banging then
Go Blue.
