Didn't the announcers say John O'Korn was the quarterback minutes before the game?
I thought, Michigan doesn't have a chance.
Then Wilton Speight started and he looked sharp and healthy. I thought, they have a slight chance.
The defense was shutting down down Ohio State cold. Every drive was one-sided with third and longs and quarterback sacks. Despite their punter, Michigan was winning the field position battle too.
Then, at halftime, I said Michigan is going to win. It was the best Michigan-Ohio state half of football I had ever seen.
It continued well into... the entire game.
The worst part was Kirk Herbstreit. Michigan went into Ohio stadium and killed.
During the game I was thinking, Ohio State cannot defend Michigan's pro-style offense. They are not used to seeing it. Speight's pinpoint passes (interceptions aside) and strong, big receivers are getting it done; mix in enough runs to keep them honest. Michigan is moving the ball, and as a bonus, either a run or pass may break for a big gain.
Speight's errors were mental and they were three big ones. There was the snap at the goal line and two horrible throws that, combined, resulted in a 21 to 28 point swing. At one point he looked so hyper and out of touch that he fell handing the ball off.
Michigan's passing offense can be explosive.
Meanwhile, the defense was putting on a show. We saw it in the very first Don Brown game this season: what are the linebackers doing at the line of scrimmage, or blitzing? J.T. Barrett was sacked a lot, or rushed, or just plain flustered. Add into that, he is not a good passer; if he does get it off, you can live with that.
We have seen it from Ohio State before. They can be out-schemed or outplayed for a bit. They look as though they are totally without leadership and dead in the water.
And this was an extreme rarity, to see it this long, at home, in a game this big. There was the pick-six, but it seemed like Michigan was ahead the entire game--ahead with an Ohio State offense (and kicker) that were going nowhere.
It was a great game.
Finally, the Buckeyes took the lead, and I thought the huge mistakes have come back to roost, but man, Michigan played them at least even. All you can ask for is the big games. Michigan really is an elite team. It is incredible how good so fast Michigan has become. And what I mean by that is no more big game embarrassments.
And then they came back, and tied it!
The epilogue is sour. I couldn't avoid it in the news. Harbaugh and bitterness.
Buck with eye. Evergreen, Colorado, November 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment