After having two days to enjoy the victory, here are a few post-game thoughts:
Glad to see Vernon Gholston show up on Saturday after performing his best Alonzo "Looks Like Tarzan, Plays Like Jane" Spellman impersonation against Illinois. Gholston in particular, and the entire defense in general, played like they had something to prove, and it showed in the stats: Michigan's 61 plays yielded only 91 yards of total offense, for an average of 1.5 yards per play.
The last time Michigan was held under 100 yards of total offense, you ask? October 20, 1962, against Purdue. Truly, a once-in-a-lifetime performance by the Ohio State defense.
After tackling lots of air against Illinois, Marcus Freeman also rebounded to have a nice game, with 8 solo tackles and one assist. In addition, he made a tremendous play in coverage, knocking away a screen pass in a move reminiscent of A.J. Hawk in the 2005 contest.
Gholston did most of his damage (4 TFL's, 3 sacks) against right tackle Steve Schilling, but Cameron Heyward made highly-touted left tackle Jake Long look like a human blocking sled. On numerous occasions, Heyward went right at Long with a simple bull rush and pushed the All American five yards straight backward, one time sending Long sprawling into quarterback Chad Henne (who was already in the process of being sacked by Gholston).
Michigan's longest plays from scrimmage were the two 15-yard pass interference calls on Ohio State....
On Michigan's first play from scrimmage, Henne threw long to Manningham down the right sideline, with Donald Washington in single coverage. Super Mario pulled his usual thuggery on the play, pushing off on Washington, grabbing his should pad, and giving him a forearm to the side of his head, but Washington stayed with Manningham stride for stride, played perfect defense, and prevented the completion. Of course, Super Mario immediately went into pout mode after being beaten man-to-man by a better player, and caught only five passes for 34 yards the rest of the game, while dropping at least that many. The Wolverines may be under-performing in their strength and conditioning program, but they also have problems between the ears.
Has any player said more and produced less than Mike "0-and-4" Hart? Yes, he puts up numbers against the MAC teams, but in big games the guy simply doesn't show up. I've got to believe that many Michigan fans will be glad to see that clown performing in a bigger circus next season.
Speaking of punks, where was Adrian Arrington last Saturday? I thought that maybe he was suspended for the game or something, but in reviewing the box score, I see that he did have 2 catches for 13 yards.
Yes, Chad Henne is indeed a joke, but he seems like a decent guy (unlike Hart), and he did give Michigan a gutty performance while battling an injury (unlike Hart). I'm glad to see that Henne didn't quit on his team (unlike Hart, Manningham, and Arrington).
Believe it or not, Shawn Crable had 10 tackles in the game. I must not have been paying very close attention, because I missed every single one of them. But I didn't miss Shawn missing Beanie on his 62-yard touchdown run....
Serious question: Where is the young talent on this Michigan team? Are Mallett, Mathews, and Minor really ready to take over in 2008? And what about that defense? And the offensive line? Lots of big time recruits have done little or nothing in Ann Arbor to date. Lloyd isn't exactly leaving the cupboard bare, but it will take his successor at least three seasons to get Michigan back in the national title race.
This Ohio State defense has many stars already (Laurinaitis, Gholston, Jenkins), but Heyward and Washington will be All Americans in the near future.
Let's face it, Ohio State's offense wasn't great last Saturday, but they produced one sustained touchdown drive (albeit of only 44 yards) and one big play (Beanie's 62-yard touchdown run on their first play of the third quarter). Most importantly, they ate up plenty of clock (37:50 to 22:10) and avoided turnovers in a "wet rain", which let the Buckeye defense seal the victory.
Ray Small finally got a big return, but it was negated by a penalty. Of course it didn't matter, as Beanie took it to the house on the very next play.
Jim Tressel is the only coach in college football who can run out the clock for an entire half with a four-point lead.
Hats off to Lloyd Carr for a great career at Michigan - a 121-40 overall record (.752 pct) and the Wolverines' first and only national championship since 1948. As much as we "hate" Michigan, guys like Lloyd Carr are good for the game of college football, especially when you consider how many true scumbags are out there (no names, please, although one might end up in Ann Arbor pretty soon). Now that Lloyd will never coach another game against Ohio State, I can admit that it would be nice if his players would sack up and send him out with a bowl victory....
The one negative about the game was the score. With the polls being so important in the national championship hunt, a 28-3 final would have looked much nicer. As it was, the voters saw the 14 points scored, and failed to notice that the Buckeyes held the Wolverines to 91 yards of total offense. And yes, this was the Wolverines squad that many pre-season pontificators thought had the best offense in the enitre nation....