The Game will be won in the battle of our defense vs that OL/running game...if our defense plays well we beat that ass....
FILM STUDY: OHIO STATE’S REVAMPED RUN DEFENSE HAS BEEN WAITING ALL YEAR FOR “THE GAME”
Now in his eighth season back in Ann Arbor, the former Wolverine QB has put his imprint on the greatest rivalry in sports. Not only did he finally break Ohio State's near decade-long win streak last season, but he did it
his way.
Though the former QB is often associated with the development of Andrew Luck at Stanford and later, Colin Kapernick in San Fransisco, it has always been a physical run game that has propelled his team to their greatest heights. While Luck may have been under center when the Cardinal went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl to cap off the 2010 season, it was the emergence of tailback Toby Gerhart and a trio of All-American offensive linemen the year before that brought the program back to national prominence, mauling opponents with a brutal style that relied on physicality at a time when the sport was becoming more spread out.
That success earned Harbaugh a job up the road in San Francisco, where his 49ers made the Super Bowl with a similarly diverse run game that proved equally difficult to stop. After the Michigan alum returned home to revive his once-proud program, the Wolverines were largely mocked for being too big and slow at a time when their arch-rivals were literally running past them with a roster full of elite athletes spread out across the field.
One year ago, however, the tide finally turned, with the Wolverines running through, over, and around a beleaguered Buckeye defense while employing a classic Harbaugh game plan. Although the narrative has shifted over time, with many acting as though Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo single-handedly shut down the explosive OSU offense (C.J. Stroud still threw for 394 yards), it was the home team's ground game that proved unstoppable on that cold, snowy day in Michigan Stadium.
The Wolverines rushed for 299 yards, with 188 coming in the second half as they scored on every possession after the intermission before taking a knee to run out the final seconds. As was the case when Gerhart was taking handoffs over a decade prior, Harbaugh's offense executed a variety of blocking schemes, many of which included multiple pullers that gave his offense a numerical advantage at the point of attack.....
While there are plenty of ways to analyze Saturday's top-three matchup in the Horseshoe, none will be as important as the clash between Michigan's offensive line and the newly redesigned Ohio State defense. More than any other, this part of the game will symbolize the state of the rivalry, with the Buckeyes' toughness having been publicly questioned for 52 weeks straight.
Should the home team prevail, it will mark a return to form for not only the OSU defense but for the program entirely. But should the visitors make it two wins in a row, it could mean vindication for their head coach and the ground-&-pound mentality he has long maintained.
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...s-gone-from-question-mark-to-strength-in-2022
