SCARLET & GRAY MATTER
Observations on Saturday’s Ohio State-michigan game by Joey Kaufman:
The game at hand
• Short-attention span synopsis: The winning streak in the rivalry, the Buckeyes’ longest-ever in the series, is over. The upset harkened to the 1990s. Michigan spoiled Ohio State’s national championship aspirations on the ground. Hassan Haskins turned into a modern-day Tshimanga Biakabutuka.
• Pregame buzz: Attention was turned to local morning weather forecasts with the promise of snowfall by afternoon. Few defenses had slowed down Ohio State’s offensive juggernaut, so how about the elements? Flurries arrived by kickoff, only adding to the scene in Ann Arbor for a classic renewal of The Game. The only thing that seemed out of place was Michigan’s all-blue alternate uniforms. • Spread the wealth?: The 7.5-point spread was the smallest of the Buckeyes’ season and their lowest since they were two-touchdown favorites over Oregon in September. A singledigit spread that opened six days ago might have been the first sign that Ohio State could be in for a tight one. It was favored by double-digits in the past two years against Michigan, including last season when it was installed as a 30-point before the cancellation.
• Strategically speaking: Should Ryan Day have gone for it at the end of the second quarter rather than send out Noah Ruggles for a field goal? It deserves a second glance. The Buckeyes were facing a fourth-and-3 at the Wolverines’ 13-yard line, where finishing with a touchdown would have put them ahead at halftime and swung momentum back to their sideline. They cut Michigan’s lead to 14-13, but were never able to get ahead from that point.
The View
• How the team sees it: This is a new feeling. We were in middle school or elementary school the last time we lost to Michigan.
• How the playoff committee will see it: Two losses are de facto elimination, but stick around if things get too chaotic during conference championship weekend.
• How Buckeye Nation will see it: The progress on defense now feels like a mirage.
Hey, what did Ryan Day say?
• What he said: “When you live this year-round, it hurts. There’s so much riding on it. It’s going to leave a mark for a while.”
• What it means: “This one stings as much as 2019’s playoff loss to Clemson. Maybe more.”
They said it
• Talking heads: FOX’S Joel Klatt, after
Michigan took a 42-27 lead: “The mark of a great run game is a run game that can take your will and impose their run game on you, and a run game that when they have to run it and you know they’re going to run it, they still have success. That’s what Michigan is doing.” • Pregame chatter: ESPN’S Lee Corso, on Ryan Day: “Ohio State fans better get happy with him, because he’s not going to be with them long. He’s going to the NFL whenever he’s ready. He’s NFL ready.”
On tap
Ohio State will not make an appearance in the Big Ten Championship game for the first time since 2016. The loss gives the Wolverines the tiebreaker in the East Division, sending them to Indianapolis and forcing the Buckeyes to be idle next weekend as they await their postseason fate. With their second defeat, they’re removed from the playoff picture and likely to end up in a separate New Year’s Six bowl game.