BOTTOM LINE

How did the Buckeyes grade in Saturday’s loss to Michigan? Leaves are awarded on a zero-to-five basis.

OSU offense

With this Ohio State defense, 27 points won’t cut it. The Buckeyes didn’t turn it over but were 8 for 18 on third downs. Quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 394 yards, and Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-njigba each made spectacular catches, but Stroud was off target just enough times to stall drives.

The running game was held to 2.1 yards per carry and found no holes in the middle of the Michigan line. The tackles had difficulty with ends Aidan Hutchinson (3 sacks, millions of dollars earned in the NFL) and David Ojabo (1 sack), but all tackles do. But five false start penalties showed inability to handle the task at hand.

The offense’s job was to make Michigan play from behind. It failed.

OSU defense

Bryson Shaw made a nice interception. Other than that, this was classic bully ball.

Michigan ran for 297 yards and six touchdowns and averaged an astounding 7.2 yards per carry. As dominant as Michigan was, the OSU defense had three big possessions in the fourth quarter to make a stand and allow the offense to catch up. But the Wolverines’ ground pounding continued.

The defense, it turns out, is not fixed, and linebacker play against the run needs to be addressed.

OSU special teams

Noah Ruggles returned to perfection on field goals, and Jesse Mirco averaged 44.8 yards on four punts.

But Julian Fleming as a kick returner continued to be greatly unsettling. He opened the game by botching a fair catch. Then in the third quarter he dropped a kickoff and was lucky to recover. These plays came after his debut a week ago when he lost a kickoff in the sun and let it hit the ground. Ohio State said regular returner Emeka Egbuka was cleared to play, but the flashy freshman did not see the field. On a team filled with five-star players, you’d think the Buckeyes could find a more reliable returner.

Coaching

Everyone knew Michigan was going to run the ball, and the Buckeyes had no answers.

Everyone knew stadium was going to be loud and frenzied, but the Ohio State players looked unprepared for it. In a game the offense was asked to be great again, it was only good.

Fun quotient

The Big House was rocking, and the intensity of the rivalry returned. It snowed. Only a down-to-the-finalminute decision could have added a fifth leaf to this one.

Opponent

Extraordinary preparation and execution by Michigan. The Wolverines played with an edge and never flinched facing an offense that had been blowing teams away. They realized early on what the mismatch was and stuck to their run game.

Officiating

Officials made a potentially gamechanging call with 5:17 remaining when a touchdown run by Stroud was nullified by a holding penalty on Nicholas Petit-frere. Replays made it very clear that Ojabo was not held, but merely lost his footing. The Buckeyes regrouped and scored on the drive to cut the Michigan lead to 35-27, letting the refs off the hook.

Officials missed a kick-catch interference by OSU’S Chris Olave in the second quarter, and a pass interference call by Michigan’s DJ Turner against Wilson in the end zone. The pass was underthrown, but it can’t be assumed Wilson couldn’t have made a play on it.

And officials did a good job taking their time after an on-field fracas and penalizing only Ohio State’s Cam Brown for ripping the helmet off Michigan receiver Roman Wilson.

One question remains, though: Why don’t Big Ten officials flag Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh every time he runs onto the field, screaming and flailing as if he’s on fire?

— Brian White