How ready is Ohio State for Michigan?
One of the great elements of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is its timing.
Especially in seasons like this when both teams are ranked high and the Big Ten is down, the rest of the season feels like a mere prelude. Each team’s fan base watches its team and projects how it will match up against the other in late November.
It’s fair to say that Buckeye fans spent most of this season uneasy about this week’s game in Ann Arbor because of Michigan’s dominance on both sides of the ball.
No. 2 Ohio State’s defense has been superb all season. But its offense was inconsistent as first-year starting quarterback Kyle McCord settled in behind a shaky offensive line and a talented skill position group missing pieces because of injuries. Special teams have been a blunder waiting to happen.
After the Buckeyes’ routine 37-3 win over Minnesota last weekend, they seem more ready than ever for this week’s challenge.
Some of that feeling stems from the turmoil No. 3 Michigan is enduring because of its sign-stealing scandal. Jim Harbaugh won’t be on the sideline after the program backed off its vow to fight the Big Ten’s three-game suspension in court.
The Wolverines fired linebackers coach Chris Partridge last week for his role in the saga. Michigan barely escaped Maryland on Nov. 18, winning 3124 after a questionable intentional grounding call in the end zone doomed the Terrapins’ comeback chances.
Michigan has used the scandal as motivation. “Michigan vs. Everybody” T-shirts are the latest rage across the border. But Ohio State is highly motivated as well after its dominance in the rivalry came to an abrupt halt in blowout losses the past two years.
“It definitely does,” defensive end Jack Sawyer said. “We’re going to use that as fuel and go in there and try to play as hard as we can for four quarters.”
Ohio State’s defense allowed five huge plays in last year’s 45-23 loss to Michigan. Coordinator Jim Knowles has changed his philosophy this year to prevent those, and his players have shown the talent and experience to make his plan work.
But Michigan will likely test Ohio
State in a way that no other opponent has. Ohio State says often that it prepares for the Wolverines 365 days a year. Now it’s final exam week.
“As soon as I get out of here,” cornerback Jordan Hancock said during postgame interviews last weekend, “the secondary, we’re all going to be watching film. That’s going to be our lives for the next week.”
It’ll no doubt be the same on offense. McCord hasn’t become a transcendent star the way his three predecessors did in their first year. But he has steadily improved, though the Minnesota game wasn’t his best.
The offensive line remains a concern despite its progress, but Ohio State finally has all of its skill-position players healthy. TreVeyon Henderson, who didn’t play in last year’s game because of his foot injury, is a home-run threat in the backfield. The moves and speed he showed on a 75-yard touchdown run to open the second half were something few running backs have.
Emeka Egbuka looked crisper last weekend while catching five passes for 83 yards than he had since spraining an ankle against Maryland on Oct. 7. A healthy Egbuka gives OSU perhaps the country’s top receiving duo alongside Marvin Harrison Jr., with tight end Cade Stover another big weapon.
“Are there always things we want to get better at? Absolutely,” coach Ryan Day said when asked about the offense. “But I think you’re seeing the identity
that we’re looking for. I think you’re seeing the run, you’re seeing the pass, you’re seeing the explosiveness, and that’s what we want.
“We’re 11 games in. It’s time to go play.” The Michigan game was always going to define this season. The winner will go to the Big Ten championship game and be a solid favorite over Iowa.
If it wins in Indianapolis, it’ll have a spot in the College Football Playoff. The game’s loser will almost certainly be eliminated from playoff contention.
But given the undefeated records, the scandal in Ann Arbor and the outcome the past two years, this week’s showdown doesn’t need postseason implications to rank among the most consequential in the rivalry’s history.
“I think the key is to stay in the moment,” Day said. “There will be emotion this week. There will be noise. There will be everything.”
But Day said it’s vital for Ohio State to stick to its preparation and not get caught up in anything else.
“We have to continue to stay with our routine and focus on maximizing every minute of this week,” he said. “Noon on Saturday is going to come. That’s not going to come any faster by us doing something else, so we need a great week of preparation.
“We’re all in this thing together. I love this team. We’ve been working hard to get to this point and so we need a great week of preparation. Then we get on that bus, and we head to Ann Arbor.”