Grading all aspects of Michigan football's 56-27 loss to Ohio State:
Michigan Football Rushing Offense: C+
Michigan’s Hassan Haskins ran hard and managed 78 yards, though 33 came on one carry. He rushed 11 times for 45 yards on his other carries, still respectable, but the Wolverines just aren’t explosive enough in the running game.
Freshman Giles Jackson’s 22-yard touchdown on the end-around was a nice wrinkle and got the offense off to a great start, but the attack became one-dimensional while the Buckeyes took control.
Michigan’s running backs managed five yards on six first-down carries following the first drive until late in the third quarter, when OSU had taken a 42-19 lead.
Michigan Football Passing Offense: C+
Senior quarterback Shea Patterson notched his third straight 300-yard passing game, and that was with his receivers dropping six or seven passes — an unacceptable showing from a group that was supposed to be the catalyst for the offense. Junior Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped three, including a touchdown, sophomore Ronnie bell dropped two or three, junior Nico Collins missed one … it was an epidemic.
The game plan was outstanding and the pass protection solid for the most part. There were a handful of explosive plays, too, including two over 30 yards, and receivers were running free. Once again, though, drops were critical, and it’s happened too often in this game over the last several years.
Michigan Football Rushing Defense: F
Ohio State’s big offensive line versus Michigan’s smaller defensive line was one of the biggest concerns going into this game, especially with explosive running back J.K. Dobbins in the backfield. It was similar to the Wisconsin game with Jonathan Taylor, and it played out that way — they got beat up front, lost some confidence, lost some focus, fit poorly, blew assignments and got run over.
Dobbins ran for 211 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per pop, and had two huge runs when the Wolverines lost contain on the edge. One, on the first series of the second half, was a backbreaker for a team that desperately needed a stop to start the half. The defense did a decent job containing quarterback Justin Fields, though he still managed 25 yards on the ground.
Michigan Football Passing Defense: F
The Buckeyes picked on senior safety Josh Metellus, took shots against U-M’s corners (and beat them with their speed, including Ambry Thomas, who runs a 4.3) and protected Fields extremely well. He was only sacked once, no matter how much the Wolverines blitzed.
OSU’s Garrett Wilson was the latest 100-yard receiver against the Wolverines, going for 118. The final tally — 313 passing yards and four scores — tells the story, along with the 20.9 yards per completion.
The Buckeyes were three for six on third-down conversions passing.
Michigan Football Special Teams: C
A missed extra point, a botched attempt to down the ball at the one and a block in the back penalty on a nice Peoples-Jones punt return were memorable disappointments from this one.
On the bright side, redshirt junior Quinn Nordin made both of his field goals, including one from 45 yards, and sophomore kicker Jake Moody had four touchbacks with booming kickoffs.
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