What They're Saying: Michigan Wolverines Football 27, Ohio State 56
A look around the internet at what they're saying about the Michigan Wolverines after a 56-27 loss to Ohio State:
Chris Balas, The Wolverine.com: Notes, Quotes & Observations
Instead of a 21-20 (or closer) barnburner at the half, the Buckeyes had all the momentum, were set to get the ball after the half and — the way they were moving it — it seemed like there was little doubt they’d score again to take full control.
They did … and they did.
“The first half was being played pretty tight … then the difference was we were down in the red zone and came away with no points,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “The next drive we extended their drive on the punt.
“We gave them that, took some points off the boards ourselves. That was a pretty big difference. That was the difference in the first half.”
OSU, meanwhile, did just about everything right, as they usually do in the game they live and breathe 365 days a year. They put up 56 points and 577 yards, averaging 20.9 yards per completion and a whopping 7.5 yards per play in emphatically proving what most already knew after an eighth straight win against Michigan …
This really isn’t a rivalry anymore, other than the names on the jersey. It doesn’t matter who’s coaching on either sideline or what’s at stake. The Buckeyes have had more talent, operate like a football factory, having joined the Alabamas, Clemsons (and the occasional Johnny-come-lately like Georgia) of the college football world, and everyone is playing for fifth or sixth.
But to be clear, that doesn’t mean U-M shouldn’t steal a game here and there in this rivalry, or at least keep games competitive.
Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News: Buckeyes pummel Wolverines again, and Harbaugh grasps for answers
Against most opponents, Michigan is better, and Harbaugh can notch his fourth 10-win season in five years. That’s fine, but as he likely hears daily, not good enough. This is the block that must be hurdled to quell the noise.
For the Wolverines, it’s more than a mental block, although they made enough mindless gaffes Saturday to support the theory. It’s a talent block, a scheme block, a blocking block.
There were mental errors and coaching errors, no doubt. But it begins with the talent gap, as the Buckeyes are loaded again, and their recruiting machine hums along. Michigan has landed its share of top-10 classes but the Buckeyes land top-three classes, and the difference is pronounced.
It’s most notable on the defensive fronts, where the Wolverines are undersized and the Buckeyes are uber-talented. Their best player is defensive end Chase Young, a legitimate Heisman candidate. Michigan held him without a single tackle, yet couldn’t run the ball. Instead, Patterson threw and threw, and at halftime, Michigan had 285 total yards, the most Ohio State had surrendered in an entire game all season. Think about that. The Wolverines were moving the ball better than anyone had, and basically were getting nowhere.
At times they were skittish and undisciplined — mental block, preparation, coaching? Eventually, the Buckeyes undressed them, although the Wolverines tried to do it first. In the second quarter, defensive tackle Carlo Kemp did what a frustrated player does. After tackling Dobbins, he undid one of the running back’s shoes and yanked it off. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty accelerated Ohio State’s drive for another touchdown.
In the second half, Patterson completed only four of 24 passes, as Michigan’s receivers suddenly couldn’t hang onto the ball. The Wolverines were beating themselves, sure, but the Buckeyes were beating them worse.
The gap between Michigan and Ohio State is like a canyon that just keeps widening, at the same time every year. The Buckeyes are the No.1 team in the country for a reason. They are talented, highly skilled, elite and complete — and the Wolverines are far from it.
After five years, the Harbaugh experiment continues to fail in a most significant way: He can’t recruit well enough, or prepare his team well enough, or get it to play perfect enough, to win the biggest game of the year.
That’s not an insult. That’s the brutal truth. The Buckeyes have now beaten Harbaugh five years in a row, and there is no sign that will change anytime soon.
“We will regroup and come back and play our next game,” Harbaugh said. “Regroup and retool.”
But here’s the root of the problem: the Buckeyes just have more talent than Michigan. And the Wolverines won’t be able to beat Ohio State until they start to beat the Buckeyes in recruiting.
All you had to do was look on the field the past two years to see the gap. From Chase Young, the best defensive player in the nation. To Justin Fields, the five-star quarterback transfer from Georgia. And that's just the beginning of it.
“They were better today,” Harbaugh said.
No, they’ve been better for years.
This time, the Buckeyes beat Michigan on the road, with a rookie coach. And that’s the really scary part for U-M fans: The future looks ominous, and there is no sign this is changing.
Aaron McMann, MLive.com: Jim Harbaugh still can’t solve Ohio State
Five years later and a Jim Harbaugh-coached football team, unlike his predecessor, remains winless against his program’s biggest rivals.
Michigan fell to 0-5 against Ohio State under Harbaugh following a 56-27 loss at home, the program’s eighth straight game against the Buckeyes without a win.
It’s a drought that looms large over Harbaugh and the program, which has had its Big Ten title hopes dashed in two of the last five years. While Saturday’s game had no effect on the standings, it was the difference between Michigan concluding its regular-season schedule with 9 and 10 wins.
“They played really good,” Harbaugh said in his six-minute, sometimes testy, news conference. “They played better today.”
Michigan (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) surrendered 577 yards of total offense, 10 yards more than last season and the most under Harbaugh. The Buckeyes outscored Harbaugh’s team 42-14 over the final three quarters, after Michigan trailed by just a point after the first.
But first-half mistakes combined with second-half desperation led to Michigan’s second-straight lopsided loss to its chief rival, the No. 1-ranked team in the country.
Andrea Adelson, ESPN: Michigan's Jim Harbaugh testy after his fifth consecutive loss to Ohio State
Harbaugh refused to give much else in response to his team's struggles to beat Ohio State, saying only, "I thought our team was well prepared. I thought they were playing good football. I thought it was a good football fight, and it got away from us today. Give them credit for playing well."
After another question about how much he personally wants to beat Ohio State, Harbaugh offered, "We really want to win the game. Yes."
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields believes something else might be in play.
"We take it more seriously than they do," Fields said. "Like (strength coach) Mickey Marotti said, 'We're preparing for them next year right now.' It just means more at Ohio State. That's pretty much the big reason.
"I know a few players on (Michigan), and I just know the things we do in terms of workouts and how serious we take it at Ohio State. So, talking to those guys, and getting their perspective on things, I definitely see we take it more serious."
Those on the Michigan sideline would certainly take exception to that notion, but it is hard to argue with the way Ohio State has made a once-competitive rivalry so one-sided. That has led to renewed criticism about Harbaugh and whether he can get Michigan to the same level as Ohio State.
Five years in, this is his team, with his players and his vision, yet the Wolverines have looked lost with so much on the line. His players batted down the idea that there is a mental roadblock when it comes to playing Ohio State despite their recent frustrations.
Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports: Buckeyes win eighth straight in another rout of Wolverines
4. Michigan's biggest problem in this rivalry is its defense: There was so much attention on the Michigan offense coming into the 2019 season. Harbaugh hired Josh Gattis as his offensive coordinator and handed him the keys to the unit. Michigan had to modernize to survive. The offense got off to a slow start, but it had been humming ever since the second half of the Penn State loss.
Against Ohio State, it got off to a hot start as well, though it was not perfect. There were two turnovers, including the red zone fumble. It's hard to beat great teams when you managed only 11 points out of three red-zone possessions. So the offense is somewhat culpable for this loss. But honestly, I'm not sure it would have mattered. Ohio State had 577 yards and 56 points on Saturday. It had 13 possessions in which it wasn't running clock at the end of a half. Only three of those 13 possessions ended with a punt. Eight ended with a touchdown, including five straight from late in the first quarter until halfway through the third.
In the last two seasons, Don Brown's Michigan defense has allowed 118 points and 1,144 yards to Ohio State. It has forced two turnovers and seven punts. Overall, it's been a fantastic unit, but that's not good enough. Until Michigan's defense figures out a way to slow down the Ohio State offense, it's not going to matter what the Wolverines offense is doing.
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