4B — November 28, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
The good, the bad and
the ugly: Ohio State
For
as
heartbreaking
as
the Michigan football team’s
30-27 double-overtime defeat
in Columbus was, there were
plenty of joyful moments for
Wolverine fans at Ohio Stadium.
For the first three quarters of the
game, it seemed as if Michigan
would be able to cruise to victory
the potency of its defense.
It would have been difficult
to predict what happened in the
fourth quarter and in overtime,
but quarterback J.T. Barett and
running back Curtis Samuel
breathed new life into the
Buckeyes while the Wolverines
floundered.
The Daily breaks down the
good, bad and ugly moments
from No. 3 Michigan’s loss to
No. 2 Ohio State.
The good
It
really
seemed
like
Michigan’s defense did all it
could to secure Michigan’s
first victory over Ohio State
in five years. Safety Malik
Hooker provided the Buckeyes’
lone touchdown of the first
half, bailing out his offense by
snagging redshirt sophomore
Wilton
Speight’s
pass
and
taking it 16 yards to the house.
The
Buckeyes’
offense
sputtered to just 81 first-half
yards, and Barrett struggled
with his passing game in that
frame as well, throwing 5-for-
11 for just 40 yards under
Michigan’s constant pressure.
Barrett was sacked eight times
total, but he was able to step up
his game in the fourth quarter
when his team needed it most.
We’re placing Wilton Speight
in the “good” category for now
(more on that later) due to
his performance following an
injury that kept him out of the
Indiana game last week. If any
pain still lingered, he did a good
job of playing through it, as he
went 23-for-36 passing for 219
yards and two touchdowns. In
one of his more impressive plays
on Saturday, he threw a bullet to
fifth-year senior Amara Darboh
on 4th-and-goal in the game’s
first overtime to secure passage
to a second overtime.
Fifth-year
senior
kicker
Kenny Allen was solid yet again,
making both of his field-goal
attempts and averaging 47.4
yards per punt. He had three
punts over 50 yards, and had
a few that pinned Ohio State
within the 10-yard line.
The bad
Despite Speight’s performance,
he had to be mentioned again
in this section for a few crucial
plays. After Peppers’ interception
gave the Wolverines great field
position, Speight fumbled the ball
on the one-yard line. Speight said
that there was a communication
problem between him and the
center due to the Horseshoe’s
crowd noise, but that third-
quarter score could have given
the Wolverines the cushion it
needed to win.
Speight
also
threw
two
interceptions, but on his first
(Hooker’s pick-six), his arm was
knocked as he launched the ball
out of the end zone. His second
pick was less forgivable. Late in
the third quarter, Jerome Baker
intercepted his pass and carried
it all the way to Michigan’s
13-yard line, setting up Mike
Weber’s touchdown rush that
put Ohio State within three
points of the Wolverines.
Michigan lost all of its
momentum
in
the
fourth
quarter, going three-and-out
on all three of its possessions
and
collecting
just
five
offensive yards compared to the
Buckeyes’ 127.
The
Wolverines’
defense
started to crack after being
forced to play for the majority
of the final frame, and it allowed
Ohio State to get within field-
goal position twice. Buckeye
kicker Tyler Durbin missed his
first 21-yard field-goal attempt,
but he nailed his second one
from 23 yards out to send the
game to overtime.
The ugly
Durbin’s missed field goals
sent fans into a tizzy. His
37-yard field goal attempt in
the first quarter sailed wide left
after the Buckeyes marched 72
yards down the field on their
first possession of the game.
When he missed the chip shot
in the fourth quarter, it looked
like it might cost his team the
game. He would be able to put it
all together minutes later when
it counted most, though.
After the game, Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh said he
was
“bitterly
disappointed”
with the officiating. He was
most upset with the spot that
gave Ohio State a first down in
the second overtime, opening
up the gates for Samuel to run
in a touchdown after Michigan
was able to just hit a field goal.
Harbaugh also insisted that
sophomore wide receiver Grant
Perry was being tackled before
the ball ever got to him, and the
pass interference call on senior
safety Delano Hill looked to be
uncatchable by the receiver.
Harbaugh was also visibly
angered
during
the
game,
throwing his play card toward
the
sidelines
and
smashing
his
headphones
into
the
ground. Michigan received an
unsportsmanlike conduct for
that display, which put Ohio
State on the Wolverines’ four-
yard line. Two plays later, Weber
would punch in a touchdown.
KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
Five Things We Learned
Have you had time to digest it?
The No. 3 Michigan football
team fell, 30-27, in a crushing
double-overtime loss to No.
2 Ohio State. At 10-2, the
Wolverines are likely bound for
the New Year’s Six, and yet they
are still reeling after a hard-
fought game that will go down
in history.
Here are five things we
learned from “The Game”:
1. Michigan couldn’t close it
out.
The Wolverines dominated
Ohio State for two and a
half quarters. They led 17-7
at one point, and that lead
would have been larger if
not for an untimely pick-six
thrown by redshirt sophomore
quarterback Wilton Speight.
But behind a fourth quarter in
which Michigan gained just
five yards, the Buckeyes came
all the way back.
First,
a
Jerome
Baker
interception late in the third
quarter
gave
the
Buckeyes
great field position in the red
zone. Then, a pair of penalties
backed the Michigan defense
up to its own 4-yard line. It is
noteworthy to understand that
the Wolverines were stellar on
defense nearly all day. There is
a very real chance they could
have forced a field goal. But they
didn’t, and the comeback was on.
In
the
fourth
quarter,
Michigan’s offense just didn’t
do enough to secure the win.
Even after Ohio State’s Tyler
Durbin missed a 21-yard field
goal, it couldn’t put together
a clock-killing drive. It had its
chances, it just couldn’t convert.
2. Wilton Speight is a warrior,
even in a loss.
Yes, he made a handful of
mistakes. His two interceptions
and fumbled snap on the Buckeyes’
1-yard line proved costly, and
there’s no ignoring that.
But
man,
Michigan’s
quarterback sure came up big
by playing at all. He wouldn’t
say what his injury was or what
percentage
he
was
playing
at, but he couldn’t have been
feeling completely healthy. So
yes, the interceptions were
damning, but the level at which
he played was still enough to
give the Wolverines a chance.
He
finished
23-of-36
passing for 219 yards and
two
touchdowns,
even
without throwing deep. He
kept
relatively
cool
in
an
exceptionally
difficult
place
to play. You certainly can’t
ask for much more out of a
player whose status was totally
uncertain coming in.
3.
J.T.
Barrett
still
has
Michigan’s number.
Barrett had been held in
check all day, but in the fourth
quarter
and
overtime,
he
surged. Even if his final carry,
a play that will live forever,
appeared to be just short (both
in person and on video), it
stood, and it counts as part of
another strong game for Barrett
rushing.
His 135 yards on the ground
came exactly when his team
needed them, and though he
was sacked eight times, he
never seemed rattled. It wasn’t
his finest game, but it was just
enough to win.
4. The two best teams in the
conference aren’t heading to
Indy.
It’s a weird reality, but it’s
true. After what happened at
Ohio Stadium on Saturday, it’s
tough to argue anything else.
Michigan
and
Ohio
State
both beat Wisconsin, and the
Wolverines beat Penn State by
39. The Nittany Lions beat the
Buckeyes, but they didn’t beat an
Ohio State team that looked like
the one that showed up Saturday.
And yet, Penn State and the
Badgers are playing for the
conference title this weekend.
The winner will have a trophy
saying it’s the best in the Big
Ten.
But
anyone
watching
Saturday’s game could tell you
that’s probably not enough
to
overcome
the
eye
test.
Michigan and Ohio State are the
Big Ten’s best, and conference
commissioner Jim Delaney is
probably none too happy that
neither is going to have a chance
to make that official.
5. Bold Prediction: Jabrill
Peppers will not get invited
to New York.
There was a time when
Peppers looked like a lock
to be at least a finalist for
the Heisman Trophy, but his
candidacy has thinned since.
He
has
a
punt
return
touchdown against Colorado,
two
rushing
touchdowns
against Rutgers and one against
Michigan State. He’s one of
the best players in the country,
and no one is questioning that,
but without a signature game
against Ohio State, it will be
tough to garner an invite.
Peppers
still
had
seven
tackles and an interception, but
he was stymied on offense. He
should still be an All-American.
But he probably will not get that
coveted trip to New York.
Wolverines came within striking distance of upset, but couldn’t finish the win
MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan’s defense delivered a mostly dominant performance Saturday, but the Wolverines allowed a late surge to Ohio State and lost in double overtime.
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