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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