Michigan football has Ohio State in a mental mush over the rivalry

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Free Press sportswriter Tony Garcia looks back at Michigan football in Week 14 and its surprising 13-10 win over No. 2 Ohio State as the Wolverines finished the regular season at 7-5 overall and 5-4 in to complete the Big Ten.

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Michigan has Ohio State in a mental pretzel: It’s easy to say in hindsight (especially if you didn’t choose it yourself), but when a reporter in the press box at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, with OSU at 3-0, predicted a 35-3 OSU to beat UM, that was a bridge too far. “Let’s look at the first two trips in each direction,” another replied. “Then we’ll know.” Boy, did we. UM then imposed its will at the line of scrimmage and moved the ball on both drives, setting the tone for the game. On OSU’s third drive, Will Howard threw an interception, setting up a short touchdown for Michigan. From then on, UM was able to slowly chew up the clock. OSU coach Ryan Day, 46-1 in the Big Ten against teams not named Michigan, appears to have a mental block against those wearing maize and blue, with a 1-4 record in The Game.

The only place UM was even close to OSU was in the trenches — Michigan has three potential NFL Draft first-rounders on the defensive line and OSU had two starters back on the offensive line — and yet the Buckeyes persisted , to run between the tackles. In total, their multi-million dollar backfield (TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins) managed just 67 yards on 22 carries. The only drive OSU had success on was a two-minute drill at the end of the first half in which they attempted eight passes and one run. The Wolverines have had an undeniable psychological and physical advantage for four years in a row, no matter what Ohio State likes to say in the offseason or the week before a game.

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Sherrone Moore knows how to make a team believe: The Wolverines were 5-5 two weeks ago and seemed to be getting nowhere, but Sherrone Moore spoke about his team’s renewed sense of purpose after buy-in week during UM’s second bye week of the season. That led to a 50-6 win over Northwestern on Nov. 23 that revitalized the team before “The Game.” “Before the game … they tried to look tough,” safety Makari Paige said after the game. “They tried to stare at us. But in our heads we knew they really didn’t want to come out and play us.”

All week, Moore said his team needed to win on the ground to win the game, and the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes in that regard, 172-77. Michigan’s projected first-round defensive tackle duo Mason Graham (89.1) and Kenneth Grant (83.2) were the defense’s highest-graded players, according to Pro Football Focus, while Myles Hinton (83) and Josh Priebe (69.8) were in The offense was the best (among players with at least five snaps). “The trenches win the game,” Moore said after the game. “It’s not about scheme; It’s not really about technology. It’s really about the will – and the willingness to want to put your man in the backfield or across the line.”

Wink Martindale deserves his flowers: Even without perhaps the best cornerback in the country in Will Johnson, UM defensive coordinator Wink Martindale orchestrated a plan to shut down one of college football’s most prolific offenses. Martindale only had nine blitzes on 33 dropbacks for Howard, allowing the front four to eat on most plays and the back seven to cover. It worked, as the Wolverines still generated pressure on 16 pass attempts and Howard completed just six passes for 74 yards and one interception on those plays. Martindale’s group held OSU to a season-low in points (10) and yards (252) as they forced three punts, two picks and a turnover on downs to put the game on ice. Aamir Hall’s first pick set up the score-to-go offense and was the only touchdown the group scored on the day, while Paige’s second pick scored on third down as OSU found itself in UM’s red zone located.

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“We were using man coverage, two-high, and I saw number two get out on an out route,” Paige said. “But I already had outside leverage. When he saw I had my leverage, he tried to go back inside. The quarterback threw it and just jumped it up.” Howard didn’t even attempt a pass of 20 yards or more and was just 4 of 10 for 59 yards with a touchdown and an interception on throws that were 10 yards or further down the field. All in all, Martindale and UM made it seem like OSU was the team playing with the former walk-on at quarterback, the converted linebacker at running back and without its star tight end, rather than the other way around.

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