Report Card: Grading Michigan in a 45-23 beating of Ohio State
Grading Michigan football in all aspects of a 45-23 win at Ohio State. The Wolverines improved to 12-0 behind J.J. McCarthy, Donavan Edwards, and an outstanding second-half defensive effort.
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Michigan rushing offense: A
This was a tale of two halves, but we had a feeling it was going to be tough sledding for a bit. We knew junior Blake Corum wasn’t going to last long if he played at all, given the intel we had about his injury. He tried, and give him credit for that. His knee sent him to the sidelines after only 2 carries.
It appeared U-M wanted to use sophomore Donovan Edwards as a decoy given the cast on his hand, but he’s a warrior, too, and had to go when it became clear the moment was too big for frosh CJ Stokes. Edwards ran for just 9 yards in the first half but finished with 216 and 2 touchdowns, averaging 9.8 yards per carry.
Edwards picked up 170 of his yards in the fourth quarter. The crazy part … 13 of his 22 carries went for 3 yards or less. Michigan did it differently this game in winning with big plays. Of their 530 yards, 349 came on 5 plays.
Passing offense: A
Sophomore J.J. McCarthy needed every one of the big plays in this game, and he made them. Though he completed only 12 of his 24 passes and was off in the first quarter, he picked it up and made the plays that won the game. He took a huge hit to get rid of the ball to Cornelius Johnson on an all-out blitz, and Johnson broke it for a 69-yard score that tied the score at 10 and changed the game. He put the ball where he needed to on a wide-open, 75-yard bomb to Johnson that gave U-M its first lead and was perfect on a 45-yard touchdown strike to freshman tight end Colston Loveland.
Senior Ronnie Bell caught a 33-yarder, too. So … 382 of 530 yards on 6 plays. The Wolverines gained 2.74 yards per play on their other 54 plays.
Michigan rushing defense: B+
Ohio State had to run transfer DeaMonte Trayanum — who spurned Michigan to play linebacker at OSU — and he played well. The Buckeyes moved the ball on the ground in the first half (124 yards), and Trayanum would finish with 84 yards and 5.9 per carry.
But when it mattered most, the Michigan run stoppers stepped up. OSU managed 19 yards rushing in the second half — 19 — against the U-M run wall. The Wolverines allowed only 6 in the fourth quarter, partially because the Buckeyes were throwing to come back from two scores down.
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There were times the Ohio State running game was moving the ball, but Michigan stopped it when it mattered most.
Passing defense: B+
There were a few big plays and still 349 yards allowed. Two receivers eclipsed 120 yards, and C.J. Stroud had his moments. He made some incredible throws.
But they’re going to move the ball through the air on just about anybody. Senior Mike Sainristil got picked on a bit early, but he came up with two of the biggest plays of the game on pass break-ups in the end zone. He’s been outstanding.
Sophomore safety Rod Moore, too, had an incredible game. He broke up two passes just by reading routes. The Ohio native finished with 5 tackles, too, and he has had an All-Big Ten season. Junior safety Makari Paige sealed the game with a pick. The Wolverines finished with 7 pass break-ups and 2 interceptions.
Michigan special teams: B
Grad kicker Jake Moody made a field goal from 49 yards, a huge kick, to get Michigan on the board. His missed 57-yarder wasn’t really on him … head coach Jim Harbaugh probably should have punted and pinned OSU deep early in the fourth quarter.
There were no returns of consequence on either side, though grad student punter Brad Robbins could have been better again. He averaged 40.6 yards per punt, although his hang time prevented any returns. The Wolverines also changed up their punt protection to prevent against a potential game-changing block.
