U-M report card: Wolverines' offense only half-good vs. Ohio State
Free Press sports writer Mark Snyder grades the Wolverines on a scale of 1-10.
Offense: 5
When you play half a game, you get half a grade. Getting quarterback Wilton Speight back from injury gave the offense a first-half boost as he was clearly better than what John O’Korn showed last week (and what he showed at Iowa.) He threw for 141 yards in the first half, but only 78 in the second half and overtime and had three turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble. After scoring with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter to go up 17-7, the offense looked ready to salt it away. If they produced one more scoring drive – even a field goal – it would have been enough. It wasn’t. U-M rushed for only 91 yards in the game. In the fourth quarter and overtime: 22 on four possessions.
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Defense: 7
Michigan’s defense kept the Wolverines in the game and dominated for most of it. Eight sacks, 13 tackles for loss, five pass break-ups and an interception. Ohio State only compiled 330 yards, well below its 493 yard average. But as the game wore on, the Wolverines wore down. Through three quarters, Ohio State only had 153 total yards and 13 first downs. In the fourth quarter and overtime, they compiled 177 and 10 first downs. U-M had a number of chances to get off the field and couldn’t do it. A few calls can be disputed, including J.T. Barrett on fourth down. But they had chances, including after the on the game-winning run by Curtis Samuel.
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Special teams: 8
It’s tough to argue with much in this area. Kenny Allen hit both of his field goals and was a maestro punting, putting five of his seven inside the 20, booming one 67 yards and averaging 47.4 yards per punt. All four of his kickoffs went for touchbacks. U-M’s field-goal block unit forced two misses by OSU’s kicker. And Michigan had two monster kickoff returns, a 45 yarder from Jourdan Lewis and a 44 yarder from Jabrill Peppers. Aside from Grant Perry’s running into the punter, the special teams were fabulous.
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Overall: 7
Michigan played most of Saturday’s game well enough to win. And against a team without an All-Big Ten quarterback, maybe it would have been enough. But there was just enough defensive leakage in the fourth quarter to give Barrett a chance. There was enough offensive struggles in the fourth quarter to prevent the game from being salted away. Michigan had control of the game on the road. But it couldn’t finish like a championship team should.
Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder. Download our Wolverines Xtra app on iTunes and Android!
