Breaking Down Michigans Dominant Win Against Ohio State

After a week of doubt from the whole nation, Michigan went into Columbus, Ohio today and had an absolutely dominant performance against the Buckeyes. This is Michigan’s second consecutive win against Ohio State and they did it without their best player on offense, Blake Corum, and best defensive player, Mike Morris. Let’s break down how they pulled off this crazy win.

What Did The Offense Do To Be So Dominant?

The most significant adjustment this team made today was having to deal with not having Blake Corum available, so the passing game would have to step up, and they did. While he had a few struggles in the first half, for the most part, J.J. McCarthy played lights out and was making incredible passes left and right. His best passes came mostly when he was rolling out of the pocket, which is an incredible skill with how young he is. Cornelius Johnson also had an incredible game, making plays early that set the standard for the game. He went for two long touchdowns because of his incredible route running and it ultimately is what gave Michigan the momentum early.

The other big thing that set Michigan’s offense ahead was Donovan Edwards filling in for Blake Corum spectacularly and ultimately putting the game away. Coming out of halftime Edwards had 0 yards and it wasn’t looking good at all for Michigan, but coming out of the half, he and the offensive line woke up and added the spark the Michigan offense was missing. Even with a hurt hand, he was breaking away for first down after first down late to continue running the clock, and when the game was still close he rushed for two almost full-field touchdowns to put the game away.

What Did Michigan’s Defense Do To Change The Game?

This dominant second-half performance by the defense was really a collective effort but the biggest aspect was the secondary. Michigan’s secondary was getting burnt in the first half reasonably by the best receiver in the nation, Marvin Harrison jr. and Emeka Egbuka, but after halftime decided to tighten up. They did not allow a single touchdown in the second half and locked up Marvin Harrison jr. and Egbuka and only allowed a combined seven catches throughout the rest of the game. Once the secondary tightened up, it was really hard for Ohio State’s passing game to get back going.

Michigan’s pass rush was also spectacular throughout the whole game, but more significantly in the second half. Even though for the majority of the game Michigan was only rushing four, due to needing guys in the secondary to lock up Marvin Harrison jr., they were still pressuring CJ Stroud all game and forcing him to make bad decisions or take sacks. They were the main reason for both of the interceptions that Stroud threw. This dominant defensive performance, only allowing three points in the second half, is what ultimately won Michigan this game.

What Does This Mean For Michigan?

After a dominant performance against one of the best teams in the nation has to leave Michigan with the most confidence they’ve had all year. They are now set to play Purdue for the BIG Ten championship game, and if they win that game then they are locked for the playoffs, likely to face the TCU Horned Frogs. If they play those games like they played today then it would be looking good for Michigan and they would have a good shot at making the National Championship game. This dominant performance really sets Michigan’s ceiling higher than everyone thought and they could look to really compete in the playoffs this season.