Peddle to the Mettle
Michigan began the game with a 14-0 lead over Ohio State on Saturday. All was well with the Wolverines’ world.
And then the Buckeyes went on a 31-6 run to close the game.
They didn’t so much snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, they just gave Michigan a head start. And then quickly caught up.
According to the Wolverines, however, it wasn’t so much what Ohio State did, but rather what Michigan did.
“The first half, after the first couple of drives, we kind of started to coast a little bit,” said fullback Khalid Hill. “We knew that going into the game we needed to play four quarters. We had to compete the whole four quarters, we just came up short.”
According to Hill, part of the reason why the offense couldn’t maintain its pace was because the Michigan defense couldn’t get off of the field.
“It’s kind of hard to stay hot as an offense when you’re not on the field as much,” he said. “Ohio State did a great job keeping us off the field, because if we got back on the field, we were hot, we would have scored a lot of points I feel like. I think we were in our rhythm. They did a great job of getting first downs and keeping us off the field for so long. That kind of hurts you too because you sit on the bench for so long, you’ve got to get up, and when you’re hot you’re hot, you’re just ready to go.
Peddle to the Mettle, Part II
After the game, Khalid Hill continued to lament the way the Wolverines let the game get away. They had the Buckeyes where they wanted them, but Ohio State was the recipient of some apparently lucky bounces.
“After we were 14-0, we didn’t really touch the field most of the second quarter,” he said. “When you’re hot, you’re hot. You get some momentum rolling and you get rhythm. That’s when you score some points. But when you keep us off the field, it’s hard to keep that going sitting there, waiting on the defense to get a stop. Our defense did a good job. Some stuff happened that was a fluke, but it is what it is.”
Quarterback John O’Korn didn’t blame flukes or luck, he simply blamed the team as a whole. He believed they should have blown Ohio State out.
“I think honestly, just my personal opinion, we got a little complacent as players,” he said. “We let the foot off the gas. This game didn’t have to be close. We could have run away with it. We had plenty of opportunities, we just didn’t take advantage.”
The Difference
John O’Korn began the season as Michigan’s backup quarterback. He eventually became the starter when Wilton Speight went down. He then lost the job as the team’s starter to Brandon Peters. Once Peters went down, however, the job was handed back to O’Korn. O’Korn really only had one performance this season that was encouraging, and that came against Purdue in his first extended action of the season.
Every other game, however, brought groans from the Michigan fans in attendance.
The frustrating part for Michigan, however, is that they didn’t need O’Korn to be outstanding, they just needed him to be consistent. And that’s exactly what Ohio State got from their backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins. His effectiveness proved to be the difference in this game.
“He did good enough and at the end of the day everything is a threshold,” Winovich said. “You don’t have to be the best player in the world. You don’t have to be a Heisman trophy winner. But if you just do good enough and sell the runs and carry the ball good enough or throw the passes, and that’s what he did.”
Haskins’ performance was a contrast from what most of the Michigan defense expected. Once J.T. Barrett went down with a knee injury, they thought they had the Buckeyes right where they wanted them.
“I don’t want to say you smell blood, and it was a shame to see J.T. get hurt because he’s just a great player and a great competitor, and that’s kind of part of the fun going against J.T. I knew once the backup came in that Ohio State had a knack of having their backups come in and do outstanding. So it’s going to be dangerous,” Winovich said. “They’re loaded at a lot of positions there. He did a great job. Hat’s off to him. I told him after the game that in a way he kind of did beat us. They needed him to step up and he did.”