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.”
I dont give a damn bout the whole state of michigan
Hey Gary R., aren’t you glad you went to Scumigan! You’ll never play for a championship at that place!
“Sometimes you get your little brother excited when you’re playing basketball and let him get the lead. Then you just come back and take it back.”
An alcoholic will NEVER sober up until he ADMITS he is one. Michigan will NEVER beat OSU until they admit they are not as good as OSU. From the coaches on down it’s the same Bullshit,Excuses Excuses Excuses.
This is why I whence a bit when I hear someone imply that Ohio State and UM are very similar programs. We aren’t. Since the days of Bo they’ve whined, cried, and made excuses for losses. After we beat them in 1984 Bo complained “bitterly” that his offense couldn’t hear their QB because the scoreboard was telling people to make noise. How many times did you see after a UM offensive play Saturday, the UM player throw his hand up begging for a flag? I think I saw it at least 10 times. These are a bunch of whiney, excuse makers with a massively over inflated opinion of themselves and where their program sits in the modern world of college football.
Hi Brad- you are dead on correct. UM folks essentially believe its their right to win and that, if someone beats them, it was due to acts of God or UM “allowing” it to happen. They even allow themselves the description of being “arrogant”, which is mistakenly arrogant in and of itself. Part of true arrogance involves actually being GOOD at the skill in question, and they simply aren’t. The bets descriptor for UM is the word “delusional”- they think they are something they are not, based on results from 100 YEARS (!!) in the past. This is why I consistently implore true OSU fans not to be like them.
Mr. Hill. The _ichigan offense has been a tire fire ever since Hairball arrived. DeBord was 10 times a better offensive mind than the entire collection of morons currently on staff up there. Stop sounding like a moaning whore. You guys came out of the blocks when you were fresh and got in a couple of punches. Then again, the Buckeyes have a bad habit of starting game slowly more often than not. so that was no surprise to most Buckeye fans. If you consider scoring 14 points having momentum, your idea’s about football are as backwards as your brainless headcoach.
Same excuses every year from the weasels. “They didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves.” blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Here’s a tip Wolvermorons……………your teams have stunk up the Big 10 for a VERY long time. Jumping up on little club level programs isn’t a place to gain any kind of complacency to be able to let your guards down. You are NOT, no, not a single player on that roster, is good enough to “let their guard down” against a team with a football pulse. The Buckeyes are one of the best 2nd half football teams in America. Just a tad bit of scouting would have warned you what was going to happen after halftime. But then again, your comments show what a collection of brainless dupes Hairball has surrounded himself with, so they should be expected.
Here’s another tip. One year from now that collection of Bubba Gumps will travel south down to Columbus, Ohio to square off with the Buckeyes again. Come with a plan, not a box of rocks excuses.
My prediction…………..your excuses will be the same rinse and repeat excuses since this millennium began…………..the sun was in your eyes, we felt like we were dominating so we let off the gas, the refs cost us the game, mommy doesn’t let you stay out late when the big kids show up to play.
You lost because Ohio State is a SUPERIOR team and program. You lost because the Buckeye athletes are simply better than you are. You lost because the Buckeyes TOOK it from you. It’s that simple.
Anybody who doesn’t think that Haskins’ crisp pinpoint passing didn’t win that game for us is in denial. His passing forced UM’S DB’s to back off the line of scrimmage and play the WHOLE FIELD. And God knows we can run the ball when we force the defense to play it straight.
Also. UM’s defense did wear themselves to some extent, out just as they did against Wisconsin.
Not quite right. The middle of the 3rd quarter is when most teams begin wearing down and the Buckeyes assert dominance. J.T.’s 2nd-to-last drive ended because of a Billy Price mistake and his last play was a 9 yard gain.
I get it Haskins-lovers are gonna gush on about his performance and it WAS great – but to say that it was him and him alone that won the game isn’t paying careful attention.
Spot on, Old Buckeye.
Don’t recall anyone here saying it was Dwayne Haskins alone, either. He delivered under a big microscope when we needed him badly. Also, 3 out of 12 teams this year did NOT wear down mid 3rd quarter- OU, PSU, Penn State.
Heed your own advice and pay more attention, Andrew
Iowa was the third team, not Penn Sate twice- (or we’d probably have another loss).
Wow just think, Michigan could have won if only they had scored more points.
Awesome comment, just awesome LOL
Very little of the loss was O’Korns fault. The Michigan defense had a 14 point lead to work with and only 3 quarters to keep OSU from outscoring them. The defense and coaches blew it. Michigan’s mentality calling it a “fluke” is why they lost. They think they don’t need to improve or get better in any area. They lost by bad luck and of no fault of their own. This mentality is the difference between being a winner and a loser.
Flukes, momentum, bad officiating. These sum up the UM response to losing to OSU, year after year. The Buckeyes could claim the same in their losses this year to Oklahoma and Iowa.
In the end, it’s all about execution and what the players do on the field. Karma, Lady Luck, and Big Mo don’t suit up and block, tackle, or carry the ball.
Bottom line: the team with the most points on the scoreboard at the end of the game wins. No asterisks for flukes, loss of momentum, or other “factors.”
GO BUCKS – beat Wisky!
Khalid can deny all he wants, but no one competent “lets their foot off the gas” in the 2nd quarter only leading by 14 or even 21. Winovich, naturally as he’s the best player interviewed for this, had the clearest assessment.
The MI O besides one drive wasn’t that hot in the first half. 3 missed tackles on 3rd and long help MI score its first TD. MI scored its 2nd TD, due to a great special team play aided by two OSU penalties. OSU bounced back to tie the game then an errant O snap gave the ball back to MI when it seemed as OSU was near the 50 with momentum and could of snuck into half time with a lead. MI then scored it’s third TD on a very clever and greatly executed play to the side of the field when they started near midfield with 10 left in the 3rd. Basically, MI basically went on two long scoring drives the entire game. 2 of MI’s TD’s were greatly enhanced by field position, OSU penalties and poor tackling. The rest of the game MI’s O fizzled out. They did move the ball when the game was in hand with less than 2 minutes as OSU played softer D. Sorry Winovich, Haskins didn’t do just good, he did outstanding; Haskins arguably threw OSU’s sharpest pass all year to Mack that turned the tide on a clutch 3rd and 13 with OSU trailing and JTB out of the playing field, threading a needle between two MI Db’s, and held on even as he got crunched when he caught it. Haskins then with a 6th sense and eyes in the back of his head eluded a huge sack and sprinted head first to end zone corner to give OSU’s it permanent lead. His 2 other key passes, hit our speedy receivers in stride that allowed OSU to ice the game. The game these MI players describe that they could of blown out OSU or that O’ Korn didn’t have to be outstanding, is not the same game that got played last Saturday. “He kind of did beat you?” No, “not kind of,” but yes he did beat you! OSU outscored MI 31-6 in the last 3 quarters and out gained them by nearly 200 yards. As MI has not figured that out, that explains how and why this has become a one sided affair.
Yes, Haskins was OUTSTANDING and a 31-6 run is NOT A FLUKE. Maybe the Michigan players should start concentrating on playing four quarters of football instead of dreaming up excuses for losing.
Appreciate Winowich’s honest take on the game. As a Buckeye fan with lots of Michigan fans in my extended family, I kinda felt bad for them. But not enough to want Michigan to win!
Michigan will win again, someday, maybe.