Football
By the Numbers - Michigan
By Jeff AmeyThe uniforms might have been a little different, but the results were the same. Ohio State closed out their 2009 regular season with a 21-10 win over the Michigan Wolverines for their sixth-straight win in the series and third-straight in Ann Arbor. The win also runs the 10 year record in this series to 8-2 in favor of the Buckeyes, which goes a long way towards erasing the pain of the 2-7-1 record from the 1990's. It also marked the Buckeye's fifth-straight season with at least a share of the Conference title, and their third outright title in that timeframe.
After the game, a quick run through the postings on this site's message board shocked me. There were a lot of people that weren't satisfied with the win or the offense in the game. The basic premise was that the offense scored only 21 points (14 on offense) against a terrible defense on a team that just finished 1-7 and last place in the Big Ten.
I don't think they appreciate what we really saw on Saturday.
I saw a team that took a quarter to adjust to what the defense was doing, then took control of the game and pounded to more than 270 yards of rushing. I saw a team that could've passed the ball downfield whenever they wanted to against the coverages they were getting, but chose not to. I saw a team that did just enough to win the game, and it really wasn't all that much. I saw a team go up by two scores, then run clock, because they knew that the other team couldn't get back into it, and if they tried, they'd just answer with another score.
The reality is that it was close because Jim Tressel chose not to blow them out...and I think most Michigan fans realize that. Sure, it would be nice to see the Buckeyes hang 50 on them again, but I think it's even more agonizing for them to be toyed with for 60 minutes with the score just out of reach, knowing there's nothing they can do about it.
Take a few minutes and appreciate this game for what it really was. "Tresselball" might be maddening sometimes, but imagine how maddening it would be on the other side of it. It's like a boa constrictor, strangling the life out of the opposition and their fans. It makes it impossible to turn off the TV, because "Tresselball" allows the other side to hope. What could be more maddening than that?
Let's take a look at the stats.
Run/Pass Breakdown
69 Total Plays--340 yards--4.9 ypp
17 pass (25%)--9/17 for 68 yards 1 TD 1 INT
52 rush (75%) for 272 yards 1 TD--5.2 ypc
15 Offensive Possessions
Ave. of 4.6 plays--22.7 yards
Ave. start--OSU 26
First Down--31 plays (45%) for 205 yards
5 pass (16%)--4/5 for 32 yards
26 rush (84%) for 173 yards 1 TD--6.7 ypc
Ave. gain of 6.6 yards
Second Down--22 plays (32%) for 99 yards
6 pass (27%)--2/6 for 17 yards
16 rush (73%) for 82 yards--5.1 ypc
Ave. of 9.0 yards to go
Ave. gain of 4.5 yards
Third Down--15 plays (22%) for 35 yards
6 pass (40%)--3/6 for 19 yards 1 TD 1 INT
9 rush (60%) for 16 yards--1.8 ypc
Ave. of 8.1 yards to go
Ave. gain of 2.3 yards
Conversions--4/15 (27%)
Fourth Down--1 play (1%) for 1 yard
1 rush (100%) for 1 yard--1.0 ypc
Ave. of 3.0 yards to go
Ave. gain of 1.0 yard
Conversions--0/1 (0%)
Play Action Passing
3/5 for 29 yards
First Downs Earned--17
3 by pass
14 by run
Formation Breakdown
Two Back Formations--24 plays (35%)
5 pass (21%)--3/5 for 20 yards
19 rush (79%) for 56 yards--2.9 ypc
Shotgun Formations--38 plays (55%)
11 pass (29%)--6/11 for 48 yards 1 TD 1 INT
27 rush (71%) for 230 yards 1 TD--8.5 ypc
One Back Formations--4 plays (6%)
1 pass (25%)--0/1 for 0 yards
3 rush (75%) for -11 yards--(-3.7) ypc
Victory Formation--3 plays (4%)
3 rush (100%) for -3 yards--(-1.0) ypc
RUN TYPE BREAKDOWN--52 attempts
Base/Iso-- 6 (12%) for 23 yards--3.8 ypc
Counter/Trap-- 2 (4%) for 35 yards 1 TD--17.5 ypc
Option-- 13 (25%) for 115 yards--8.8 ypc
Power-- 9 (17%) for 15 yards--1.7 ypc
QB run/scramble-- 11 (21%) for 30 yards--2.7 ypc
Stretch-- 3 (6%) for 39 yards--13.0 ypc
Sweep-- 5 (10%) for 18 yards--3.6 ypc
TEAM-- 3 (6%) for -3 yards--(-1.0) ypc
Other Stats of Note
~ 3 offensive penalties for 34 yards
~ Ohio State started on the Michigan side of the 50 twice--0 points
~ 1/1 in the Red Zone--(1 TD)
~ 2 sacks against and 1 turnover (INT)
~ 12/69 plays took place on the Michigan side of the 50--(17%)
~ 23/69 plays went for no gain or loss--(33%)
~ Number of plays of 10+ yards--16
~ Number of 3 and out drives--4/15 (27%)
~ Number of Michigan turnovers--5
I came away from this game wondering how long Rich Rodriguez is going to last at Michigan. Tony Gerdeman had a pretty good handle on what their team was about this year. Their offense is better than last season, and young. Their defense was horrible outside of a few players, most notably Brandon Graham, who is one of the best players I've ever seen in the Maize and Blue. I just don't see where improvement is going to come from their roster.
This game may not have been an offensive thing of beauty for the Buckeyes, but it never really had to be. After a sluggish first quarter whenever the Buckeyes needed to move the ball, they did. When they needed to answer Michigan's touchdown in the third quarter, they did. Despite what appeared to be a "conservative" gameplan for the Buckeyes, it was merely Tressel and the Buckeyes doing exactly what they needed to do to win the game, and little more. That doesn't mean the "more" wasn't there for the taking if the coaching staff wanted to go for it.
Let's take a look at the position groups.
Quarterbacks
Ohio State's offensive improvement over the last third of the season as been tied to the progress made by Terrelle Pryor. The coaching staff has asked Pryor to do less, focused more on the running game, and reduced the amount of decisions Pryor has had to make in games. That's only telling part of the story.
With a lot of the pressure off of him to win the game for the offense, Pryor has improved his decision-making. He's played within himself quite well over the past four games, and the team has responded. Last week against Iowa, he had the lowest percentage of plays as the primary ball-handler this season at just 37%, but with Michigan's problems defending the read-option this season, it was no surprise that Pryor's decision-making was going to be put to the test with more touches this week, especially in the option game.
I thought Pryor did a great job this week of managing the offense, making decisions in the pass and option games, and playing tough when the situation dictated. 63% of the offense went through him, and those plays gained 210 of the 340 total yards (62%). Especially impressive were his option decisions. He was really selling the give, and when he ended up keeping it, there were huge holes for him to run through.
I'm very encouraged by his play the last four games of the season, and while the passing game probably still isn't where we'd all like it to be, the offense as a whole is better and more consistent. Most importantly to "Tresselball", over the final five games of the season (since the loss to Purdue), he's only turned the ball over twice.
Grade--B+ The interception hurt, and led to Michigan's only touchdown, but the good decisions he made the rest of the game make up for it. The screen pass touchdown he threw in the third quarter was a thing of beauty. The two missed long balls would've been icing on the cake.
Running Backs
With less pressure on Pryor to win games for the offense, the pressure on the running backs to produce has increased, and they have delivered with steady, but not spectacular, efficiency. The Michigan defense loaded up the line of scrimmage with 8 and even 9 man fronts, so the running game from traditional formations wasn't very successful, accounting for only 45 yards on 22 carries (2.0 ypc) with a long of 19 yards. From Shotgun sets, it was a different story.
On those carries, Brandon Saine and Boom Herron combined for 16 carries and 142 yards (8.9 ypc) and includes Saine's 29 yard touchdown run to open up a 14-3 lead in the 2nd quarter. I thought both backs did a great job of seeing and getting through the holes from shotgun, and kept the Wolverine defense on its heels.
There might not be what you'd call a "feature" back, but I think the Buckeyes finish this season deeper at running back than they have ever been since Jim Tressel took over. Both Saine and Herron return next year, as well as Jordan Hall and Jermil Martin, who have seen spot duty this season. Add in Jamaal Berry and any incoming freshmen the Buckeyes add this off-season, and that's a stable-full. Add in Pryor's ability to run the ball, and the identity the Buckeyes developed over the last third of the season is likely to be what we see for as long as Pryor is in Columbus.
Grade--A- The Wolverines knew what was coming and couldn't stop it after the Buckeyes adjusted. The backs combined for 31 carries for 180 yards and a TD. That kind of production will win a lot of games.
Receivers
With the Buckeyes running the ball 75% of the time and completing only nine passes, it was another game with not a lot of production from the Receivers Their most important contributions came from downfield blocking on a couple of the Buckeye's long runs. DeVier Posey had five catches to lead all Receivers, with Dane Sanzenbacher adding one on Ohio State's first drive.
The Buckeyes ran a lot of two tight end sets, with Jake Ballard and Jake Stoneburner getting most of the snaps, though Zach Boren played some H-back, mostly pass blocking the edge. Ballard had a good blocking day, but I'd like to see Stoneburner work on his blocking technique for next season. With Ballard graduating and the tight end being so important to the running game, he's going to need to step it up. He was beaten several times and even abused by Graham on a couple occasions.
Grade--B Nearly an incomplete again, but the blocking was important, and the rollout/play action game helped move the chains early in the game.
Offensive Line
Early this season, according to a good portion of the Ohio State fan-base, the Ohio State offensive line was terrible and had people calling for OL coach/nominal offensive coordinator Jim Bollman's head for what seems like the 20th year in a row. There's a lot less of that going around now as this regular season comes to a close. The Buckeyes put up over 200 yards of rushing for the fifth game in a row, all wins, and the offense consistently moved the ball. The quarterback didn't feel a whole lot of pressure on passing plays, but that had just as much to do with getting Pryor outside the pocket than anything else this week.
Of the starting front five, only Jim Cordle at the left tackle spot won't be coming back next season. Freshman Mike Adams was just starting to come into his own when he went down to injury, so there's no reason to think this kind of production won't be possible again next season. Another year of experience for this group might mean big things for next season's running game.
Grade--A- Brandon Graham caused some problems, but he is a great player. Other than that, the offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage all game long.
Offensive Coaching/Gameplan
In the search for an offensive identity this season, the Buckeyes finished the season with the style of offense that I think they attempted to start it with. After three games of ineffectual use of traditional formations, due mainly to sub-par fullback play, the Buckeyes went to a shotgun-based offense that was heavily dependant on Pryor. After four games, and a record of 3-1 in those games with diminishing offensive numbers, they switched back to a multiple formation offense and it has worked, a big part of that being much improved fullback play by Zach Boren.
It wasn't a flashy game plan, and the Buckeyes didn't blow the Wolverines out of the building, but that has never really been what Tressel has been about. After the Buckeyes got up by two scores, Tressel was taking few chances that the offense would allow the Wolverines back into the game by making a mistake. There's no question the long ball was there for the Buckeyes to take had they so chose (and they did choose to try twice), and I'm sure if the game was closer or had the Wolverines taken the lead, Tressel would've taken a few more shots. It just wasn't needed to win
There are few times I get to say this when analyzing the offensive play calling in a game, but there were a couple plays that were simply brilliant calls, both of them resulting in touchdowns. Unfortunately, one of those, the 29 yard counter play, ended up being a complete accident, as the wrong play was signaled in. Nevertheless, it was the perfect call for the over-pursuit from the backside of Michigan's defensive formations early in the game. The screen pass touchdown was the other brilliant call, but even that call wasn't without doubt, as the coaching staff was trying to call time out before the snap. It was a great call and excellently executed by the line and quarterback.
This season's offense was frustrating at times, but when you take a look at the two-deep and realize the youth on this offense, maybe we should've expected the struggles instead of having such high expectations. That youth, coupled with the improvement in the offense over the last third of the season means expectations are going to be high for the offense again next year, but this time those expectations might be warranted.
Grade--B+ "Tresselball" might not be as fun as we'd like, but it's hard to argue with its success despite its shortcomings. A run-heavy offense means we'd all better get used to it for next year as well.
Defensive Coaching/Gameplan
You have to give the Wolverine offense some credit. They were able to move the ball, and a lot of the credit has to go to Tate Forcier. He's not a great player, but he does have his strengths and one of those is the ability to keep plays alive and make some great throws on the run. With that credit and ability to keep plays alive comes the blame for five turnovers, including four interceptions, that killed any chance Michigan had of getting back into the game.
The defensive line wasn't as dominant as they have been in other games, but they weren't blown off the ball either, and kept the Wolverine running game in check for the most part. Cameron Heyward got the party off to a rousing start by recovering a fumble in the end zone for Ohio State's first touchdown. Freshman John Simon made several plays that stood out at defensive tackle. To me, he's been one of the biggest surprises on the defense this season. If he can stay healthy, I think he's going to have a big future with the Buckeyes. Thad Gibson came away with his first interception of the season to kill the Wolverine's final drive. There has been some question about his future as a Buckeye. If that was his last regular-season play, that was a good way to go out.
Kurt Coleman made two interceptions on long throws, both killing Michigan drives in Ohio State territory, but the biggest turnover the defense forced was probably Devon Torrence's interception in the end zone to kill a drive that could've gotten the Wolverines back into the game in the fourth quarter. His position has been a question mark all season, and it was nice to see him come up big in a big game.
The big question as the Buckeyes head to the Rose bowl and the off-season afterwards is going to be how many of the talented juniors on the defense come back for their senior season. Gibson, Cameron Heyward, and Chimdi Chekwa are all going to have difficult decisions in their future.
Grade--B The Wolverines moved the ball against the defense, but couldn't hold onto it, or put it in the end zone more than once. I'm anxious to see what this defense can do against an offense like Oregon's.
Special Teams
It was a very quiet game for this group, with the person getting the most work being punter Jon Thoma. He picked a good time to have his best game of the season, even hitting one for over 50 yards in the first quarter, but maddeningly had a few very short ones including a 30 yard punt early in the second quarter that set up Michigan's first field goal drive.
The coverage units both were solid, but the return units weren't able to get anywhere and actually hurt the team by catching a couple penalties to push the offense back further. It was a big reason the Buckeyes averaged their own 26 yard line for starting position.
Grade--C+ This game was just a step above average for the group. Thoma almost averaged 40 yards for the game (the closest he's come this season).
With a little research, I'm pretty sure this is the first five-year class in Ohio State to have wins over Michigan and at least a share of the Big Ten title in all five seasons. About all this class is missing is a National Championship, and while that isn't going to end up happening, they leave Ohio State as one of the most successful classes in school history.
Now it's off to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 13 seasons against either Oregon or Oregon State. Both teams pose interesting challenges for the Buckeye defense, and have small, but active defenses. A big part of me wants Oregon to win the Pac-10 because they are a higher profile match-up for the Buckeyes and a win over them will go some ways to repairing the reputation of the Buckeyes and Big 10.
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