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Coming off their 39-14 win over Indiana last week, Michigan was turning it’s attention to Ohio State, the number one team in the country. Michigan would be shown why Ohio State was the best team in the country as they lost 56-27 in Ann Arbor.
The offense showed some promise in the first half, while the defense couldn’t have an answer for Ohio State all game long. Check out below how each position was graded on their performance in the loss yesterday.
OFFENSE
Quarterback: B
Shea Patterson did everything he could against Ohio State. He finished the game going 18/43 for 305 yards, with a touchdown and interception. He was forced to do a lot with his defense allowing points left and right. He couldn’t get much help from the running game either due to the score being so big as the game continued and with that group struggling.
Patterson also didn’t have help from his wide receivers in the second half they were dropping many passes that were in their hands. If the receivers caught all those drops, Patterson would’ve put up 350-400 yards and another touchdown. Patterson did have some poor throws, but again it was mostly due to being put in a tough spot on offense.
Running Back: C+
While Patterson was dominating in the air early on, the ground game couldn’t do much against the Ohio State defense. Hassan Haskins finished the game as the leading carrier with 12 for 78 yards and a touchdown. Zach Charbonnet only had seven yards on four carries.
Neither running back could find the holes when they were open, and when they had a good run they had to break off a tackle or two to get the yards, but it slowed them down so others caught up to tackle them.
Wide Receiver: B-
What started out as a good first half, turned sour in the second half as multiple receivers started dropping passes from Patterson, wasting chances for the offense to get back into the game and killing any momentum they had. Ronnie Bell was the top receiver, finishing with six catches for 78 yards, while Donovan Peoples-Jones was the only receiver to catch a touchdown, getting three for 69 yards and the score.
Giles Jackson didn’t catch a pass but ran it three times for 26 yards and a touchdown. Nico Collins was quiet as he was covered well, only getting two catches for 32 yards. Tarik Black couldn’t do much either with one catch for nine yards.
Tight End: B+
Sean McKeon had a good game, getting three catches for 66 yards and helped out with the blocking when asked to do it. Nick Eubanks also was a big help, getting two catches for 42 yards and was blocking well also. This was probably the best game the group has played all season long in both units.
Offensive Line: B+
Michigan’s offensive line had a big job in containing Ohio State’s monster defensive end Chase Young and they did a great job in that, as he never recorded any sacks or tackles, but they still allowed two sacks on Patterson. The offensive line did everything they could to keep Patterson upright and they gave him loads of time against a great defensive line.
They struggled to create running lanes though when asked to do it as that’s been a weakness they’ve had all year long. The lack of a run game hurt the offense to be more creative and change up their plays.