Category: Football

Michigan State football No. 40 in ESPN’s latest SP+ rankings

The Spartans don’t move much after a pretty neutral win over Rutgers.

A win over Rutgers didn’t do much for Michigan State in the eyes of Bill Connelly’s computer.

The Spartans are at No. 40 this week in Connelly’s SP+ rankings. Michigan State ranks 86th in offense, 12th in defense and 114th in special teams. MSU is a projected 7.6 points better than an average college football team on a neutral field.

MSU’s upcoming opponent, Maryland, is rated 88th in SP+, although the Terps have been in a bit of a free fall lately. They’re ranked No. 73 on offense, No. 82 on defense and No. 127 on special teams. They’re a projected 5.7 points worse than an average college football team on a neutral field.

SP+, according to Connelly, is “(A) tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency.”

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How Michigan and Ohio State match up statistically

How the Wolverines and Buckeyes matchup statistically in all phases of the game and what it means.

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The stats aren’t going to tell the whole story, thus, as they say in rivalry games — throw out the record books.

Ohio State has been consistent across the board since Week One. Michigan, however, didn’t start really coming on on both sides of the ball until its loss at Penn State on the penultimate Saturday of October. Since then, Ohio State has continued to roll, but so has Michigan.

Still, the stats are the stats overall, and here’s where the two teams stack up against each other given their 11 game resumes.

michigan on offense, OHIO STATE on defense

Michigan offense Rnk. Avg. Ohio State defense Rnk. Avg.
Pass offense 50th 247.5 yds Pass defense 1st 126.2 yds
Rush offense 76th 155.09 yds Rush defense 5th 91.18 yds
Yards per play 66th 5.86 yds Yards per play allowed 1st 3.82 yds
Scoring offense 34th 33.5 pts Scoring defense 1st 10.4 pts
Total offense 69th 402.6 yds Total defense 1st 217.4 yds
3rd down conversions 61st 40.56% 3rd down conversions allowed 6th 28.05%
Long passing plays 54th 105 plays total Long passing plays allowed 2nd 53 plays total
Long rushing plays 76th 53 plays total Long rushing plays allowed 14th 37 plays total
Turnovers lost 67th 16 Turnovers attained 7th 23
Sacks allowed 53rd 1.82/gm Sacks 1st 4.36/gm
TFL allowed 14th  4.36/gm TFL 2nd 9.27/gm

Ohio State on offense, michigan on defense

Ohio State offense Rnk. Avg. Michigan defense Rnk. Avg.
Pass offense 49th 248.3 yds Pass defense 4th 161.1 yds
Rush offense 4th 282.09 yds Rush defense 13th 105.91 yds
Yards per play 8th 7.04 yds Yards per play allowed 3rd 4.11 yds
Scoring offense 1st 49.4 pts Scoring defense 10th 16.2 pts
Total offense 6th 530.4 yds Total defense 4th 267 yds
3rd down conversions 1st 58.09% 3rd down conversions allowed 11th 29.3%
Long passing plays 36th 115 plays total Long passing plays allowed 5th 68 plays total
Long rushing plays 4th 96 plays total Long rushing plays allowed 4th 27 plays total
Turnovers lost 21st 12 Turnovers attained 25th 19
Sacks allowed 82nd 2.27/gm Sacks 12th 3.18/gm
TFL allowed 55th 5.55/gm TFL 54th 6.18/gm

special teams/other

Michigan Rank Avg. Ohio State Rank Avg.
Opponent kick returns 105th 23.17 yds Kick returns 489th 21.77 yds
Kick returns 10th 25.72 yds Opponent kick returns 18th 17.94 yds
Punting 25th 44.26 yds Punt returns 58th 8.32 yds
Punt returns 63rd 8.03 yds Punting 41st 43.14 yds
Field Goals 97th 64.7% Field Goals 43rd 80%
Penalties 40th 50 yds/gm Opponent penalties 88th 49 yds/gm
Opponent penalties 9th 69 yds/gm Penalties 61st 53.4 yds/gm
Time of possession 74th 29:35.45/gm Time of possession 32nd 31:12:27/gm

CONCLUSIONS

Like we said, Michigan has played much better in recent weeks, especially on offense. In the month of November, the Wolverines have the No. 22 passing offense, 108th rushing offense (but a lot of that is due to the pass — in the month of October, when the run game got going, Michigan had the No. 31 rush offense), No. 15 scoring offense and No. 55 total offense. In November, it is No. 40th in yards-per-play with 6.55.

The bad news? Ohio State has been either about as good — or more likely — better in all those categories this month.

The Wolverines offense overall, despite meandering for the first month-plus of the season, isn’t statistically much worse than last year’s outfit. And had it not been for games like Army, Wisconsin and Iowa early in the season, it would look a whole lot better.

When it comes to strength of schedule, Michigan and Ohio State are neck and neck — fourth and fifth, respectively. But, the Wolverines have played their toughest opponents on the road, in losses to Wisconsin and Penn State. They did get Notre Dame and Iowa at home.

According to latest AP Top 25 rankings, OSU has yet to play a currently ranked team on the road, but does have wins over No. 12 Penn State, No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 18 Cincinnati at home. Michigan has played four currently ranked teams, with the two losses away from Michigan Stadium and wins over the two teams they faced at home.

Going back to last year, Ohio State’s passing offense is much worse, but the rushing offense is significantly better. Michigan’s pass defense is slightly worse, but the rush defense is slightly better.

But it’s Ohio State’s defense that stars, with numbers that are similar to Michigan’s a year ago, if not better across the board.

Here’s what Ohio State has given up on the year, defensively (bold denotes high):

Opponent Pass Yds Rush Yds Total Yds YPP Pts
Florida Atlantic 206 22 228 3.12 21
Cincinnati 166 107 273 4.79 0
Indiana 215 42 257 3.84 10
Miami (OH) 60 70 130 2.06 5
@ Nebraska 47 184 231 4.13 7
Michigan State 218 67 285 4.38 10
@ Northwestern 42 157 199 2.93 3
Wisconsin 108 83 191 3.75 7
Maryland 77 62 139 2.84 14
@ Rutgers 121 110 231 3.5 21
Penn State 128 99 227 3.49 17

It’s somewhat ironic that Michigan State has been the team with the most overall offensive success. It’s not a lot put on the Buckeyes in that regard, but if Michigan can somehow combine Lewerke’s numbers with Nebraska’s rushing numbers — and assuredly, the read-option, which hasn’t been utilized much since the Notre Dame game, will be in heavy use to keep Ohio State guessing up front.

It’s also somewhat difficult to predict what type of game this could be. Everything points to a defensive battle, but Michigan has recently shown it can score in droves — which is the Buckeyes’ forte.

Certainly, if you look strictly at the numbers, nearly everything is in Ohio State’s favor. But, games are played for a reason, and OSU has yet to have a road test as big as this one. Will that make a difference? We’ll know Saturday at noon EST.

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Ahead of Ohio State, Michigan must rekindle fire in the backfield

Michigan football has had success in the passing game recently, but the ground game has stifled in those weeks. That’s gotta change fast.

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Michigan’s offense has finally seen the type of explosion that everyone has been waiting to see all year. “Speed in space” was what the new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis preached when he was coming to Ann Arbor. Before the recent surge of attack from quarterback Shea Patterson and the passing game, the running game was the bread and butter for the offense. Besides the loss to Wisconsin, Michigan has run for over 100 yards in every game this season before taking on Michigan State.

You could see the offense revert to last seasons scheme where it seemed run-heavy and it helped put up points and win them games. Patterson and the passing game played well still, but the running game was getting more of the attention and praise for helping them gain yards and move the chains.

The defense has been stout for most of the season, but the offense started out flat and inconsistent. After the second-half performance against Penn State, Michigan has seen some life rejuvenated in their team. Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s known for having a run-first attitude on his teams, but that seems to have changed along with the mantra of the offense. While the change has been good for the offense the running game has seemed to take a hit as the passing game as blown up.

Against Notre Dame and Maryland, Michigan put up 458 rushing yards and six touchdowns. In the past two games against Michigan State and Indiana, Michigan has only run for 173 yards and one touchdown. The passing game has seen the opposite trend.

Against Notre Dame and Maryland, Michigan threw for 310 yards and four touchdowns. Against Michigan State and Indiana, Michigan has thrown for 750 yards and nine touchdowns. A complete turnaround as Michigan has thrown for more yards in their last two wins, then the previous two combined.

While it’s positive that the passing game seems to have figured out their issues from early on in the season, it’s negative that the running game has regressed from it. Having a balanced offense that can strike between the tackles, or in the air is huge for any team. While it’s a good thing if you can dominate in one of the two, having both be strong is even better.

Michigan has found the answers to the questions they had when it came to passing, but for them to regress in rushing is a concern ahead of next week’s game ahead of Ohio State. Michigan will be going up against the best defensive player in the country in defensive end Chase Young and he won’t be giving Patterson much time in the pocket to work with, meaning Michigan’s rushing attack must improve if they want to try and win this game next week.

Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet has made an impact in his first season in Ann Arbor, rushing 132 times for 635 yards and 11 touchdowns. Charbonnet has the most rushing touchdowns by a freshman running back in Michigan history, and he has a chance to have the second-most yards in a season by a freshman as he is 107 yards behind Ricky Powers. He has no chance of reaching Mike Hart’s 1,455 yards.

He isn’t alone in the backfield success though, as redshirt freshman Hassan Haskins has played well this season too, rushing 91 times for 483 yards and three touchdowns. His emergence has given the backfield another weapon that can help move the ball without relying solely on Charbonnet.

Michigan has a good ground game and it needs to find out how to get in involved again against Ohio State next week. Young will be a problem even in the running game, but his presence is known in the passing downs. The passing game might have some troubles, so if the running game can work, that can help the passing game get back on track.

In this big of a game next week, Michigan will want to make sure that every aspect of their offense is running smoothly. The passing game seems to have done just that, now the focus is getting the ground game back to what they were earlier in the season. If Michigan can have the passing game of late and the running game from before their last two weeks, this offense could truly give Ohio State’s defense a huge headache next week.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

Chase Young awarded the Walter Camp defensive player of the week

After a dominant effort against Penn State, Chase Young has, for the second time, been awarded the Walter Camp defensive player of the week.

After a dominant effort against Penn State, Chase Young has, for the second time this season, been awarded the Walter Camp defensive player of the week.

It was a terrific performance from the potential top-three pick. He put together a career-high nine tackles which included four tackles-for-losses. Young also had a game-changing three sacks and two forced fumbles.

It felt like every time either Penn State quarterback dropped back he was being harassed by the Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist. Young is easily the best defender in the nation.

On Saturday, in the team’s 28-17 victory, Young also set the university’s single-season sack record, propelling his season total to 16.5. According to a released statement from Ohio State, that totals is the “most sacks by a Big Ten player in 21 years.”

Young is nearing two sacks per game and had could’ve neared the D-1 single-season record had he not been suspended two games. Since 2005, the record is 20 by Elvis Dumervil. Bleacher Report reported back in 2013 that the single-season sack record is 24 set by Terrell Suggs.

Without those suspensions, Young could’ve gotten close to that record. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive end has 38 tackles, almost 20 of which have been for a loss, this season.

Nothing to see here: Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift fine after brief in-game argument

Georgia football QB Jake Fromm, RB D’Andre Swift HC Kirby Smart comment on brief argument in the game vs the Aggies.

I loved what I saw on Saturday late in the game between Georgia and Texas A&M.

There were 2:47 left in Georgia’s win over the Aggies when D’Andre Swift took a draw play from Jake Fromm and was dropped for a loss of two yards. After the play, Swift jumped up and got in his quarterback’s face, expressing his frustration with Fromm for not snapping the ball earlier.

Kirby Smart explained the situation in his postgame press conference and what led to their quick confrontation.

“I wouldn’t call it a dustup,” Smart said. “He was just frustrated. It was a situation where we don’t run that play into a pressure from that side. They did a good job disguising it.

We told Jake to milk the clock and when you milk the clock you can’t change the play. You milk the clock, you’ve got to run the play. It wasn’t a great play, but that’s called passion, it’s not a dustup.”

Sure, seeing your two star players argue is a bit awkward, but at the same time, if you know anything about the passion that goes into playing a team sport, it’s what you love to see.

Passion, that’s what was pouring out of Swift late in the ball game. That very well could have been both of their final games between the hedges and even though the Dawgs struggled to execute and find the end zone, those two left it all on the field.

Anyone who has ever played sports understands this. No, they are not going to go into awkward-mode, not talk to each other, not like each other’s Instagram posts or generate weird eye-contact when passing each other in the football facility.

They are fine. It was an emotional game. It’s an emotional sport.

“I think that was the play, the shot clock was on like one,” Swift said. “We hiked the ball. It wasn’t really a good play. I was telling him that we’ve got to snap the ball earlier but it wasn’t on him. I was just frustrated.”

“If you played football, you know teammates argue sometimes; we’ve got nothing but respect and love for each other. It’s football, it’s a game. Nothing is between us.”

Fromm did not push back. He let Swift express his frustration and carried on, eventually guiding the team to a win.

Fromm’s reaction to Swift’s complaints was exactly what you want to see from your quarterback. That’s the kind of stuff that NFL scouts will love when looking at his college tape. The guy is a leader and understands how to handle the emotions of 10 different players on the field at any given time.

“I think it’s just two competitors that want to compete and do the right thing for the offense,” Fromm said.

“The clock is ticking, they showed a blitz there at the last second and I didn’t have enough time to change it. That’s part of the four-minute scenario, trying to milk out the clock and two guys want to be really competitive and win a football game.”

Smart described it best following the game.

“It’s love,” Smart said. “When you have family, your family doesn’t always get along, right? But they love each other. These two young men love each other as much as anybody.”

Michigan moves up in Week 14 AP Top 25 Poll

Michigan football moves up in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Check out where the Wolverines are in the latest edition after their win this week.

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More changes are coming to the AP Top 25 poll this week as two top 10 teams lost and a few were tested in their matchups. Teams lower in the rankings were even tested and upset by unranked opponents.

Michigan had a chance to move up the polls after their 39-14 win over Indiana and with teams ahead of them falling, they were able to move up further than expected. Check out the latest poll below.

WEEK 14 AP TOP 25 POLL:

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Georgia
  5. Alabama
  6. Utah
  7. Oklahoma
  8. Florida
  9. Minnesota
  10. Michigan
  11. Baylor
  12. Penn State
  13. Wisconsin
  14. Oregon
  15. Notre Dame
  16. Auburn
  17. Memphis
  18. Cincinnati
  19. Iowa
  20. Boise State
  21. Oklahoma State
  22. Appalachian State
  23. Virginia Tech
  24. Navy
  25. USC
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Amway Coaches Poll: Texas remains unranked

Texas remains unranked after losing on the road to Baylor. Oklahoma and Baylor are the other Big 12 teams ranked and are inside the top 10.

Texas remains unranked in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports after a disappointing loss to Baylor on Saturday. The 24-10 loss was the Longhorns’ second loss in a row and moved Texas to 2-4 in their last six games.

The top five remain the same, but Utah takes over at No. 6 as No. 13 Oregon suffered a loss on the road to Arizona State. The Utes are the PAC 12’s remaining hope for the College Football Playoff.

Fellow Big 12 members Oklahoma stay at No. 7, Baylor moves up three spots to No. 10, and Oklahoma State moves up two spots to No. 21.

Below is the latest Amway Coaches Poll in its entirety, voted on by 65 FBS head coaches.

1) Louisiana State

2) Ohio State

3) Clemson

4) Georgia

5) Alabama

6) Utah

7) Oklahoma

8) Florida

9) Minnesota

10) Baylor

11) Michigan

12) Penn State

13) Oregon

14) Wisconsin

15) Notre Dame

16) Auburn

17) Cincinnati

18) Memphis

19) Boise State

20) Iowa

21) Oklahoma State

22) Appalachian State

23) Virginia Tech

24) Navy

25) Southern California

Schools dropped out

No. 21 Southern Methodist; No. 24 Texas A&M; No. 25 San Diego State.

Others receiving votes

Air Force 74; Iowa State 55; Virginia 32; Texas A&M 26; UL Lafayette 18; Southern Methodist 18; Wake Forest 5; San Diego State 4; Indiana 2; Hawaii 2; Temple 1.

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Oklahoma moves to No. 7 in Amway Coaches Poll

The Sooners narrowly escaped their final home game of the season versus TCU, escaping with a 28-24 victory over the Horned Frogs,

The Sooners narrowly escaped their final home game of the season versus TCU, escaping with a 28-24 victory over the Horned Frogs, moving to No.7 in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports. With the win, the Sooners clinched their spot in the Big 12 Championship versus Baylor.

Oklahoma overcame two costly Jalen Hurts penalties to beat the Horned Frogs, as the defense stepped up in a big way down the stretch, getting multiple steps and finishing the game off with an interception.

Other than their win, several other pieces fell into place for a possible Sooners path to the College Football Playoffs. 

Two top-10 teams in Oregon and Penn State fell on Saturday, paving an easier way for the Sooners. Oregon was ranked No. 6, but after a loss to unranked Arizona State, they fell to No. 13. The Nittany Lions were No. 9, and lost a close bout with Ohio State for their second loss of the season, moving them to 12.

Next week, the Sooners take on No. 21 Oklahoma State in their final regular season game of the year. 

The Big 12 championship between Baylor and Oklahoma will be held on December 7. 

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Georgia football HC Kirby Smart on why Lawrence Cager did not play Saturday

georgia football HC Kirby Smart discussed why wide receiver Lawrence Cager did not play vs the Texas A&M Aggies.

Georgia football wide receiver Lawrence Cager dressed out for Saturday’s game vs Texas A&M but did not see the field.

He has been in pain all season after separating his shoulder against Tennessee.

Multiple times, he has re-aggravated that shoulder throughout the season, including early on in last week’s win at Auburn.

With a big game on the horizon vs LSU in the SEC Championship, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs need a healthy Cager, who has been Jake Fromm’s go-to receiver when healthy.

Smart discussed Cager’s injury and why he was held out of the game on Saturday.

“We thought he’d be able to go. He practiced during the week. He was obviously not 100 percent during the week, and we wanted to see him go in warm-ups and cut it loose. We didn’t feel that he could,” Smart said. “It’s one of those deals where you say, ‘Why don’t you just shut him down?’

Well, shutting him down doesn’t necessarily get him healthy either. He doesn’t take the hits and pounding during the week. So he’s helping to take a little mileage off the other guys, and also staying fresh in the offense. Sometimes when you step away you get away. It’s not his legs that are tired; it’s his injury. He just didn’t feel comfortable that he could go, and it was tough conditions. We knew it would be tough conditions. Having a healthy guy out there helps.”

This season, Cager is Georgia’s leading receiver despite missing significant time with his injury.

He currently has 33 catches for 476 yards and four touchdowns.

True freshman George Pickens is closing in on Cager. Pickens has 32 catches for 457 yards and five touchdowns.

Wisconsin remains at No. 14 in latest Amway Coaches’ Poll

Badgers stay in same spot in the most recent poll, powered by USA Today Sports

Following an up and down home victory against the Purdue Boilermakers, the Wisconsin Badgers remain stagnant at No. 14 in the latest Amway Coaches’ Poll, powered by USA Today Sports.

Overall, the Badgers (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) did what they had to do, winning and keeping pace with two Big Ten losses to give themselves a major opportunity. Up next, Wisconsin has their biggest opportunity set up this season, to travel to Minnesota to face the Gophers for a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Minnesota (10-1, 7-1), who suffered their first loss of the season a week ago, moved up two spots to No. 9 after knocking off the Northwestern Wildcats on the road.  The Badgers travel to play the Golden Gophers Nov. 30 in their final game of the regular season, with some major implications in the Big Ten West race, and of course to play for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

Wisconsin is one of an impressive six Big Ten teams in the Amway Coaches’ poll. The Big Ten conference has proven yet again to be one of the toughest football conferences in the country, with five teams in the top 15 alone, and all six of the Big Ten teams just inside the top 20 of the poll.