Michigan football had something of a ho-hum win in Week 1, defeating East Carolina, 30-3. It was a dominant performance, but not necessarily overwhelming in nature — at least not compared to how one might expect the No. 2 team in the nation to beat an unranked Group of Five team.
But the Wolverines were thorough in their destruction, and media pundits definitely took notice.
Penn State also dominated West Virginia, a Power Five program but one that’s struggled as of late. But Ohio State wasn’t nearly as impressive as the other two, beating Indiana 23-3, a game where it took the Buckeyes the entirety to even pull away.
ESPN took notice, and stated that this is still Michigan’s championship to lose until proven otherwise. (subscription required)
Deep breath, Ohio State fans.
The selection committee isn’t going to snub the Buckeyes because their normally unstoppable offense looked pedestrian in their first conference road game with a rookie quarterback. The group does look at how games unfold and digs deeper than the score, and it wasn’t always pretty for Ohio State and quarterback Kyle McCord against Indiana. The Buckeyes won, though, and the committee likes road wins, but it’s clear there is a learning curve ahead.
Rival Michigan simply looked better under the veteran leadership of quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was spot-on during the win against East Carolina. And Penn State, which officially introduced Drew Allar as its new starting quarterback in a win against West Virginia, also looked more competent offensively than the Buckeyes did.
One thing to note is that teams are not finished products in Week 1. We’ve seen Ohio State offenses sputter in the early going before — such as two years ago in CJ Stroud’s debut — only to become a juggernaut by season’s end. Michigan also has some things to work on, too, such as it’s run game — something no one expected to say at the outset.