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There’s no battle of words in advance of the 116th edition of The Game on Saturday. If anything, it’s been something of a compliment-off.
On Monday, at his weekly press conference and subsequent media appearances, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh had nothing but nice things to say about Ohio State, effusive in his praise for the job that new head coach Ryan Day and his staff have done.
On Tuesday, in his own weekly press conference, the Buckeyes’ Day returned the favor.
But he went further, breaking down what he’s seen from the Wolverines, starting with offense. Like anyone else who has paid attention to the maize and blue, he’s noted that Michigan’s offensive resurgence started midway through what looked like a blowout in Happy Valley.
Since then, Michigan has rolled. Despite having played and beaten Penn State and Wisconsin — the two teams that the Wolverines have lost to — Day is certain that this upcoming matchup in Ann Arbor will be OSU’s toughest challenge — and it’s not even close.
“I thought since the halftime of the Penn State game, they’ve really played good football,” Day said. “(Michigan QB Shea) Patterson is throwing the ball well. Receivers are good. Collins, Jones, their tight ends are good. Offensive line. Good job against Notre Dame. Good scheme, good coaches.
“They found a rhythm in the second half of the season. Probably our biggest challenge again. As we’ve gone on in the season, we’ve been challenged more and more.
“This will be the most talented group we’ve seen by far.”
So why has Patterson and the offense been so much better in Day’s eyes?
He isn’t entirely sure, but he notes that the offensive talent is coming to fruition, and that Michigan seems to be peaking at the right time.
“I do see (Patterson) being more confident,” Day said. “I see a group that feels like they’ve found an identity. They got really good receivers, by the way. Those receivers are talented. Offensive line is giving them time.
“I don’t know exactly what made them all click, but it seems like it’s going well right now for them.”
Certainly, for the maize and blue faithful, one of the biggest concerns heading into The Game is how the Wolverines defense will hold up against Day’s offense.
Last year, OSU put up unprecedented numbers on what was then the No. 1 defense in the country, taking advantage of (mostly) man coverage and putting the faster skill positions in space. The Buckeyes were close to unstoppable in the second-half offensively, and Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown has been back at the drawing board since the 62-39 shellacking in Columbus.
Day doesn’t anticipate repeat success in that regard. Brown’s made significant changes to the defense this year, mixing in more zone coverages, but doing an excellent job at disguising the looks he’s giving.
The way he sees it, Ohio State has a big challenge on its hands in that regard.
“I’ll say this: nobody gives more looks than Don Brown when it comes to different looks,” Day said. “He takes a lot of pride in that. I know that. Over the years his different teams, they’ll play more zone than man, they’ll play more man than zone. What he does a great job of is he puts his guys in positions to be successful.
“Some of those things last year maybe it seemed like they were still zone. He changes it up. He does a great job. I know he’s going to do another good job this weekend.”
But, we’ve seen this Michigan defense get gashed.
Middle Tennessee averaged over 4 yards-per-play, not great, but not bad against a supposedly stout defense, either. Army and Wisconsin both ran for more than 200 yards in successive weeks.
But since then, the most that the Wolverines have given up on the ground is 129 to Maryland — and the Terrapins couldn’t get an offensive score in that game.
As a matter of fact, since the first three games, Michigan has allowed an average of 67.4 yards rushing per game. The Buckeyes are intent on running the ball with J.K. Dobbins, Master Teague and quarterback Justin Fields, and they’re No. 6 in the country at doing so.
The way Day sees it, Michigan figured out what went wrong early and have since fixed the glitch, so to speak.
“I think they were kind of finding their way early in the season,” Day said. “They found a rhythm now. Again, I think probably since the second half of that Penn State game is when they caught their rhythm. Wisconsin did hit some runs on them early with Taylor.
“But they’re good. They found their way. He’s done a good job of getting the guys in the right positions to be successful.”
Regardless, with big rivalry games, they say throw out the record books. However, Michigan has lost seven straight to Ohio State.
The Buckeyes have only been tested once all season long — last week, at home, against Penn State. Day says this road game in Ann Arbor will certainly be the biggest test that OSU has faced to this point, regardless of where the game is played.
“It’s the most talented we’ll see,” Day said. “I mean, they have the ability to be as good as anybody in the country when they’re playing well. I think they’re playing their best football now. Certainly we’re going to get their best shot on Saturday.”
Michigan and Ohio State are set to kick The Game off at noon EST.
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