OSU-Michigan: Fourth quarter

By Brian Kollars | Saturday, November 22, 2008, 02:35 PM

The fourth quarter begins. Michigan’s bus driver inserts key into ignition.

2:40 — Boom Herron scores easily on a 2-yard run after a near-interception in the end zone by Michigan. Great play by Wolverines’ DB. Almost good enough to have the play overturned. I doubt Woody Hayes called too many play-action passes on first-and-goal from the 2.

2:45 — Good to see Todd Boeckman in the game. We were talking in the office about what kind of reception he’d get, and it was positive. “Who knows, if he’d have played against Penn State that loss might not have been there,” Bob Griese says, giving a strong opinion.

2:46 — Boeckman hits Brian Hartline for a TD. Great stuff, and the OSU seniors love it.

2:52 — Rich Rodriguez has to be wondering what he got himself into. GameDay had an interesting pregame interview with RichRod, during which UM’s new coach admitted to not doing his homework before taking the job in Ann Arbor.

“I didn’t research and see there would only be one starter back on offense,” Rodriguez said. “I thought … go in there, line up and it’ll be OK. I should’ve known better.”

So what was he saying? That he wouldn’t have taken the Michigan job if he knew the Wolverines would be bad this season?

3:01 — In case you were wondering, Ohio State’s largest margin of victory against Michigan is 38 points (38-0 in 1935). … On the other hand, Michigan’s most decisive win was an 86-0 thumping back in 1902.

3:09 — There’s some salt in Rodriguez’s wounds. ABC just mentioned that West Virginia QB Pat White today became the top rushing quarterback in Division I history.

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OSU-Michigan: Third quarter

By Brian Kollars | Saturday, November 22, 2008, 01:58 PM

As I pop my second Diet Coke of the day, it looks like we might have us a ballgame.

1:58 p.m. — Last year, Michigan couldn’t even hit 100 total yards against OSU. And that game was in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines just went over 100 yards today. That’s something to build on, I guess.

2:03 — Introducing Boom Herron, ladies and gentlemen. Franco Harris would be proud of Chris Wells stepping out of bounds without making contact with the DB.

2:13 — Love the Dr. J commercial. My kids have no idea how good Julius Erving was. The Allstate commercials are always good, too. Anybody want to weigh in on good/bad commercials? … I’ve moved on to pretzels.

2:19 — Bob Griese, aka Mr. Obvious, just pointed out that Terrelle Pryor is not having a great day. With OSU up 21-7, what would it hurt to insert Todd Boeckman for a series or two? It would show some respect, and there would be plenty of time to repair any damage done to Pryor’s ego.

2:22 — Our first Trotwood alum sighting. UM running back Michael Shaw gains 13 yards on a nice run, then follows up with a 5-yard loss.

2:25 — The Buckeyes have the spread covered. OSU was favored by 20 1/2 points today, the largest spread of any OSU-Michigan game. I believe the line went up this week, too, which means a lot of cash was bet on the Buckeyes. Who says Vegas never loses?

2:34 — Third quarter ends. OSU up 28-7 and going in for more.

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OSU-Michigan: Second quarter

By Brian Kollars | Saturday, November 22, 2008, 12:53 PM

Let’s talk about the second quarter:

12:55 p.m. — Brian Hartline’s TD catch gives OSU a commanding 14-0 lead. Hard to believe that Hartline had only 19 receptions coming into the game. Terrelle Pryor is into the game and Michigan’s defense can’t get off the field. Any predictions on the final score? I’ll say 38-0.

1:05 — Is there any doubt that Chris Wells will enter the NFL draft next spring? As injury-prone as he is, that is the only logical move.

1:08 — I had no idea that Michigan’s band was the first to do “Script Ohio.” And — with all the goofy Paul Maguire cut-ins — it’s obvious ABC was anticipating a blowout.

1:11 — For the record, Michigan’s first first down comes on a 10-yard pass with 8:21 left in the second quarter. The Wolverines’ streak of 3-and-outs is halted at five. Congrats, UM.

1:19 — Michigan did a nice job of running down the clock once it had first-and-goal at the 1. Wow. Give ‘em credit, though. Brandon Minor is running hard, and his 1-yard TD run with 2:51 left in the quarter makes me think that I’ll skip that nap I had planned for the third quarter.

1:33 — The first half is over. Buckeyes up 14-7. Ohio State had it in the bag, but let the Wolverines back in it. As odd as it sounds, Michigan has the momentum heading into the locker room. Just the fact that UM tried to move the ball into field-goal range in the final minute says a lot. And punting was a smart move. That prevented any chance of a late OSU field goal.

1:35 — Ah, the on-field interview. Biggest waste of time since scrap-booking was invented. Jim Tressel second-guesses himself for going for it on fourth down (why?) and mentions how hard Michigan is playing. “Michigan never stops playing. They’ve done that for 125 years or whatever,” Tressel tells Stacey Dales.

I miss Lloyd Carr. Remember the time he ripped into an ABC sideline reporter at halftime? It was a guy, Todd Harris, I think — before you had to be hot to hold a microphone on the sidelines. I wonder what Lloyd is doing today.

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OSU-Michigan: First quarter

By Brian Kollars | Saturday, November 22, 2008, 12:03 PM

I’ll be updating this blog throughout the OSU-Michigan game, a new entry each quarter, so hit “Refresh” and post a comment if you’ve got something to say (and who doesn’t?).

Let’s kick it off …

12:06 — What’s with the pregame scuffles? Last year I was in Michigan Stadium when little Mike Hart jumped over the 50-yard line in an attempt to provoke the Buckeyes (or get his team fired-up or impress the cheerleaders, I’m not sure). Show some class, guys. The Game is between OSU and Michigan, not Miami and Florida State.

12:12 — Dan Sanzenbacher, Dane Sanzenbacher … Brad Nessler needs to look at his roster … Whoa, Terrelle Pryor with the first big mistake, an interception. Not a problem. We’ll be seeing a Michigan field-goal attempt shortly.

12:16 — Michigan missed field doesn’t bode well for the Wolverines. Pryor threw the INT, but his tackle saved a touchdown. Good to see he didn’t go sulk on the bench like he did against Penn State. And do you think Nick Sheridan will be any kind of factor after James Laurinaitis planted him in the turf? Ouch.

12:22 — Wow. Michigan was looking like it would make a game of this until Michigan botched that punt return. Nice head’s-up play by Wayne grad Marcus Freeman. This changes field position, of course. Jim Tressel’s favorite thing.

12:33 — Time for a salami-and-cheese sandwich. And time to wonder if Michigan will get a first down today. The Wolverines defense is showing some spunk, but they won’t be able to hold off a tentative OSU offense all day.

12:35 — Another Dayton kid makes a big play. UM DB Brandon Harrison (C-J) makes a sure sack of Pryor on a blitz. Do you think OSU will pass on first down just once?

12:38 — Finally, some offense. Chris Wells’ 59-yard TD run looked a lot like the one he ripped off against LSU in the first quarter of the BCS title game back in January.

12:41 — Austin Spitler (Bellbrook) pounds Sam McGuffie on the kickoff. The Dayton kids are all over the field. Nessler with a nice one: “That’s a McGuffie sandwich.”

12:47 — The first quarter is over and I think Michigan’s offense would have a tough time moving the ball against Alter. Two big questions:

1) Will Michigan set a record for most 3-and-outs in a game? 2) How long will it be before Stacey Dales interviews Cris Carter, because ABC will be looking for filler material pretty soon.

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OSU-Michigan: Pregame chatter

By Brian Kollars | Saturday, November 22, 2008, 11:36 AM

What we learned by watching ESPN’s College GameDay:

• It doesn’t look good for Michigan today (surprise). Some crazy stats Chris and the boys rolled out: The Wolverines have had 98 plays for negative yardage; 48 3-and-out series; and 36 fumbles (16 lost).

• Penn State coach Joe Paterno is going to have hip-replacement surgery next week. And he sips Old Grand Dad to dull the pain.

• Texas coach Mack Brown is going to watch tonight’s big Oklahoma-Texas Tech game as a fan. Good to see. Most coaches don’t admit they do anything but break down film 24/7. Mack seems like a good guy.

• For the final time today, Illinois and Northwestern will play for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk. They have to find another trophy because the current trophy is too politically incorrect. Ridiculous.

• Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is the anti-Tressel. Loved the segment of Leach doing the weather on TV. The guy has a few screws loose and will talk about anything. Just the opposite of Ohio State’s “senator.”

• And, finally, Rich Rodriguez just doesn’t get it. When asked if a win today against Ohio State would save Michigan’s season, he said: “It’s just one game. … I don’t know how one win could salvage (the season).”

RichRod has a lot to learn.

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Scouting report: Ohio State-Michigan

By Brian Kollars | Friday, November 21, 2008, 03:21 PM

The scouting report for OSU-Michigan, courtesy of Scripps Howard News Service:

MICHIGAN (3-8) at No. 10 OHIO STATE (9-2), Noon, ABC

FAVORITE: Ohio State by 21. COACHES: Rich Rodriguez (first year at Michigan) and Jim Tressel (82-20 in 8th year at Ohio State). LAST WEEK: Michigan lost at home to Northwestern, 21-14. Ohio State won at Illinois, 30-20. SERIES HISTORY: Michigan leads, 57-41-6. LAST MEETING: Ohio State won, 14-3, last year. STAT THAT MATTERS: Having won last four over Wolverines, Buckeyes have never beaten Michigan five consecutive times in rivalry that dates back to 1897. GAME FACTS: Having already clinched worst season in UM’s 129 years of football in Rodriguez’s debut that also saw nation’s best 33-year bowl streak ended, Wolverines really have nothing to lose. Only bright spot is that four of the losses were by combined total of 17 points. QBs Steven Threet, Nick Sheridan floundered again last week (combined 12-of-36, 83 yards, int.) giving them 11 TD passes vs. 12 ints. for season. Threet likely won’t play after separating shoulder last week.

Expected romp would give Buckeyes share of Big Ten title, good shot at BCS at-large bowl bid. Senior RB Chris “Beanie” Wells had 143 yards rushing and freshman QB Terrelle Pryor added 110 as OSU bulled its way to 303 yards on ground last week. Defense gave up season-high 454 yards but considering way they stifled Michigan last year (91 total yards, 8 first downs), OSU should have no problem punishing downtrodden Wolverines. Tressel’s 6-1 mark vs. UM would make Woody Hayes more than proud.

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Buckeyes will win, but not in a blowout

By Brian Kollars | Friday, November 21, 2008, 12:56 PM

Rivalry games are supposed to be close, right? But nobody is expecting a thriller Saturday in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State, looking for another Big Ten title and BCS bowl berth, is a big favorite to send Michigan back up north with another loss in a series that is becoming very one-sided.

The line — for entertainment purposes only (wink) — is a whopping 20 1/2 points. That’s a big number, reportedly the biggest ever in the OSU-Michigan game.

The last time the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines by more than 20? Forty years ago, a 50-14 pasting in 1968.

The last time either team won by such a wide margin was in 1993, when Michigan hammered OSU 28-0. It was the Buckeyes’ only loss that year.

So what do we make of that huge spread? True, Michigan is bad. But I’m leaning toward Alex Boone’s assessment of the game. OSU didn’t make the motor-mouthed senior tackle available on Michigan Week Media Day (didn’t want to risk bulletin-board material), but Boone does write a kind of blog for Sporting News Today.

In today’s edition, he mentions how OSU hates Michigan and Michigan hates OSU. He also writes, “It’s not going to be a blowout.”

The only problem with buying into the close-game theory is what Jim Tressel said on his radio show Thursday. He made Michigan sound like USC, which means the Wolverines must really be bad.

“When they’re doing the things they need to do, they’re as good as anybody,” Tressel said, perhaps not knowing how ridiculous he sounded.

He also said that he came away impressed with the Wolverines after watching them lose to Utah in the season-opener.

“That’s when I knew they were made of the right stuff,” Tressel blathered on.

That “right stuff” has Michigan at 3-8 … with a loss to Toledo! Still, I think the Michigan team that beat Wisconsin and Minnesota might show up Saturday.

Other factors that might keep the score respectable:

— It will be cold and Tressel will play it safe — especially with a freshman QB who didn’t respond well in his last big game (Todd Boeckman would’ve been a better choice than Terrelle Pryor against Penn State).

— OSU (and Michigan) are at the bottom of the Big Ten in total offense. Woody and Bo would love this matchup.

I think Ohio State will win handily, and would feel better about taking the points if the spread were 21. Even though I’m feeling snake-bit from last week, I’m saying take the points. OSU 28, Michigan 10.

LAST WEEK: Our advice was to take Illinois and the 9 1/2 points. So, of course, OSU won by 10 (30-20). Depending on when you made your decision, you might’ve won with the Illiini, since the line opened at 10 1/2. But we have to chalk it down as a loss.

THE SEASON: We’re a very mediocre 5-5 against the spread in OSU games this season. Two of those losses would make you reach for the Gamblers Anonymous number: the Illinois game and the Minnesota game, which we lost on the last play.

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