Ohio State at Michigan Breakdown & Prediction

No. 10 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan

Time: 9 p.m.

Venue: Crisler Center

TV: ESPN

Records: Ohio State 17-4, 7-2 Big Ten; Michigan 20-2, 7-2

Ohio State stat leaders: Points – Deshaun Thomas (20.0 ppg); Rebounds – Thomas (6.2 rpg); Assists – Aaron Craft (4.7 apg); Steals – Craft (1.9 spg).

Michigan stat leaders: Points – Trey Burke (18.2 ppg); Rebounds – Mitch McGary (6.0 rpg); Assists – Burke (7.2 apg); Steals – Burke (1.4 spg).

Current Streaks: Ohio State W4, Michigan L1

Point Spread: Michigan -8

Prediction: Ohio State has a number of things working against it for this game. First, the Buckeyes already beat the Wolverines and Michigan will be eager to avenge the loss. Second, Michigan is coming off a loss at Indiana and will be motivated to put on an impressive response at home. Third, it’s Michigan-Ohio State at Crisler. The Buckeyes have a strong defense and gave the Wolverines plenty of problems in the first meeting, but Michigan is a much different team at home. Even if Aaron Craft is able to make things difficult for Trey Burke, I expect Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III to step up after really struggling in Bloomington on Saturday. This game should be competitive for most of the way, but I think Michigan will pull away late and get back on track. Michigan 66, Ohio State 57

Grade Michigan's 2012 season

Brady Hoke set a high standard for Michigan when he took the job, indicating that anything less than a Big Ten Championship is a disappointment.

While that is the right thing to say to the fan base, I can’t say I agree with the mindset.

Certainly Michigan is a team that should go into each season expecting to contend for the Big Ten title and be among the favorites to win it. But last season saw the Wolverines get 11 wins with no title. That is not a failure.

This season, Michigan again finds itself out of the running for the Big Ten title, but the season wasn’t a complete wash.

Unlike last year, I would say this season has been somewhat disappointing.

The Wolverines went 8-4, but three of their losses seemed like very winnable games.

Michigan could have beaten Notre Dame had it held on to the football.

It seemed that Michigan could have beaten Nebraska had Devin Gardner been prepared to backup an injured Denard Robinson. I wouldn’t say that the Wolverines definitely would have won that game, but the offense clearly would have been more productive than it was with Russell Bellomy at quarterback.

Against Ohio State, the game seemed to be Michigan’s for the taking, but a lack of adjustments on offense allowed the Buckeyes to squeak out a victory.

You can read more into Michigan’s season by the four losses than the eight wins. Truth is, Michigan failed to beat the good teams it faced this year. Of the eight wins, the best win seems to be against Northwestern (9-3), but it took a late miracle to get the win, and I don’t think many view the Wildcats as a nationally respected program.

Michigan did end the losing streak to Michigan State, which it needed to do, but the Spartans’ 6-6 record takes a little steam away from what that victory meant for the season outlook.

Overall, the offense wasn’t as explosive this season and the defense was just a shade worse than it was a year ago.

An 8-4 record is okay this year, but if Brady Hoke wants to live up to the standards he set when he took the job, things have to get better next year. The Big Ten was not that strong this season. There is no telling that it will be this weak again in the future.

Given the record and the quality of victories Michigan had, I give them a grade of a B-. I am hesitant to say C because Michigan still won eight games and could get a solid bowl victory. I don’t think the Wolverines deserved a B because of the lack of quality wins and the failure to make the Big Ten Championship Game.

What are your thoughts on Michigan’s season?

How would you grade Michigan's season

Predictions for Michigan/OSU, MSU/Minnesota

Saturday marks the end of the regular season for both Michigan and Michigan State, with both teams playing very meaningful games. Here are my predictions for both contests.

Michigan at Ohio State

This game really feels like more than just an annual rivalry game. Ohio State is looking to get an undefeated season while Michigan is seeking a ninth win. Both coaches (Urban Meyer and Brady Hoke) are looking to make a statement against the other for the sake of the rivalry.

I expect this game to be similar to last year’s game, where it is an offensive showcase that could come down to the final possession. I think Ohio State will be able to move the ball on the Michigan defense thanks to the play-making ability of Braxton Miller. I think the Wolverines will also be able to find plenty of offense against an Ohio State defense that isn’t all that strong. I think Michigan will pull out all the stops on offense, incorporating Devin Gardner and Denard Robinson at multiple positions to keep the Buckeyes guessing.

Ultimately, I see the Buckeyes winning this one. This game means everything to Ohio State (no offense, Michigan fans). With no bowl game and no Big Ten Championship opportunity, this is the national title game for Ohio State. Meyer has built this game up to be everything for the fan base and the players, and it will take place in the Horseshoe. I think Michigan puts up a fight, but Ohio State finds a way to win in the closing moments.

Ohio State 34, Michigan 31

Michigan State at Minnesota

I know it’s easy to assume that MSU will just waltz in to Minnesota and win and become bowl eligible, but what have the Spartans done this year to prove that would be a given?

Mark Dantonio may have guaranteed victory in his weekly press conference, but the only guarantee I expect is that this game will come down to the final possession just like all other MSU games.

Minnesota has plenty to play for here, just like the Spartans. The Gophers are seeking their first 7-win season since 2008 and head coach Jerry Kill came under fire this week from former player, A.J. Walker. There will be plenty of Minnesota players that will look to rally around Kill and get him a big win to end the regular season.

I am still going to pick Michigan State, as the Spartans are more desperate for the win. A loss for MSU would make an awful season even worse. I don’t expect it to be pretty, but some way, the Spartans will find a way to win.

Michigan State 20, Minnesota 17

Devin and Denard - what could have been

Last Saturday saw another sizeable win for the Michigan football team, but it came in a little different style.

After missing the last two games with an injury to his elbow, Denard Robinson returned to the field against Iowa and was creatively used alongside backup quarterback Devin Gardner.

Robinson didn’t throw a pass in the game. He was instead used as a running back and a receiver.

Defenses still had to respect Robinson for his speed and his quickness while Gardner remained the quarterback. Gardner finished with 314 yards passing and three touchdowns while running for two more scores.

The Michigan offense totaled over 500 yards and looked as good as it has all season, but the real question is, why now?

Obviously the answer for Saturday was to get Robinson on the field for his final home game with Michigan.

But, when you see what this offense is capable of with Gardner at quarterback and Robinson used as a running back/receiver, you have to scratch your head at why this wasn’t implemented earlier. Last season saw Gardner take some occasional snaps at quarterback with Robinson, but it wasn’t anything like what we saw on Saturday.

Could this combination have helped in games against Alabama, Notre Dame and Nebraska?

Digging up this kind of success this late in the season doesn’t do much good for Michigan outside of possibly beating Ohio State, but even a win over the Buckeyes won’t get them a Big Ten title unless Nebraska loses.

Is it fair to say that Brady Hoke and the Michigan coaching staff missed the boat here?

Coaches always say they have to put their best 11 on the field each week.

It is starting to appear that the Wolverines haven’t had their best lineup on the field most of the season.

What are your thoughts on how Michigan used Robinson/Gardner against Iowa

Gardner or Robinson?

Denard Robinson is a polarizing player.

Obviously Robinson is a tremendous athlete.

He has put up historic numbers as a member of the Michigan football team, but he hasn’t been able to win over the entire Wolverine fan base.

There is a significant part of the fan base that feels Robinson is what is keeping Michigan from truly taking a step forward at the national level.

Their point has been emphasized over the last two games with the play of Devin Gardner.

Gardner, who also has the capability to run or pass, has shown much better passing abilities than Robinson.

Over the last two weeks, Gardner is 28 of 47 passing for 520 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also rushed for 68 yards and three scores.

In Robinson’s starts this year, he has thrown for over 210 yards in just one game. He has nine passing touchdowns with nine interceptions.

What he lacks in passing, he makes up for in rushing, as he has rushed for 946 yards and six touchdowns.

Saturday’s game with Iowa marks the final home game for seniors, including Robinson.

On Monday, during his weekly press conference, Brady Hoke indicated that Robinson is still day-to-day with his elbow injury that has lingered on into its third week.

When asked if senior day will impact his decision to get Robinson in the game against the Hawkeyes, Hoke indicated that Robinson’s health is the only thing that will impact whether he plays or not.

I would suspect that Michigan can beat Iowa with Robinson or Gardner under center. The real question is about Ohio State.

Will the Wolverines need a consistent passing effort to win in Columbus? If so, do Michigan fans trust that Robinson can be the player to provide that effort?

Robinson did go 14 of 17 passing for 167 yards and three scores against the Buckeyes last year, but I suspect that Ohio State’s defense will be stronger this year with Urban Meyer as coach and the added emphasis on beating Michigan this year since the Buckeyes can’t compete in postseason play.

That is just my opinion.

What is your opinion? Give me your vote as to who you think should be Michigan’s quarterback going forward.

If both are healthy, who should be Michigan's current QB

What legacy will Denard Robinson leave at Michigan?

Back in August, I asked the question is Denard Robinson the most valuable player in college football?

Certainly Russell Bellomy’s play for the Wolverines in last Saturday’s loss to Nebraska made the argument look even stronger.

But the question now needs to be asked, just what will Robinson’s legacy with Michigan be?

Clearly he has the statistics to be remembered as an all-time great. But numbers are numbers.

What stands out for quarterbacks through history are team accomplishments.

That is what Michigan has been lacking under Robinson.

Until last season, Robinson didn’t have a win over Ohio State.

Until this season, Robinson didn’t have a win over Michigan State.

He still has yet to get Michigan a Big Ten Championship.

His poor performances tend to stick out more than his good ones because his poor performances have come with the most on the line.

That’s not to say Robinson’s lack of accomplishments are solely his fault. He dealt with a poor defense until Hoke’s arrival and hasn’t had a large dose of playmakers around him to work with.

Despite that, the quarterback is always the one that gets the most praise and the most criticism.

If Robinson is unable to lead the Wolverines to a conference title this year, just what will he be remembered for?

To many Michigan fans, I think he will be labeled a disappointment and over-hyped.

To some, they will always label him one of the greats in Michigan history.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

But for Robinson to cement a positive legacy with Michigan, he needs to bring some Big Ten hardware back to Ann Arbor.

What Indiana, Purdue are saying about MSU, Michigan

As always on Thursday, I turn the focus on the opponents of Michigan and Michigan State. Here is a look at what is going on in Indiana with the Hoosiers and the Boilermakers.

Indiana

We thought Michigan State had issues.

It has been a tough three-week stretch for the Spartans, but that doesn’t compare to the issues in Bloomington.

The Hoosiers are 2-2, having lost to Ball State and Northwestern in their last two games.

Head coach Kevin Wilson is now 3-13 in his career at Indiana, with two wins coming against FCS opponents.

Things are going so well, that this week Henry had to receive a “vote of confidence” from Indiana Athletic Director, Fred Glass.

Terry Hutchens, of the Indiana Star, has more.

“We absolutely have the right guy and absolutely have the right staff," Glass told The Star. “I gave him a seven-year contract and we’re going to stick with him. For a variety of reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily, we haven’t stuck with a football coach since Bill Mallory.
“Our goal was to find the right guy, give him the resources to be successful and then stick with him so we get the benefit of building something. And I absolutely believe we have the right guy in Kevin Wilson."
Some may see that as the dreaded vote of confidence. Many more coaches seem to lose their jobs than keep them after similar comments from their boss. Wilson has provided reasons for those concerns.

Hutches then lists some of those reasons, which includes cursing in an IU dorm and getting into an argument with the hosts of a nationally syndicated radio program on the air.

Needless to say, the Hoosiers appear to be the right team for Michigan State to be facing this week.

Purdue

The focus in West Lafayette isn’t too surprising.

It is on stopping Denard Robinson and the Michigan offense.

LaMond Pope, of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, has thoughts from Purdue coach Danny Hope on this week’s challenge.

“They’re a lot to defend, and Denard is a big piece of that equation,” Purdue coach Danny Hope said during his weekly teleconference Tuesday. “He’s a great athlete, great player, great competitor, but he’s surrounded by a ton of good players and a fantastic scheme.”

Robinson leads the Big Ten in total offense, averaging 319.5 yards per game. He is third in the league in rushing (110.2 yards per game) and fourth in passing (209.2 yards per game).

“Obviously you have to do some things, you have to be smart with your rush lanes. If you get out of your rush lanes and he sees a big opening, he sees the seas to part, then he’s going to take off with the ball and then he’s really hard to catch,” Hope said. “He adds a whole new dimension to the ballgame. You have to do some things to make sure that you can try to minimize his production some, but if everything is geared just to stop him, then you disregard their other great players on their offensive football team, and that can really get you in trouble.”

Purdue currently ranks eighth in the Big Ten defensively, as the Boilermakers are giving up 353.3 yards per game. However, Purdue has given up the fewest rushing yards in the conference, allowing only 105.25 yards per game. Purdue also leads the conference in interceptions with eight.

Are the Wolverines "back"

Is Michigan “back”?

What is the definition of “back”?

In the golf world, everyone wants to be the one to declare Tiger Woods “back” even though it is clear he is far from it.

With the departure of Rich Rodriguez from the Michigan football program, the Wolverine fans have been clamoring for Michigan to get “back” to its tradition.

In stepped Brady Hoke, Michigan went 11-2, and now some feel the Wolverines are indeed “back”.

If by “back” you mean a team that can win around 10 games a year, perhaps Michigan is “back”, but we need to see a bigger sample size before we can expect the Wolverines to win 10 games every year.

If by “back” you mean a Big Ten champion, then clearly Michigan is still on its way.

If by “back” you mean a national title contender, the Wolverines aren’t there either and may never get there.

Michigan last won the national title in 1997, and before that it was 1948. National championships are a rarity for Michigan in this day and age. It is one thing to expect the Wolverines to be in the national title discussion, it is another thing to expect them to actually win the championship. A national title right now would be icing on the cake to a tremendous season.

However, that was the knock on Lloyd Carr when he was ending his tenure at Michigan. A large part of the fan base was unhappy with his ability to get Michigan into the national title picture and for losing games that many felt he shouldn’t. In some cases, the complaints were warranted. But Carr still brought a national title to Ann Arbor and was always in the mix for Big Ten titles.

Now it seems that fans would be happy to go “back”  to the Carr days thanks to what happened under Rodriguez.

The Wolverines haven’t won the Big Ten since 2004, its longest drought between titles since 1950-1964.

So history dictates that “back” means Big Ten titles and Rose Bowl appearances. Michigan appears to be ready to be “back” as soon as this season. If not this season, then soon.

But until the Wolverines can consistently beat the likes of Michigan State and Ohio State again, which will lead to Big Ten titles, then Michigan is still “away” with fans anxiously awaiting its return.

I'm officially on the move Michigan-OSU bandwagon

It’s been a hot topic this offseason.

Should the Michigan-Ohio State game be moved back to earlier in the season and be replaced by Michigan-Michigan State?

Pat Caputo wrote about it a few weeks ago and it was the cause of a lot of debate on Friday on 97.1 The Ticket for host Mike Valenti.

At first, I didn’t see the need to change things. I was on the side of “tradition.”

However, the more I think of it, the more it really does make sense to move the game and replace it with Michigan State.

Now, settle down Wolverine fans. That doesn’t mean that MSU is a bigger rival. My opinion is about the logistics of the new Big Ten Conference setup.

First, the MSU game means more to Michigan in regards to winning the Big Ten. To win the conference title, you have to win your division. A win over Ohio State only has half of the impact as a win over MSU does. Beating MSU also puts a loss in the column of a tough divisional opponent and increases Michigan’s chances to win the Legends Division.

Second, what good would it do if Michigan and Ohio State played two weeks in a row? I know many Wolverines say beating the Buckeyes is the most important thing each year. That is fine. But, let’s say in a couple years you beat Ohio State. Then, the following week, the Buckeyes beat you in the championship game. Did that first win really mean anything?

Third, moving the game to earlier in the season wouldn’t be killing the rivalry. It may adjust tradition, but there are plenty of great rivalry games that take place mid-season. Florida-Georgia and Oklahoma-Texas are just a few that come to mind. Does it really seem that their rivalries are lessened by playing before the final week of the regular season?

Had the Big Ten not changed to a two-division format, or even if Ohio State was part of the Legends Division, I would say there is no issue with keeping Michigan-Ohio State at the end of the season. But, it just doesn’t make sense now.

If swapping Ohio State with MSU is the big issue, it doesn’t have to be Michigan-MSU to end the season either. Michigan vs. any division opponent works. But, for interest sake, Michigan State seems to be the best option. It could be Michigan-Nebraska if that makes you feel better.

The world won’t end, the rivalry won’t die. Everything would be okay if Michigan-Ohio State is not played at the end of the season.

So, just think about it Michigan fans.