When it comes to “The Game” between Michigan football and Ohio State, no matter how lopsided the final score, or tightly contested the game, every single winning team since 2001 in the rivalry has had one common theme.
It won the rushing battle.
The Wolverines, of course, have dominated the ground game over its three-year winning streak, winning by a combined 391 yards. The last time U-M lost in 2019, OSU had the upper-hand, and so on, all the way back for more than two decades.
“I think the biggest piece of this game is the rushing battle, you’ve seen that every year,” coach Sherrone Moore said Monday. “They’re going to be focused on the same thing, so that has to be an emphasis for us to do.”
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While there’s a decent chance as much holds true when Michigan (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) travels to No. 2 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday (Fox, Noon), consider the possibility that it doesn’t. After all, the winner of the rushing battle between MSU and U-M had won the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy in 48 of the past 54 years, and U-M flipped that trend on its head as it was outrushed by 44 yards yet still won the game, 24-17.
It’s with this in mind that serves as a reminder U-M can’t simply hang its hat in this one aspect, there has to be a pulse elsewhere.
‘All of a sudden we can throw’
The Wolverines enter this matchup with a distinct disadvantage in the passing game.
U-M has bounced between three quarterbacks − from Davis Warren, to Alex Orji, to the now-retired Jack Tuttle and back to where it began with Warren − which seemed to hinder the aerial attack’s development. Tight end Colston Loveland is a Mackey Award finalist and has been a one-man wrecking crew with 56 catches for 582 yards and five touchdowns (all of which lead the team) however outside of that U-M doesn’t have a single pass catcher at 250 yards and only has two with more than 90 all year.
The Wolverines are the only team in America that does not have a 40-yard pass this year.
“I’m shocked by it,” wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator Ron Bellamy said of that stat last week before Michigan put together its most complete performance in a 50-6 win over Northwestern. “We’re continuing to work every day, hoping we can connect on those plays.”
Compare that with what U-M defensive coordinator Wink Martindale will have to deal with in OSU wideouts Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate. Speaking Tuesday on Inside Michigan football, he jokingly called them the “three werewolves” having combined for more than 2,100 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns.
However, perhaps Moore said it best at his press conference Monday. There was a similar narrative in 2022 when J.J. McCarthy had thrown for fewer than 175 yards in four of five games leading up, then torched the Buckeyes for 263 yards and three touchdowns.
“I can’t tell you what we’re going to do, but I think every year we go into that game and people say we can’t throw it, and then all of a sudden there’s throws,” he said. “All of a sudden we can throw it or we can run it.
“So really, all we do is go prepare and not worry about anything else, put the best game plans we can together and go try to win.”
‘Got to stay hungry’
While there’s truth to his sentiment, there are some distinct differences between now and two years ago.
For starters, OSU’s defense wasn’t ranked No. 1 in scoring (10.8 points per game) and in total defense (241.7 yards per game) like it is this time around. Second, though McCarthy was young, he was a rising star who would soon become a top-10 selection in the NFL Draft.
Third, and perhaps most relevant, the offense in 2022 that saw Loveland score his first touchdown as a true freshman and had four plays of 60 yards or more, didn’t enter the game ranked No. 128 overall (299.7 yards per game), which includes No. 127 passing (140.1) and a tie for No. 107 in scoring (23.1 points).
Of course, what’s most relevant is the here and now, and the last time out U-M did score a season-high 50 points and Warren comes off his best personal performance, completing 26 of 35 passes for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
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“Yeah, it feels like it,” Moore said of his team now playing its best ball. “You’ve got to go prepare, though, so you can’t rest on the laurels the last game and be satisfied. You’ve still got to stay hungry. … They’re as good as any defense in the country.”
Hunger is never a problem for this game around Ann Arbor. Murals are plastered on the walls, countdown clocks adorn the practice facility. And even after a down year, U-M eyes a chance to pull the ultimate upset in this series.
Defensive lineman Kenneth Grant said Tuesday he remembers about that last victory in Columbus.
“I remember planting that flag on their O, seeing their fans walk out and stuff like that,” he said. “Probably the most memorable moment.”
That flag still hangs proudly at the Towsley Museum in Schembechler Hall. Michigan won it that day because of a pair of long, game-changing touchdown runs by Donovan Edwards in the fourth quarter. But it was only in position, because of two long touchdowns (69 and 75 yards respectively) from McCarthy to Cornelius Johnson.
What’s to this point been an average Michigan offense needs its best performance at the most important moment in its toughest test yet.
“This game is all bets are off, and the guys are prepared mentally, physically to go attack,” Moore said. “We’ve had great preparation up to this point, and then we’ve got to get on the field and do it. I feel like we can (win), but that’s our job to go prepare to do it.”
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Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football has to show pulse in pass game to pull off OSU upset
