The annual pissing contest of the Big Ten’s solely two good groups passed off Saturday, and like final yr, it was Michigan emphatically stomping Ohio State. Unlike a season in the past, this was in Columbus, and regardless of what B1G commissioner Kevin Warren will let you know, this sport was not an instantaneous basic for anybody not sporting maize and blue.
The Wolverines took a 24-20 lead within the third quarter, prolonged it 31-20 early within the fourth, and it was a one-score sport for all of 12 seconds from there on out. The 45-23 win featured one of the best sport of quarterback in J.J. McCarthy’s profession, and ditto for operating again Donovan Edwards, who had 216 yards within the starring function with Blake Corum banged up.
Of the sophomore’s two payments on the bottom, 160 got here on two performs within the fourth quarter. The first, a 75-yard run, broke the sport open, and the second, an 85-yard dash, pushed it to a few scores.
The Buckeye protection allowed 530 yards of complete offense, giving up greater than 250 each within the air and on the bottom. Heisman candidate C.J. Stroud threw two fourth quarter interceptions, together with a panicked underhand toss that was picked within the crimson zone. Hopefully he didn’t activate the USC-Notre Dame sport later within the day, because the Trojans appeared spectacular sufficient to steal OSU’s spot within the College Football Playoff, with Caleb Williams putting the Heisman pose and making a bid for the game’s most distinguished particular person award.
While I’d like to take a seat right here and heap extra reward on Big Blue, their followers are greater than keen to pat themselves on the again, so I’ll allow them to benefit from the W in need of eradicating a rib. What I’d wish to level out is how fraudulent Ohio State and the Big Ten seem like.
Jim Harbaugh’s crew has yet another hurdle left to return to the CFP, and it’s 8-4 Purdue, who made the convention title sport as a result of Iowa gagged towards Nebraska. Penn State received 10 wins by pummeling the shitty groups, however was outscored 85-48 towards OSU and U-M of their two losses. And they’re the one different high 25 crew that the B1G has to supply. Michigan State and Mel Tucker didn’t qualify for a bowl sport. The most spectacular non-conference W in your complete Big Ten is Ohio State’s 21-10 win over Notre Dame.
Ohio State couldn’t afford to get outclassed at residence with TCU staying good and USC wanting higher towards a Fighting Irish crew that’s miles forward of the place it was Week 1 on the Horseshoe. Shit, had Stroud and Co. punched in a rubbish time TD to make it appear to be the stadium wasn’t sobbing for many of the ultimate quarter, I might see an argument.
There can be no greater Utah and Kansas State followers subsequent Saturday than Buckeye devoted. And in the event that they’re not, the one rationalization is hubris.
A fast phrase on the ‘Let’s cast off divisions’ crowd
The Utes wanted to win, Oregon to lose, Washington to win, and UCLA to win to come back out on high of the complicated as hell tiebreaker for a visit to the Pac-12 title sport. Whatever the three-way tie guidelines are, they weren’t on Oregon’s aspect.
This formulation will under no circumstances result in outraged followers regardless that the Ducks beat the Utes this season.