When last we saw them…Kyle McCord ponders the moment following his last-minute interception that sealed last year’s loss at Ann Arbor. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
This is the week, and this will be Ohio State’s and Ryan Day’s year to do what the senior class has never done…beat Michigan!
Columbus, OH – Jack Sawyer walked into the interview room Saturday afternoon, grinning like a kid expecting that long-awaited gift on Christmas morning.
The Minster Bank proudly sponsors Ohio State sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
He was pleased Ohio State had just knocked Indiana and outspoken head coach Curt Cignetti off their unbeaten pedestal. But Sawyer’s mind was busy thinking about what’s next.
“Right now,” Sawyer began when asked if he was already thinking about Michigan. “I could really care less, no offense, talking about this game. (The Team Up North) is the game you come back for. This is the game that has impacted so many lives the last few years. And I want this one so bad for so many different reasons.”
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Beating Michigan is a 365-day obsession. Now, in less than a week, the Buckeyes get the chance to get the wolverine off their back that’s been there for almost 1,500 days.
Can they?
The answer is always yes. Even as Michigan won the past three years, there were points in each game when Ohio State could have taken control. But the past matters not. Those results serve only as motivation.
So, is this the year?
Yes, and the reasons are as simple as they are many.
The No. 2 Buckeyes (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) are peaking. They look like a much better football team than a year ago, a more consistent football team, a football team that doesn’t have to be at its best to win. I’m curious to see what their best game looks like.
“I still don’t think you’ve seen our best,” quarterback Will Howard said Saturday. “That’s the mindset that this team has. When you go into that locker room and you look in the eyes of every single guy, you see it, man, you see that edge.”
Wilson Health proudly sponsors your favorite area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
Mentality, intensity, focus. Pick whichever trait does it for you. They all matter. But every winning team also needs production. And the Buckeyes play complementary football in a way that’s difficult to remember.
The defense is No. 1 in scoring (10.7 points) and total defense (241.7 yards). The pass rush with more, and maybe even new, blitz packages is a difference maker. The secondary, despite too many pass interference penalties, frustrates quarterbacks.
Best defense in the nation? The numbers say so.
“I couldn’t care less, no offense, talking about this game. (The Team Up North) is the game you come back for. This is the game that has impacted so many lives the last few years.” – Defensive end Jack Sawyer
“Everybody involved deserves credit,” Sawyer, a senior defensive end, said. “Coach Day, Coach Knowles, everybody across the coaching staff has done a phenomenal job with us, making sure we’re understanding the defense and letting us play. It’s been fun to watch, I’m sure, and it’s been fun to play.”
The offense is No. 10 in scoring (37.8 points) and No. 28 in total offense (439.1 yards). The Buckeyes are not as quick-strike as some of Day’s previous teams, but they are efficient in the passing game. Howard is No. 2 in the nation in passer rating, No. 1 in completion percentage (74%) and No. 3 in yards per attempt (9.6).
This Ohio State offense is also more capable of controlling the ball for long drives, therefore, more capable of controlling the game. Day has talked about that trait this season. He used to talk about goals of 40-plus points, 200-plus rushing yards, and explosive plays. He still likes those things. But he’s growing more fonder of winning no matter the style.
VPP is your one-stop spot for business graphics and design. Email sales@vppind.com today.
Slow starts have been a thing for the Buckeyes this season, but second-half control has been a winning formula. Asserting control in the second half is how Michigan (6-5 this season) has won the past three meetings.
Day and everyone associated with Ohio State football will take a win Saturday any way they can get it. That includes big plays on special teams. Something good coming out of the punt game is almost an expectation after the breaks the Buckeyes have gotten the past three weeks.
The final result, no matter how perfectly the coaches plan it, is in the abilities and execution of the players. And their determination.
“We’re going to attack them,” Sawyer said. “We know they’re going to come in here swinging, too. They’ve still got a good team even though their record doesn’t indicate it. It never matters what the records are in this game – it’s a battle.”
The Game matters immensely, but in this new era it’s not the only thing.
That’s why a question popped into one of my group texts Sunday night while watching Saquon Barkley run all over the Rams. Who are the three teams that can win the College Football Playoff?
That was easy. Ohio State, Oregon and whoever wins the SEC. Georgia, I said, needs to win the SEC and get the bye to limit the number of times quarterback Carson Beck must play well. Texas has a shot, but I have less faith in them to play consistently enough.
An Ohio State win over Michigan sets up a 1 vs. 2 in the Big Ten title game and a rematch with the Ducks. No divisions, as it turns out, was a really, really good idea. Talk about a big game. The top playoff seed and a bye would be at stake.
The Precision Strip Company, of Minster, supports area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
A loss to Michigan means the Buckeyes would play the weekend before Christmas. But it doesn’t mean they can’t win the national championship.
Still, this season, especially because it comes off three straight losses in the rivalry game, would always have a hole in it for Sawyer, all the others who came back for it, and every senior who never beat Michigan.
“When we decided to come back there really wasn’t much talk about any other game beside this one,” Sawyer said.
A loss Saturday would be bad for the perception of Day’s ability to win big games. He can be the national champion, but the Michigan thing won’t go away until he wins a few in a row.
“It’s been tough – the stuff I had to see that guy up there go through,” Sawyer said from the back of the room as he looked toward his coach who was answering questions at the podium. “I’ve said it a thousand times. I’d commit to him a thousand times over. I love Coach Day to death, and there’s no one I want this win more for than him, his family and the brothers I go to battle with every day.”
For those reasons, and so many more.
Logan Services, in Dayton, Cincinnati, an Columbus, is a proud sponsor of area sports on Press Pros.