Observations on the loss to Ohio State, 3-14!

1-Lloyd Carr goes out of Ann Arbor on a sour note, and with a losing record against the Buckeyes. Jim Tressel has completely changed this series, and there is no denial about it. Luckily for Michigan fans, Carr will retire on Monday effective after the Capital One Bowl and spare the faithful more anti-depressant prescriptions. There is definitely a serious need for new leadership in our football program whether Carr remains as Associate Athletic Director and/or his assistant coaches are retained for two more years. Four wins in a row for the Buckeyes, and five of the past six years; this is shades of John Cooper and Bump Elliot. Carr's teams simply can't finish the season! He doesn't play enough players early in the season to get them ready for the end, and his starters are too beat up or injured to finish the season effectively. Every year it is the same story, we can't finish.

2-Henne was 11 of 34 for 68 yards, 4 sacks and was hurried into several poor passes and a victim of many drops. Offense had only 8 first downs, at least seven 3 and outs, 3 of 18 in 3rd and 4th down conversions, 91 yards of total offense with Ohio State piling on almost an 18 minute time of possession advantage. We were forced into 12 punts, and 2 field goal attempts. Vernon Gholston completely dominated and intimidated Captain Jake Long and Steve Schilling as did Sophomore Craig Heyward and Freshman Dexter Larimore. Our entire offensive line was beat from the start of the game to the end; they were outmuscled, outhustled against a quicker, faster Buckeye defensive line. The Buckeye defense had 11 tackles for loss. That is the most domination of a Buckeye defense on a Michigan offense since the early 1960s. This certainly demonstrates a superior strength & conditioning program on their part.

3-Their corners were superior to our receivers. Jenkins and Washington completely blanketed Manningham and Arrington, and intimidated them into several drops and almost picked off a few passes. Manningham has at least 4 drops, 5 catches for 34 yards while Arrington had 2 catches for 13 yards, and several drops. Butler had two holding calls, and 4 catches for 24 yards. Mathews had one catch for 5 yards, and 6 punt returns for 32 yards.

3-Hart had 44 yards on 18 carries, and no blocking led to him re-injuring his ankle. This shut him up in the second half from his first half and pre-game trash talk. The Buckeyes had 229 yards in net rushing compared to 15 from us.

4-Defense was completely run over by Beanie Wells; he had 220 yards on 39 carries and both of the game's TDs. Boeckman did not have to win the game because the defense did that for him; he completed 7 of 13 for 50 yards, 2 fumbles and one pick. He did not need to throw in the second half, and he only threw twice for no completions. That was a smart move on Tressel's part, he forced our defense to stop their running game, and our offense to beat them; we weren't up to it, and he didn't think we would be. The Buckeyes have 16 first downs, 277 yards of total offense, 7 of 18 in 3rd down conversions. Had someone said before the game that this would be all the Buckeyes would do offensively, I would have been confident of a win. If our defense could limit their offense to 14 points, and that type of production, we should win. Our defense did force 11 Buckeye punts, and one turnover; however, our offense couldn't convert any of these opportunities into points.

5-Mesko punted 12 times for a 48.53 yard average, and nailed 2 inside the 20. Lopata converted a 33 yard field goal, but missed a 48 yarder. The field position we have them the ball in the 2nd quarter at our 44 led to their only red zone until the last two minutes of the game. Mathews did a decent job on punt returns, and Doug Dutch did a nice job recovering Mathews fumble on the 4th quarter punt return.

6-Disappointment doesn't describe the bitter depression that most fans including myself feel. I can't remember this type of domination since Woody Hayes obliterated us in the early 1960s when Bump Elliot was coach and went 3-7 against the Bucks. Hopefully, Les Miles will take the job, and turn things around with recruits, strength & conditioning, a new offense and offensive coordinator, etc. The tables have turned, and it is now the Buckeyes who are poised, confident and composed when they play us.

7-It is certainly fitting that this senior group goes out with 4 losses in a row to the Buckeyes, one could see a void in leadership today. Manningham and Arrington can leave early if they want and go drop passes in the NFL if they can make some teams roster. They are both good receivers, but not nearly as good as they both think they are. Terrence Taylor is currently not NFL material, and it is ridiculous that his name is mentioned as a possibility to leaver early. Jamar Adams did take a bad cut on the TD run by Wells, but he also played a strong game with 12 tackles. Ezeh was blocked many times by their H-Back Johnson, but he still came up with 12 tackles; he has 3 more years as a starter and he's a solid player. Senior Linebackers, Shawn Crable and Chris Graham came up with 10 tackles each, and Tim Jamison had his best game with 9 tackles including 3 for loss. Engelmon had 7 tackles including several TD savers on Wells, and an interception. Defense was on the field two-thirds of the game, and we can't pin this loss on them.
Observations on the first half with Ohio State, 3-7!

1-Ohio State gets one red zone for 7 points; we get one for 3 points! We get a late turnover to the 35 after the 33 yard runback by Englemon, but can't convert.

2-Henne is only 8 of 19 for 47 yards, 2 sacks. Offense has only 5 first downs, 2 of 9 in 3rd down conversions, 77 yards of offense with Ohio State piles on an almost 7 minute time of possession advantage. We have been forced into 5 punts, and 2 field goal attempts. Manningham has 3 drops, 4 catches for 26 yards and Jenkins is blanketing him. Arrington has one catch for 5 yards. Butler has his usual holding call, and 2 catches for 11 yards. Mathews has one catch for 5 yards, and 3 punt returns for 18 yards.

3-Hart has 42 yards on 11 carries, and although he's looked good, we need a 100+ yard game from him and our weak offensive line that Gholston and Heyward are making look bad with 2 sacks.

4-Defense has not stopped Wells. Wells has 67 yards on 20 carries and the game's lone TD. Boeckman has completed 7 of 11 for 50 yards, 2 fumbles and one pick. We really need to come after him in the second half. The Buckeyes have 10 first downs, 110 yards of total offense, 4 of 7 in 3rd down conversions. Jamar Adams leads the defense with 8 tackles, Chris Graham has 6 and Shawn Crable has 5 including 2 for loss and a forced fumble. Greg Banks has replaced an injured Brandon Graham at end.

5-Special Teams have not helped us much! Lopata converts his 33 yard field goal, but misses a 48 yarder. Mesko has punted 5 times, and gave us momentum and field position with his downed punt at the 4; however, we don't take advantage of the field position at the 50 and go 3 and out. Punt and kickoff return teams have not helped us in the important field position battles with Buckeye starts at the 33, 27, Michigan 44 until we nailed them to the 4.

6-If we are to win this game, we must stop their rushing game and Wells. We are not currently doing that. We have also not taken advantage of 2 Buckeye fumbles, and pounced on them. We also need to get our offense going, and negate the time of possession advantage. We get the ball to start the second half, and we need to get a red zone and take the lead. We need the senior leadership, forced turnovers and the breaks in the second half to gain momentum.
OHIO STATE PREVIEW

Michigan	Ohio State
Jake Long	Vernon Gholston
Adam Kraus	Jim Laurinaitis
Tim Jamison	Alex Boone
Shawn Crable	Chris Wells
Mario Manningham	Malcolm Jenkins
Adrian Arrington	Donald Washington
Mike Hart	Marcus Freeman
Morgan Trent	Brian Robiskie
Donovan Warren	Brian Hartline
Zoltan Mesko	A.J. Trapasso