Observations on the first half with Ohio, 21-20
The Buckeyes convert both red zone opportunities into 14 points; The Wolverines convert their only red zone into 7 points scoring 7 points off one Ohio State turnover in the process.
Offense has got the job done so far! We have 219 yards in total offense, 112 on the ground with 9 first downs and are 3 of 6 in 3rd down conversions. Denard Robinson has 6 carries for 124 yards and a TD. Devin Gardner is 6 of 11 for 107 yards. Roy Roundtree has 3 catches for 92 yards and a 75 yard TD. The Buckeyes have 3 sacks on Gardner. Zach Boren has 5 tackles including a sack to lead the Buckeye defense. Ryan Shazier also contributed a sack.
Defense had been bad! Ohio State has dominated time of possession by nearly 5 minutes, and has 240 yards in total offense with 12 first downs, and 3 of 6 in 3rd down conversions. Braxton Miller is 11 of 13 for 156 yards and a TD. Carlos Hyde has 11 carries for 66 yards. Corey Brown has 6 catches for 71 yards and a TD. Devin Smith has 63 yards on 2 catches for a TD that burned J.T. Floyd to start the scoring. Jake Ryan has 5 tackles to lead the defense. Desmond Morgan, Jordan Kovacs and Will Campbell have 4 each. Frank Clark got a big sack as did Jibreel Black. Ryan also forced a fumble.
Special Teams created a turnover on the punt fumble recovery that led to a TD. Dennis Norfleet batted the ball that Marvin Robinson recovered. Will Hagerup has 2 punts for a 42.5 yard average. Matt Wile has 4 kickoffs with 2 touchbacks. Drew Basil has 2 field goals including a 52 yarder just before half.
We have to do a better job of two things to win this game. We must possess the ball on offense, and we must play better rushing defense. Go Blue!