Time for soul searching as Ohio State beats Michigan at its own game

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- At the outset of the second half of the Michigan-Ohio State game, a new voice boomed over the Michigan Stadium PA system -- an unfamiliar cadence, with the professorial dulcet tones of Carl Grapentine apparently sidelined. Grapentine's voice cracked uncharacteristically in the first half of The Game, and like many key players for the Wolverines, the maize and blue were down yet another man.

Fitting. A simile, poetically echoing through the grand cavern that is The Big House -- Michigan couldn't even keep its public address announcer in play for Ohio State.

The trouble on Saturday had begun well before that -- in fact, well before The Game. For all of the talk (including in these pages) that Michigan at least had a capable quarterback, Bryce Underwood mustered just one more yard than Davis Warren had in the unlikely win in The Shoe last year. The run fits for the Buckeyes were exploited early, with heavy doses of outside zone, and inexplicably, the Wolverines abandoned that strategy in favor of testing Kayden McDonald and the stout middle of the OSU defense. The Michigan defense made some admirable stands, but eventually Ohio State was too much, too talented, too capable. In 2021, holding the Buckeyes to 27 points equaled a resounding victory for the men in winged helmets. On Saturday, this Saturday, it meant Michigan held its head in humiliation as the four-game winning streak had reached its apex.

As Iron Man says in Avengers: Endgame, "Part of the journey is the end."

At some point, the winning streak for Michigan vs. Ohio State was going to end. Especially given how fanatical they are about the team in Columbus, in the state directly south. The loss was insult to injury -- literally. The Wolverines have been fortunate in previous years to be without key players (Ronnie Bell in 2021, Blake Corum in 2022, Zak Zinter late in 2023, Will Johnson, Rod Moore, Colston Loveland, and Donovan Edwards -- for a half -- in 2024). But this team was even more hampered: no Justice Haynes, no Max Bredeson, no Ernest Hausmann, no Rod Moore. After a couple of drives, no Jordan Marshall (he returned briefly in the second half, but was ineffective). Mason Curtis was injured. A banged-up team became even more banged up, and while Ohio State very well may have won The Game anyway, Michigan didn't stand a chance.

Injuries aren't why Michigan lost. Ohio State outperformed the Wolverines, plain and simple. The script was flipped. Ohio State outran, outpassed, and outclassed Michigan in every facet. On a pivotal fourth-and-5, the Buckeyes heaved it deep, in lieu of punting, only to hit a wide-open Jeremiah Smith downfield. No safety there to save Zeke Berry, Smith waltzed into the end zone, bobbling the ball as he did so. Should it have been a touchback? That appears to be the online consensus. The play altered the game entirely; however, there is another option: not giving up the deep pass to the star player on fourth down to begin with. OSU was going to have its plays, but that was one of many missed opportunities, and botched execution.

And for Michigan, at least in the first half, that was the story of the game: missed opportunities. The Wolverines had them early and often, but in this game, it was the maize and blue who had a lack of healthy respect for the rivalry. First drive, Michigan drives the field, fails to convert (against the nation's top red-zone and overall defense), and settles for a field goal. OK, yes -- get points on the first drive, that's good. But then, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin threw a rare interception, targeting Jeremiah Smith, only to hit Michigan cornerback Jyaire Hill instead. The Wolverines drive, but stall out again. Field goal, 6-0. But that's not good enough, not against the Buckeyes. CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli loves to post a remixed scene from The Simpsons -- you don't win games with field goals. That's generally true, and while it worked for the Wolverines last year, what worked last year wasn't going to work this time around. Find a way to score touchdowns instead of field goals, and Michigan has a commanding 14-0 lead, or perhaps a 10-0 lead. Ohio State would be on its heels, and while The Game may not have played out any differently, the maize and blue would have given themselves a fighting chance.

But alas, even before halftime, as Ohio State drove to score a touchdown with moments left in the second quarter, knowing full well they'd get the ball to start the second half, the situation in Ann Arbor became dire, and there didn't appear to be the urgency from the outset to treat the rivalry with the proper respect.

This has long been a team under Sherrone Moore that has struggled to find a killer instinct. With Moore at the helm, Michigan has but two blowout victories: Northwestern in 2024 and Maryland last week. Biff Poggi led the demolition of Central Michigan in Week 3, but Moore's team doesn't appear capable of burying teams. The MSU and Purdue games were the canary in the coal mine, as many of the same issues recurred. No, Michigan wasn't turning the ball over in the red zone, but Bryce Underwood had happy feet even in good protection, wide open receivers weren't seen, and check-downs and dropped screens became the staples of the passing game. Andrew Marsh, the new star receiver, not only didn't register a catch, he didn't register a target. Meanwhile, Ohio State did its best Michigan impression, running the ball with impunity, putting together drives so long, the final two quarters were gone in a blink. OSU played Michigan's game, and ultimately, it did it better.

Yes, there are outside factors you could point to -- the injuries, the missed call on the Smith touchdown, et cetera -- but what does it matter? Ultimately, those are just excuses. Ohio State was the better team, full stop, all while Michigan did very little to help itself. In the new era of college football, things can change in a hurry (Indiana just went undefeated after all), and the Wolverines must change to survive. Change what, you ask? That's up to them, but whether it's coaches who haven't pulled their weight, getting better at playcalling, or aggressively targeting difference-makers via the transfer portal, Michigan needs to reset many things so that one loss doesn't turn into two within the rivalry. There is a ton of young talent, but given Moore's constant noting all year that once they've had some games under their belt, they're no longer freshmen, youth can no longer be used as an excuse.

With a 9-3 season (and no signature wins, unless you count a near-lifeless Michigan State), the Wolverines will at least get a fine bowl game against a signature-caliber opponent. They'll need to win that one to at least salvage the wreckage of The Game. But if it does, that doesn't erase the fact that the maize and blue were unprepared for the challenge to take on a superior Ohio State team. Give it a bit more of a fight than it had.

'What are you doing to beat Ohio State today?' is strewn throughout Schembechler Hall. On Saturday, now that The Game is over, I wonder the answer to that question.

In fact, in the aftermath of it all, there are more questions than answers.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football needs answers after being dominated by Ohio State