| 1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr |
 Ohio State holds a slim 7-3 lead entering the second half. Given the weather, it's not surprising that neither offense has accomplished that much so far.In the first half, tOSU outgained Michigan 110-77. The Buckeyes had 60 rushing yards on 28 attempts, led by Chris Wells' 67 yards on 20 carries. Todd Boeckman was 7 for 11 passing in the first half for 50 yards and one interception. Michigan picked up 30 yards on 13 rush attempts. Mike Hart carried 11 times for 42 yards. Chad Henne was charged with 12 yards in losses on the ground, and he completed just 8 of 19 passes for 47 yards. The star receivers are largely absent so far. Brian Robiskie has two catches for 21 yards, while Mario Manningham caught four for 26 yards in the first half. Manningham also had two costly drops on a second quarter possession. K.C. Lopata's 33-yard field goal gave Michigan a 3-0 lead with 1:37 to play in the first quarter. Wells answered with a one-yard touchdown run to give the Buckeyes a 7-3 lead with 10:08 left in the half. tOSU had ten first downs to Michigan's five, and they have an advantage of roughly 18-12 in time of possession. Michigan will get the ball to start the second half, and we'll break it down after the jump. |
The weather is certainly a factor here, as evidenced by Lloyd's "wet rain" comment before halftime. It's also evidenced by the fact that the ESPN guys, Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Desmond Howard, all look miserable on the sideline. Someone get those guys a big umbrella to stand under during the second half. Corso's overcoat looked like it was soaked.
After a three-and-out, a Ray Small punt return of 65 yards for a touchdown was called back by a penalty, but no matter. Ohio State's first play was golden, as Wells broke a couple of arm tackles and sprinted 62 yards for a score. 14-3, Ohio State, early third quarter.
Michigan's defense looked like it didn't think Ohio State would run the ball or something. That makes sense, I guess, if you forget the fact that Wells carried the rock 20 times in the first half alone. That one run almost doubled his total for the game, and it's a huge shot to Michigan, who has shown really no ability to do anything on offense in the first half, despite getting some great field position. Now, the Wolverines know they will need to get the ball in the end zone - and probably more than once at that - to win the game.
Replay shows that Michigan safety Jamar Adams took an awful angle while coming into the box to try to stop Wells on the touchdown run. I don't need HDTV to see that, though it was much clearer.
Musberger keeps harping on the idea that tOSU is facing a "traditional" offense this week. I'm about sick of hearing people take shots at the spread offense, as if it can only be used by teams with inferior talent. Maybe this is a rant meant for a different post, and maybe you'll see that at some point, but I needed to get that off my chest.
Back on topic, Henne looks like he's on the verge of departing this football game. Very few of his throws have been terribly accurate, and he just threw high to an open receiver on third down. That led to another three-and-out and another Michigan punt. I hate to agree with Musberger, who is about as useless in a big game as anyone in broadcasting right now, but he's right in saying that we're going to see Ryan Mallett before too long if this keeps up.
Yes, Henne's a senior, but you can't keep putting him out there when he looks so incapable of doing anything positive to help your team.
Wells is wearing down the Michigan defense, and Adams just whiffed on another tackle. Man, and I thought Shane Carter and Aubrey Pleasant sucked.
Wells came out for a spell, and tOSU was stopped on a third down play. Michigan gets it with 7:56 left in the third quarter. It's still 14-3 Ohio State, and Henne is staying in the game. Stunningly, he leads his team to another exemplary three-and-out. Make the move, Lloyd. I don't care if you're a lame duck. You owe this team everything you can possibly do to win the game, and Henne isn't going to do anything to help you with the way he's throwing.
Thank you, Lloyd. Looks like Mallett is in for Michigan's next possession. Of course, if Michigan's defense doesn't slow Wells down at some point, it'll be 21-3 when Mallett enters.
Never mind about Wells. After a long run, he came up grabbing at his hamstring, and Brandon Saine had to come in for Wells. tOSU ended up punting, and Mallett enters with the ball at the Michigan 20.
Now Hart is limping for Michigan. Ouch. Meanwhile, Vernon Gholston just sacked the relatively immobile Mallett after abusing left tackle Jake Long for at least the second time today.
Mallett's arm is healthy, but he's not accurate. He just missed open receivers Greg Mathews (second down) and Adrian Arrington (third down) to set up another Zoltan Mesko punt. As we go under a minute to play in the third quarter, Ohio State takes over inside their 20 with a 14-3 lead.
Wells is back in, and the quarter is over. 14-3 Ohio State after three.
