Halftime Analysis: Ohio State Letting Michigan Hang Around
Halftime Score: Ohio State 20, Michigan 17
Ohio State was the better team most of the first half, but three miserable defensive plays have kept Michigan in the game. 177 of Michigan's 214 yards have come on three offensive plays. The other 37 yards came on 22 plays.
The biggest difference I notice in this year's game right away: Ohio State is running the ball far more effectively against Michigan than they did last year. With 1:19 to go in the first quarter, the Buckeyes had racked up 65 rushing yards ... in other words, one more than they had the entire game in Ann Arbor last November.
The prevailing thought this week was that if Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson weren't available to play, true freshman Dallan Hayden would be next up in the backfield. But Akron native and former Archbishop Hoban star DeaMonte "Chip" Trayanum took four carries on the opening drive when Williams came off the field. Trayanum came back to play running back after spending the first half of the year as a linebacker, which is why he transferred to OSU after two years of playing running back at Arizona State.
Trayanum has also battled a couple of nagging injuries this year, but he's healthy today. Hayden's first reps came with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Tommy Eichenberg is flying to the ball and is playing like an absolute menace. I just read that ESPN's Pat McAfee compared him to Luke Kuechly earlier today. I love that!
Meanwhile, the Michigan rushing attack that came into the day ranked No. 5 in the nation this year has had a pretty tough first half. Certainly some of that can be attributed to Blake Corum's banged up knee. He's only carried it twice, but Donovan Edwards and C.J. Stokes haven't been any better in his absence.
The Maize and Blue had a grand total of 10 net rushing yards on 11 carries in the first half.
J.J. McCarthy really hasn't been very impressive so far. He looks uncomfortable as the Buckeyes bring pressure. All 10 of Michigan's points have come because of brutal defensive misses. Denzel Burke fell down on a 33-yard pass that set up their first quarter field goal and McCarthy's 69-yard touchdown pass was thrown only about 10 yards down field and off his back foot while he was being blitzed, but Cam Brown completely whiffed on his tackle.
I have no idea what Cam Martinez was doing on the 75-yard touchdown to Cornelius Johnson.
Perhaps the best thing Ohio State has going for it right now is that they are completely dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Michigan has generated virtually no pressure on C.J. Stroud and McCarthy has been under duress constantly. The Buckeyes are also carrying it for 6.2 yards per carry in the first half.
-----
Get your Ohio State football tickets from SI Tickets. Also, be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.
-----
You may also like:
Ohio State To Host More Than 50 Top Recruits For Michigan Game
What To Watch For In Week 13 Of The 2022 College Football Season
Ohio State Widely Projected To Face TCU In College Football Playoff
Game Prediction: No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes Vs. No. 3 Michigan Wolverines
Preview: Ohio State Seeks Revenge For Last Season's Loss At Michigan
-----
Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!
Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Brendan on Twitter: @BrendanGulick22
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNow_FN
Follow BuckeyesNow on Instagram: @BuckeyesNow_FN
Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook!
