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It’s time for an Ohio tradition that dates back generations: Thinking about the Michigan game way too early.
The Buckeyes host the Wolverines on Nov. 24 at Ohio Stadium. In between, OSU travels to play two weeks in a row, Saturday at Michigan State and Nov. 17 at Maryland.
So the Buckeyes players and coaches cannot afford to look too far forward. But we can.
Let’s get right to it, then: Is this OSU team ready to beat its most hated archrival?
In a (Buckeye) nut shell, no. Not now.
Michigan is, as the saying goes, peaking at the right time. And based on the past several games, Ohio State is doing something other than that.
The 10th-ranked Buckeyes got back on the winning track Saturday, edging Nebraska 36-31. What, you’re not impressed with OSU after it trailed a two-win team at home for good chunks of the game? Yeah, take a number. You think the College Football Playoff committee will be impressed?
For a team with an 8-1 record, the Buckeyes look like a bunch stuck in neutral. OSU only outgained Nebraska 481-450 and completed a season-low 56.3 percent of its passes (18-of-32). The Buckeyes made up for it against the Cornhuskers by rediscovering its rushing attack, which had gone missing for a few weeks. Still, it was a mostly unimpressive effort by the Scarlet and Gray. If Nebraska hadn’t been so young and prone to mistakes, who knows what the outcome might have been?
That game marked the sixth time OSU has allowed at least 26 points. Meanwhile, the Wolverines have only given up 24 points once this season, and that was in the opening loss at Notre Dame. The past three opponents combined have scratched out 27 total points. That’s 27 points allowed in a three-game span, all against ranked conference opponents — Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State.
OSU has given up at least 350 yards in a game seven times this season, and Nebraska was the fourth opponent to register at least 450 yards. Michigan? Its season high in yards allowed was 319 against SMU. Michigan is just decent on offense — OSU has the advantage there — but Shea Patterson, Karan Higdon and Co. have done enough to score at least 40 points five times. OSU has also scored 40 five times in 2018.
Even after a bye week, OSU has not shaken off the problems that manifested themselves in such an ugly manner during the team’s loss at Purdue. There are still too many missed tackles and assignments, and the development coaches seek is just not evident. The TV announce crew for Saturday’s game correctly said that the biggest problems against Purdue “leaked into” the Nebraska game.
Running back J.K. Dobbins performed well enough to carry OSU’s offense against Nebraska on a day when quarterback sensation Dwayne Haskins was a bit off. The defense made a few critical plays to make up for all the ones they allowed, following a pattern OSU has lived with all season.
So no, this OSU team does not look remotely ready to beat Michigan. We can afford to think in those terms. The coaches and players better not, because if they don’t improve their execution and concentration, they won’t beat Michigan State this week, either.
Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a writer and editor for saturdaytradition.com and saturdaydownsouth.com.