2:25am - Yes, Game Day starts early in the morning. I am sure all you educated Buckeye fans know that we want to see undefeated Hawaii go down. I realize they are behind us in the BCS standings but we want to continue to increase our 'computer' strength. Unfortunately, the Rainbow Warriors hit a field goal with 11 seconds remaining to defeat Nevada 28-26.
24 - This is the Over/Under on exactly how many times the experts or players will be quoted today saying "You can throw out the record books on this one". 10:00am College Gameday Coverage begins from Ann Arbor. Former Wolverine Desmond Howard opens the show by giving each member of the Gameday set a copy of Bo's latest book. Nice touch.
11:59am : Not so fast my friend - Coach Lee Corso defies the Big House crowd and puts on the Brutus head as he picks Ohio State over Michigan.
12:10pm : Woody over Bo ... A Good Omen - The Special Coin used for the pre-game coin toss lands on the 'Woody' side to go OSU's way and they elect to receive. They survive a poorly executed run by Ray Small on the first play which lost a yard and get their original first down. They add another one before failing to convert on 3rd and 4. It appeared they could have called pass interference as Hartline came back for an underthrown ball. What did the refs see that lead them to believe it was not a catchable ball? Of course it is not catchable if the defender runs into you! The incompletion forces the Trapasso punt into the end zone for a touchback.
Three-and-Out - The OSU defense stops Michigan on three plays to force the punt. I know, I am thinking the same thing "Why couldn't they have managed a three-and-out in the 4th quarter against the Illini?" But we need to put that behind us now! Henne starts the game but is 0-2 on the short lived drive. Michael Hart starts and did have a 6 yard run.
Michael Hart is quoted - "I would rather lose to Appalachian State than to Ohio State". I guess that is what separates him from the Buckeyes, we would rather not lose at all!
Michigan lights up the scoreboard first - The Wolverines drive the length of the field to get to the Buckeye 13. But a big sack by Gholston stops the drive and the Wolverines have to settle for a 33-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
End of 1st Quarter Michigan 3 OSU 0
Push'em Back Push'em Back, Way Back - Michigan starts the second quarter with the ball but moves backwards. First Hart is tackled for a loss, then Henne overthrows his receiver (again) and it should have been picked off by Malcolm Jenkins. On third down, OSU gets is second sack of the game from Dexter Larimore for an 11 yard loss. Brian Hartline returns the punt to the Michigan 44.
Can you start to feel it? -Michigan starts their next drive from the 20, Henne saves the first series of the drive with a big 3rd down pass conversion. But they go backwards from there first with a holding call, then Hart it stopped for a loss, before Henne throws yet another incomplete on 3rd down forcing the punt. I can start to feel the game going the way of the Buckeye. We are handling the wet conditions better and the defense is firing to the ball.
Spoke Too Soon - Ohio State starts just inside their own 40 and work to midfield for a first down but the weather conditions and footing once again plays a factor and the Buckeyes are forced to punt again. Michigan takes the fair catch on the OSU 21 yard line with 4:39 in the half.
Becoming a punting exhibition - Michigan is really slowing down on offense and Vernon almost gets another sack. The Wolverines are forced to punt and Zoltan Mesko gets off a 68-yard beauty that is downed at the 5-yard line. With 3:08 to go in the half, one first down might be enough to run out the clock. But they can go no where, OSU is saved short term with a nice 46-yard punt by Trapasso. You keep thinking that any minute Michigan will get it together but for some reason they don't.
Can you say 'Dropped Pass Manningham"? - Michigan starts with the ball at midfield, but self-destruct with two dropped balls by star receiver Mario Manningham and are forced to punt so the Buckeyes will get the ball on the 20 with 1:58 to go in the 2nd quarter.
Can you say "Halftime interview Lloyd"? - OSU's final drive is a real mystery. They start running the ball for a first down as if they are running out the clock, but then Boeckman throws a very poor ball that is intercepted and returned into OSU territory. Fortunately Michigan misses the 48 yard field goal as the time expires. As Coach Carr walks off the field, they try to interview him but he has is usual pathetic responses. Will this be the last time he is walking off the field at halftime to be interviewed?
Halftime - OSU 7 Michigan 3
2:00pm - Michigan starts with the ball on the 14 after being called for a holding penalty on the 2nd half kickoff. Three plays and their drive is over. The punt is a solid one but Ray Small runs it all the way back for a touchdown. Unfortunately, they called Brian Rolle for a block in the back. The replay made it look like the Michigan player ran into him. The disappointment was short lived as Beanie takes the first play from scrimmage 62 yards for a touchdown. This is his longest run in his short OSU career. Can the defense keep it up as well?
3rd Quarter 13:51 - OSU 14 Michigan 3
Three-and-out - Michigan takes over again, again three and out (sucks to be them). Henne is really showing signs of missing receivers and Hart limps off the field. OSU runs the punt back to their own 32 yard line. Now it is really looking lie the Buckeyes are taking control.
Stats I like at this time - OSU only has one more play than Michigan (41-40) but have 192 yards compared to 83. They also own time of possession 18 minutes to 14 minutes.
In-Saine - OSU brings in Freshman Brandon Saine for this drive and they run on his back on 5 straight plays down to the 34 yard line before the drive stalls. A quick punt and Michigan takes over at their own 17 yard line. The Silver Bullets are playing lights out in the second half and stop Michigan on 3-and-out for the third straight time. There is still 6:32 in the quarter but you can REALLY feel the Buckeyes taking charge now. If they can avoid turnovers, they might just ride this game out to victory.
Good News/Bad News -The good news, Beanie takes the first play for 23 yards into Michigan territory, The bad news is he comes up holding his right hamstring. No word as to how long he will be out. The Bucks stall and punt again. Two straight drives we get inside the 40 but can't get the one more first down to get the field goal attempt.
Long Sack - Michigan starts their fourth drive of the quarter from the 20 yard line and Ryan Mallett comes in to replace the injured Henne, who heads to the locker room. A couple of nice runs by Hart and a few passes from Mallett get the Wolverines back to mid field. Then the wheels fall off. First a holding penalty, then Gholston gets yet another sack for a 6-yard loss. This may be the first sack given up by Michigan All-American Jake Long this season. I am sure he is thinking right now 'Wasn't it a great idea for me to come back for my senior year?'
Beanie Back - OSU starts the drive at the 17 and Chris Wells returns to the game. After a short carry, the Buckeyes run out the clock on the 3rd quarter.
End of 3rd Quarter - OSU 14 Michigan 3
zone but he gets off a great one. On top of that, Michigan fumbles the ball creating a bit of excitement before it is finally recovered by Michigan's Doug Dutch.
Another drive, another Michigan punt -Henne, who is 10-26 passing so far, throws down field to Manningham who is held by Anderson Russell. This gives them the ball on their own 45. Hart loses a yard on the next play and then two more incompletes forces Michigan's 11th punt of the game.
Michigan behind again - With 10:05 to go in the game, Michigan is faced with the fact they are down by more than 10 points in the final quarter for the 5th straight games. In three of those games, they were able to bounce back and win. Can they do it one more time?
Stats I like - This is the 43rd time the OSU-Michigan game will determine the Big Ten Champion.
The Game starts to grind - This seems to me like this should be a game changing drive for the Buckeyes. If they can string a couple of first downs, that might be enough to seal the victory. Beanie gets 9 yards on the first two runs but gets stopped for a loss on the final play. Trapasso is again called on to punt the ball back to the Wolverines where they take over with less than 8:00 minutes remaining.
Vernon again -On the first play from scrimmage, Vernon Gholston once again breaks through the Michigan offensive line and gets his third sack of the day. Michigan can not recover and are forced to punt once again.
6:32 remaining - OSU starts on their own 33, but the Tresselball is taking over, two weak runs up the middle and another Trapasso punt. This one is very short though and the Wolverines have great field position.
4:03 remaining - Michigan starts on their 43 yard line. Henne throws his 29th, 30th and 31st incomplete passes of the game and it creates 4th and 10. Henne goes down field but it is broke up by Kurt Coleman. At this stage of the game, Michigan has 91 yards of total offense. Some of that is the weather, but it is a different defense for the Buckeyes from what they brought to the field last week in Columbus. The last time the Wolverines were held to less than 100 yards in this series was 1962
3:46 remaining - OSU takes over and the Maize and Blue have to start calling their timeouts. Wells takes over running play after play to grind out the clock. With 1:26 to go, it is 1st and goal from the 6 yard line. They run one play, by Maurice Wells for two yards and then take a knee to end the game.
Final Score - Ohio State 14 Michigan 3
THE Game Streaks - OSU has won four games in a row, which is the third time in this long series they have managed 4 straight wins. They also accomplished this in 1934-37 (Coach Francis Schmidt's 1st 4 years) and 1960-63. Michigan also owns a couple of 4 game win streaks in 1945-48 and 1988-91 (Coach John Cooper's 1st 4 years). But the Wolverines own the series record for consecutive wins with 6 (1922-27).
4:00pm - #5 Missouri holds off a scrappy Kansas State team to win 49-32. The Wildcats lead at one time but could not hold on. Why couldn't we get a little Big 12 upset love. At any rate either the Tigers or the Kansas Jayhawks will lose and the Buckeyes will move up.
7:30pm - #1 LSU takes care of business and defeats Ole Miss 41-24. The will remain #1 in all the polls and play Arkansas at home next Saturday, and then either Georgia or Tennessee the following week in the SEC championship. Without any upsets, they will then go to the National Championship game.
7:45pm - #3 Kansas polishes off Iowa State at home 45-7 and should move to #2 in the polls. They take on the Missouri Tigers next week with the winner most likely facing Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship.
8:30pm - ESPN is reporting that Coach Lloyd Carr is holding a press conference on Monday at 10:00am, where he will announce his retirement for the end of this season.
9:30pm - West Virginia is handling Cincinnati 21-10 at the half so baring a comeback, we will not get an in-state help in the polls this week. However, with 9:10 to go in the 2nd quarter Texas Tech is leading Oklahoma 27-7. Go Red Raiders!
11:15pm - Cincinnati closes the gap against #6 West Virginia 28-23 but they fail to get the onside kick. Instead of putting 8 guys in the box and stop the run, the Bearcats give up 2 first downs and the Mountaineers are able to take a knee to end the game. Will have to wait and see if the close game hurts them in the polls. If not, they will play Connecticut for the Big East Championship and possibly a shot at the BCS championship.
12:11am Sunday - #4 Oklahoma makes a strong effort to come back against unranked Texas Tech, but loses 34-27 in the end. This is the 11th time this season that a top 5 team has been beat by an unranked team. The loss will drop the Sooners out of the BCS Championship picture but they are still a big player. They should beat Oklahoma State next week and face the Kansas-Missouri survivor. This keeps the hopes alive for the Scarlet & Gray nation. But let's take this one week at a time.
I would love to hear any feedback from our readers. Please drop your comments
November 17th, 2007
VS
Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, MI
Attendance 111,941
By Gregg Watson
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(7)Ohio State 14 (21)Michigan 3
GAME DAY 2007 - 104th Game
Slip Sliding Away - After Hartline takes the fair catch on the OSU 32, OSU earns another first down with a couple of nice pass plays. But then the bottom falls out. First, a bad snap on first down, Boeckman slips down in the pocket on second down, then Wells slips on 3rd down and the Buckeyes are forced to punt away again. Greg Mathews returns the punt to the Michigan 36 yard line.
It is about time! -Quarterback Todd Boeckman comes out on this drive with a glove on his left hand. Beanie has a key run, thanks to a big block by Steve Rehring. Boeckman is perfect this drive, going 3-3 spreading the ball around to Jake Ballard, Brian Hartline and Dane Sanzenbacher. Todd even manages a 4 yard run to get the ball to the 1-yard line. Wells finishes the the job with a 1 yard TD run to give OSU their first lead.
2nd Quarter 10:08 - OSU 7 Michigan 3
Tressel CAN challenge a call - The Buckeyes go nowhere and Michigan returns the punt to the OSU 31. However, Tressel challenges the play saying that the runner went out of bounds. After review, the officials agreed and the ball was moved to the OSU 46. (Why didn't we challenge the fumble last week?) Michigan has 93 yards of offense after three quarters. Then again, Henne is no Juice Williams. Michigan stalls big time and has to punt. Ray Small gives a bit of a scare by dropping his fair catch but he recovers on the 9 yard line. OSU takes over their with 14:00 minutes to go in the game.
Time is running out for UM - Although Wells has 174 yards to this point in the game, he can not get 10 more on three straight runs so the Buckeyes are forced to punt. AJ Trapasso's 8th punt is from the Buckeye end
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