Emotion Aside, Were We a Better Football Team than OSU Last Year?
Hear me out.
OSU was favored by over a touchdown going into the game in Columbus last year, and *I* certainly expected us to lose, with all the emotional factors going against us (revenge, home-field advantage).
But neither the betting line nor my personal pessimism was just a function of two decades of Buckeye dominance. They were also based on how the Buckeyes had performed during the 2022 season compared to us, and how the two teams did against common opponents.
I know Seth, for instance, predicted another Michigan walloping, but I assumed (and continue to believe today) that he was ... spitting into the wind. Wishing it into being. Not because he honestly believed we would beat the Buckeyes by 20 in the Horseshoe.
And indeed, unlike most of the posters here, I think a few key plays did make the difference in that game. I still can't believe they didn't connect on that early 4th down throw, which I think could have made a big difference ... and Sanristil's play in the endzone was an all-timer.
Anyway, I'm rambling. I just wonder, emotion aside, were we genuinely a better team than the Buckeyes last year? I don't think we were, honestly ... and what they did against Georgia (compared to what we did against TCU, and what we did against Georgia the year before) was damned impressive.
Doesn't matter, of course. God knows the Buckeyes have beaten us when they weren't the better team, and we're definitely due some breaks in this series. I'm not proposing we give it back. Just wondering what, looking back at the season leading up to the OSU game, could possibly have indicated that result.
And, I guess ... does the MGoBlog intelligentsia really think we're a better team than the Buckeyes this year? Personally, I'm still going to assume they're going to beat us. :-)
April 25th, 2023 at 10:41 AM ^
Seriously? Emotions aside, the score was 45-23 at their place, MICHIGAN WAS THE BETTER TEAM.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:57 AM ^
there are between 23-45 reasons why we were better. They had lots of talent but the past 2 years we have had the better TEAM and, I believe, the better mental toughness. They also got outcoached.
April 25th, 2023 at 12:49 PM ^
Best part of the defensive UFR for the CFP semi was learning that we had a great game plan and the means to execute it—that basically we win that game going away 99 out of a 100 times.
And if we had crushed TCU and given Georgia a game, maybe we wouldn't be treated to garbage like the OP
What am I saying... there will always be garbage like the OP.
UFR be damned, I can't write Michigan's loss off as merely the product of bad luck. There were simply too many things that went wrong, and too many things that could/should have been done differently.
Executing badly on that 1/100 time that you lose concentration is still your fault. It's not bad luck.
But generally speaking, it's ridiculous to point to the TCU game and say "see Ohio is better," then point to The Game and say, "just a couple things go differently, and Ohio is better."
What the UFR did for me was not to take away the pain of what happened in the CFP but to take away the dread that there is some systemic issue with future ramifications. It also tells me that any OP that says "I think Ohio was the better team" is rubbish.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:59 AM ^
Yep, its clear as day. We beat the hell out of them at their place. I could see if it was just one season and at our place and cold weather snowing/ice/rain etc.... (the first game) but holy shit their was no excuse last year. We beat the fuck out of them at their place with no excuses. And this year is shaping up nicely for us too.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:03 AM ^
Yes, but the score doesn't always tell the full story. "Ifs and buts", sure, but it's real and have to be taken into account if being an objective fan of the game.
The 4th & 2 that Stover drops. The TD that Stover has in his hands before Sanristil makes a HERO play, the botched fake punt, etc.
UM pulled away in the 2nd half but the game could have gotten ugly early if not for a few hinge moments that went UM's way (not all listed above, of course).
Was UM the better team? Yes. I sincerely think so. Could they have lost in a Playoff rematch? Absolutely. The effort they gave vs UGA is a win for them if that was against UM. UM doesn't beat that team. Stroud being a willing runner alone probably swings The Game from blowout losses to closer games the past two years.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:13 AM ^
If If If.
A lot of these "ifs" went against Michigan during the first six years of Harbaugh's tenure.
There are always "ifs."
The 2016 game was full of "ifs" that tilted the game in OSU's direction.
Each of the losses to MSU during the Harbaugh era has been full of "ifs."
Sometimes they go your way. Sometimes they don't.
OSU has had a great team over the past few years. But, a combination of many factors tilted the games in Michigan's favor. Including the fact that, overall, Michigan has been the better team.
Michigan was only better on the one day it mattered. It’s a rivalry game and they rose to the occasion. OSU was objectively a better football team, but failed when it mattered. UM lost to TCU….TCU! Michigan beat Ohio State, which is all that matters when picking the best team, but there’s not a single rational person who watched the playoff and came away from that thinking Michigan was a better team.
October 27th, 2023 at 3:51 PM ^
This is horseshit. Keep believing it after the 3rd win in a row this year.
The buckeyes have gotten more mileage out of a "good loss" than fucking Rocky.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:26 PM ^
Of course and you seem to be focusing on that and not what I said at the end. Michigan was the better team but the game is a game of hundreds of hinge points. Ifs matter when you want an objective view of the game.
They went UMs way and a part of that IS being the Better team. It's why a lot didn't during the long losing streaks. They matter and have to be considered if wanting to answer a question like this.
Again, a rematch wouldn't have been the sire thing we all want to tell ourselves because we didn't have to play it...and I'm glad we that was the case because I want The Game to matter. Once a year, bragging rights on the line for a year.
On that day Michigan was better. Hands down. I just don't think that's the question and to answer the question you have to take other things into account. Just one of them being that UM's QB had probably his best day all year. A 2022 "average performance" from JJ probably doesn't make the game so lopsided, if a win at all. The kid balled out after a shaky start. Stayed in the pocket, accurate, good decisions. Etc. And it goes both ways.
Ifs matter when answering the question posed.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
You left out that we played essentially the entire game without Blake Corum - which was a big reason why the point spread was as large as it was. Without him, we had just struggled to beat Illinois.
If we are talking about our team being better or worse than OSU last season, Corum should be part of the analysis. OSU dodged a bullet by not facing him and still got blown out, at home.
You bring up a great point that i have been torn over since the game: do we win with a health BC or not.
Hear me out on this one: BC is a more consistent back than The Don, IMO. Give the ball to BC and you pretty much guarantee 4-5 years almost every single carry, thus, you are more than happy to have him as a work horse and go on 13-15 play drives.
The Don is a more explosive back but less consistent on a per carry basis: he may get stuffed or only gain 2-3 yards on back-to-back plays, but then he will bust out the 80+ yard TD run (see the OSU game in the 2nd half).
Why i bring this up is that I believe our staff was forced to change the game plan for Ohio State last year because BC was out and they knew that our traditional long drives may not occur because of the boom/bust type of back that Edwards is . If we had BC, do we attempt as many down the field pass plays as we did or is JH happy with 4 yards a play and 15 play drives?
So, do we still beat Ohio State with a healthy BC, yes, I believe that we do, but I also think we had a different mindset and play calling because he was out that actually benefited us with the explosive down the field pass plays, we were able to hit. I don't know if we have those plays to CJ or CL if BC is playing.
Just a thought.
I think the staff understood that we'd probably have to put up a lot of points regardless of who was playing. We threw it downfield a fair amount in the 2021 OSU game also. The Game is a different beast than the rest of the season.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
Was really hoping the first response would have been “Yes. End thread.”
You guess this will have to do.
This. All. Day. It was so much more than a few plays. The 15 play 81 yard TD drive early in the 3rd proved that they were going to give up big plays AND they were going to get ground into dust. How much of each was up to Knowles.
3 points in the entire 2nd half was not a team that was a play or two from being the better team. The game wasn't close and did not come down to a play here and there. Bizarre OP from a UM fan (IMHO).
lol how is this even a question?
April 25th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
Better..... Worse.... Equally talented/coached/intangibles..... it's all a moot point. They played the game and won.
April 25th, 2023 at 12:18 PM ^
It's a moo point. Like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter.
The point is moo.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:43 AM ^
This should ho over well
April 25th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
Who you callin' a HO?
April 25th, 2023 at 11:11 AM ^
Are you summoning the Thundercats?
Hoooooooooooooooo!!
April 25th, 2023 at 10:44 AM ^
I do believe Michigan is better this year.
I also believe that, while Michigan won, OSU was better last year.
I know you aren't supposed to do it in sports, especially when Michigan actually beat OSU a few weeks prior, but the OSU/Georgia game was just too insane to me to not admit that OSU was the better team last year.
But the better team doesn't always win, and Michigan has won twice in a row -- I'm fine with winning while being the "lesser" team -- winning is all that matters.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:50 AM ^
Matchups dude, matchups. Do you REALLY think TCU was a better team than UM? UM quite likely would have or could have player UGA just as close.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
just as close as OSU did or just as close as TCU did?
April 25th, 2023 at 11:31 AM ^
So, OSU played better against Georgia and UM did not play well against TCU. Couldn't that mean Georgia and UM had bad games? That is a possibility. Right?
Michigan was down their best player and that right there created chaos in the RedZone and tide turned in favor of TCU.
TCU played a hell of a game and I think Harbaugh was hung over from his OSU win and tried all sorts of cutsey stuff. We should have beat TCU by a couple of TDs, but we did not.
OSU has more talent according to all of the recruiting sites and the NFL draft. I don't think Ryan Day is as good a coach as Harbaugh is. Michigan was the better team.
I think Michigan played as well as they could with Blake Corum and then Loveland out. TCU OTOH played completely out of their minds!
Michigan was the better team in the Horseshoe. Michigan got beat by NYG in Phoenix! Oh crap!
April 25th, 2023 at 12:35 PM ^
If you erase all the games but the playoffs, maybe there is an argument, but that is a fantasy world.
If you're going to decide the comparison based on one game, I would suggest using the one game between the two teams that wasn't close and won on the road by the objectively better team.
OSU/Georgia game was just too insane to me to not admit that OSU was the better team last year.
It’s REALLY weird for you to take one game as your measuring stick and for that one game to not be the game the two teams actually played against each other…
45-23 without a Heisman candidate on offense and best player on defense. But ya they almost beat Georgia🙄
This is a bad point.
UM is built to pound an OSU team that is soft on defense into the ground. OSU responded by playing some of the riskiest defenses you could imagine, instead of just being worn into the ground. The end result: two long TDs at the end (instead of long drives which would have ended the game anyhow).
UM was better, and showed it.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
You are what your record is.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
Scoreboard, bitches!
FIFY
April 25th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
logged in to downvote.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
and kick the asses of the Buckeyes. Yeah, we were the better team
April 25th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
Yes. Because of offensive line, running game, defense as a whole, and so on. But also because CJ Stroud doesn't Have That Dog in Him
April 25th, 2023 at 11:36 AM ^
And we out-coached them a significant margin.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
Buddy this one ain’t gonna go well
April 25th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
we were better
but OSU also played tight as compared to how they played against Georgia
April 25th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
Was OSU a better collection of individual talent? Probably. But the better team? No I don't think so. The result is the result. I think if they played each other 10 times it may have been 5-5.
April 25th, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
Exactly. It's splitting hairs at this point and football is such a high leverage sport where one or two games (hell, one or two plays) define your season so no one can say this definitively. I would guess a pretty even split if they played 10 times. We played a better game than them in Columbus and they played better in the semifinals.
In summary: 45-23.
I don't even think that the games would be 5-5. More like 6-4 Michigan, or better. That was a Michigan team built to defeat that OSU team. It wasn't built to defeat a team like TCU with a great quarterback playing out of his mind, and it showed.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
The eff is wrong with you.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:57 AM ^
We can post the word "fuck" here. Thought you should know.
April 25th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
Eff that.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
Well they won by a lot in Columbus, sooo......