We’ve made it to THE GAME
Michigan football is coming off its tightest performance yet against Maryland in a 31-24 victory that saw the Wolverines play very sloppy football. I’m sure much of that can be attributed to outside factors, such as looking forward to Ohio State and being distracted by the NCAA investigation, which was interviewing players all week.
Regardless, it was a poor showing, but the Wolverines got a victory. Now it’s onto the big one, and you can bet that both teams are going to bring their A-game.
Michigan football and Ohio State are 11-0 coming into this matchup for the second straight year and the third time ever, with 2006 being the third. For the first time, this 11-0 matchup will be in Ann Arbor.
In this article, I’m going to take a look at the offensive statistics surrounding each team so that we can see high-level players who may have an advantage.
Ohio State offense
Ohio State’s offense is averaging 33.64 points per game, which is down from 44.23 a year ago. They’re averaging 4.3 yards per carry with an average of 145.5 yards per game. They’re throwing the ball for 283.73 yards per game, with an average of 9.02 yards per attempt.
Against their only comparable defense in Penn State, Kyle McCord was 22-35 with 286 yards and a touchdown, while the Buckeye rushing attack was held to just 79 yards on 41 attempts—without Treyveon Henderson, notably.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the heartbeat of this offense. Harrison has 1,093 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on the season. Kyle McCord has thrown 22 touchdowns, and 59% of those are to Marvin Harrison Jr. He is the number one threat to this offense, and when things get rough, he’s the guy they target.
It will be interesting to see how Treyveon Henderson performs against the Wolverines. Since returning from injury, Henderson is averaging 124.75 yards per game. Granted, he did not play against Penn State. If the Wolverine defense can make Ohio State one-dimensional, that’ll be a huge advantage. Now, to the Michigan offense.
