Buckeyes demolish Michigan: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

When it comes to The Game, Ohio State has dominated Michigan, and that trend continued on Saturday. The scarlet and gray have now won four straight games and 10 of the last 11 against That Team Up North. Like usual, there are plenty of good things, bad things, and ugly things (not so much of the latter two) in the game. Lets dig in:

The Good

J.T. Barrett

J.T. Barrett may have had only 15 pass attempts (nine completions), but he made the most of them and did most of the work with his feet on Saturday. He finished with 113 passing yards and a touchdown, to go along with 19 carries for an impressive 139 yards and three touchdowns.

Including his four touchdowns against Michigan, the sophomore has now accounted for 19 touchdowns in his last six games (11 rushing, eight passing).

Ezekiel Elliott

Just one game following his disastrous game against Michigan State, including his postgame comments and streak of 100 yards rushing ending, Ezekiel Elliott had one of the best regular season games in his career.

He not only had 30 carries for 214 yards and two touchdowns, but Zeke had some tremendous blocks to open up some holes on quarterback J.T. Barrett’s scrambles as well.

The junior’s 66-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter was his 12th touchdown of at least 50 yards in his career. Elliott also passed Eddie George (3,768 yards) for second on Ohio State’s all-time rushing list. With just one game to go in his college career – yes, he has already declared that he will enter the NFL draft following the end to this season – Zeke is only behind Archie Griffin (5,589 yards from 1972-75) on the school’s all-time rushing list.

By the way, the Buckeyes are now a perfect 4-0 when two Ohio State players rush for at least 100 yards each, which Barrett and Elliott did on Saturday.

Michael Thomas

He may not have had a touchdown, but Michael Thomas brought plenty to Ohio State’s demolition over Michigan.

With two catches for 50 yards, including a 38-yard reception in the fourth quarter, the junior has now caught a pass in 28 consecutive games.

Jalin Marshall

With a superb touchdown catch early in the third quarter, Jalin Marshall was J.T. Barrett’s top target on Saturday, to go along with Thomas.

While showing off his athletic ability with his touchdown reception, the sophomore totaled two receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown Saturday afternoon.

Third-down offense

When a team converts more than 50 percent of their third-downs, that’s very good, and that’s exactly what the scarlet and gray did against Michigan. The offense converted 7-of-13 third-down attempts.

Red zone offense

Five touchdowns on six red-zone opportunities is one of the many reasons why J.T. Barrett is the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes dominated in the red zone on Saturday, and their running game was one of the main reasons why.

Offensive line

It’s not a coincidence that both J.T. Barrett and Ezekiel Elliott flourished in the run game behind an offensive line that played one of their best games of the season.

Following their dismal performance against Michigan State last week, the O-line stepped up big time and opened up plenty of holes for Barrett and Zeke, along with giving Barrett some time in the pocket on pass plays as wel.

Joshua Perry

He may have only had 10 tackles, but the senior captain led the Silver Bullets on Saturday and was not only the leading tackles for the Buckeyes but also had a pass breakup and chipped in with 0.5 sacks as well.

Darron Lee

The linebacker not only had seven tackles, one tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits, but he also had a tremendous game in coverage as well. Whether it was the running back leaking out of the backfield or a tight end trying to get open, Darron Lee proved why he is such a good linebacker, on many different dimensions of the defense.

Joey Bosa

The best defensive lineman in college football proved why he is just that in the throttling over Michigan on Saturday.

Not only did Bosa finish with three tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, one sack (that knocked quarterback Jake Rudock out of the game), and two quarterback hits, but the junior also had an incredible interception as well. His interception really did show off his athleticism.

The interception was the first of Bosa’s career.

Run defense

Another game, another superb effort from the Silver Bullets’ run defense. They forced the Wolverines to run for just 57 yards on 25 attempts Saturday.

Whether it’s the front-seven or just the offensive line, the Buckeyes’ defense has been superb at defending the opposing running back for the majority of the season.

The Bad

Red zone defense

The Buckeyes may have allowed the Wolverines to score on all three of their red-zone opportunities, but they allowed just one touchdown in those opportunities.

Although allowing their rival to score on all three red-zone opportunities, if the opposing team is held to a field goal (or less) while in the red zone, that’s a good outcome, and Ohio State’s defense did just that against Michigan’s offense.

Pass defense

307 yards through the air may be a lot to allow, but at least the defense made up for it with their pass defense. Although the run defense bailed them out, the secondary must improve ahead of their bowl game on Sunday.

The Ugly

Let’s be honest, there wasn’t a single thing that was ugly with Ohio State in their 42-13 demolishing of their biggest rival Saturday afternoon.