Monday Hangover
Bo. A Michigan loss. A Lions loss (to Arizona, for god’s sake). Vomit everywhere (literally). This was one of those weekends I was happy to wave goodbye to.
After having a couple days to digest the Michigan loss, I haven’t changed my mind about not wanting a rematch. Some co-workers were standing outside my cube (all IU and Purdue guys) saying they thought there should be one and they were pretty shocked when I stuck my head out and said no way. Like I said yesterday. We lost so we need to step out of line and let the next guy have a shot. (Again, as long as the next guy ain’t Notre freak’n Dame.)
Here’s the thing about the game on Saturday from my perspectice. It wasn’t that OSU was oh so much better. Yes, they led most of the way, often by at least two scores. Yes, they racked up an insane amount of total offense. And sure, you can argue OSU kept the Wolverines in it with rare turnovers. But hell, that’s football. If you played that game again, what are the odds Michigan’s D gives up 100+ yards and two TDs on two running plays? Both teams did things that were uncharacteristic of them all season long.
What really separated the two teams in my mind was the Buckeye passing game against Michigan’s secondary. Troy Smith wasn’t having to thread needles all game. Yeah, he made great plays, but he was routinely spreading the ball around, finding guys that were *wide* open. It was nauseating at how easy OSU made it look to pass the ball for 5 to 15 yards at a time. That’s where Michigan really lost the game, and I don’t see where it would be any different on January 2nd or 3rd or whenever the National Championship Game gets played.
Anyway, the pundits can argue all they like. Time for me to move on.