Michigan Falls Short in 42-39 Shootout

By Sean · Sunday, November 19, 2006 · 12:53 PM |  Share | 1 Comment 

The 2006 season has been memorable and enjoyable all year. Whether it was the blowout at Notre Dame or the win at home against Michigan State, so far there’s been nothing to really complain about. A few weeks ago when the Wolverines got through that tough stretch of the schedule, everyone already started to hype the game at Ohio State. It was for good reason, but many were skeptical when it came to wondering if The Game would live up to the hype. I’d say that college football fans everywhere were pretty pleased with the great game we all saw yesterday. Even though the end result was a 42-39 loss to Michigan, the game itself was just as good as expected. Now, talk of a rematch is surfacing, and we may have only saw part one.

Going into this game, Michigan knew it had to limit Troy Smith. In the past two seasons, Smith has led Ohio State to victory, and shutting him down would be key. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Smith actually had his best game yet against Michigan, and just about wrapped up the Heisman race. The Michigan offense also played great in this game. Chad Henne and Mike Hart had good stats themselves and kept Michigan alive down to the very end. The defense on the other hand played one of the worst games ever imaginable. Even with how bad they played, if it weren’t for a couple of long touchdowns or a stupid penalty, the Wolverines may have won.

Michigan needed a fast start to ensure that they had an early advantage. Going on the road to Columbus isn’t easy, and that means that silencing the crowd could help out. The Maize and Blue did just that. To start the game, Michigan went down the field quickly and got into the endzone. Mario Manningham caught 3 passes with one going for 25 yards to set up a 1 yard touchdown run by Mike Hart. Things were going good, and now the defense would be tested.

Troy Smith looked like one of the best players ever as he just shredded the Michigan defense. 4 times on this drive Ohio State had a third down, and 4 times the play was long enough to keep the chains moving. Smith used a spread offense to keep the Michigan defense guessing, and got the ball to many different receivers before finally finding Roy Hall in the endzone for a 1 yard score.

This is where the game switched into OSU’s favor. One big play gave all of the momentum to the Buckeyes and started what was a dreadful day offensively by the Wolverines. First, Chris Wells busted through the Michigan defense by running straight up the middle of the field. Poor tackling all around led to a 52 yard touchdown run to put the Buckeyes ahead 14-7. Then, on a second and short, Troy Smith faked a handoff and hid the ball drawing in some of the Michigan defenders to throw a 39 yard touchdown pass to a near wide open Ted Ginn Jr. The score was now 21-7 Ohio State just like that, and Michigan was in need of something to stay alive.

Chad Henne came out and regrouped after a couple of rough plays to eventually find Adrian Arrington from 37 yards out to narrow the lead down to 7. Arrington was wide open because of a crossing route by Steve Breaston that lured the secondary away, and then Adrian made a nice move to get into the endzone. But, with over 2 minutes remaining before the end of the half, Michigan’s defense still had to stop Ohio State one more time. Troy Smith casually got down the field by completing a bunch of short passes and capped off the drive with an 8 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez. At the half, Michigan trailed 28-14.

The Wolverines needed a quick start in the second half to begin a comeback. Falling behind by more than 2 touchdowns would pretty much put the game out of reach. For the Maize and Blue, the defense had to step up and do something to get the ball back to Chad Henne and Mike Hart. That’s what happened as Troy Smith threw 3 straight incomplete passes leading to a three and out. Michigan got the ball back and gave it to Mike Hart, who with 4 runs on this next drive moved the ball 59 yards by himself eventually ending with a short touchdown run. Things looked brighter as the score was only 28-21.

That Michigan defense once again looked like themselves as they forced Troy Smith to scramble and make a bad pass. The pass was deflected and intercepted by Alan Branch, giving the Wolverines spectacular field position. The offense couldn’t do anything with the great spot however, and only got a field goal out of the turnover.

With the score now only 28-24, that Ohio State offense turned it into high gear. Troy Smith handed it off to Antonio Pittman and then things all went downhill. Pittman easily ran through the defense just as Chris Wells did in the first half to go 56 yards for the touchdown. In the blink of an eye Michigan was once again trailing by a good amount of points, and OSU had all of the momentum back on their side.

With the third quarter winding down, Michigan caught a big break. Troy Smith saw a snap go over his head in the shotgun formation and couldn’t fall on it. Alan Branch hustled in to recover the fumble and gave Michigan the best field position you could ever imagine. The Wolverines didn’t wait to score either. On second and goal Chad Henne handed the ball of to Steve Breaston on a reverse and got all the way down to the 1 yard line. Originally it was a touchdown, but replay changed that. With a third and goal from 1 yard away, who better than Mike Hart to give it off to. Hart rumbled into defenders to cross the goal line and cut the lead to just 35-31.

The next span of events were probably the most important of the entire game. First, as Ohio State was quickly driving down the field and appeared to be on the edge of another touchdown, a bad snap by the center caused another fumble. The ball just rolled off of his hands and allowed LaMarr Woodley to come in and recover it. This was another break for Michigan, and one that allowed them to be in position to go down the field to take the lead. But, Michigan couldn’t even pick up a first down after the turnover and had to punt it away. Still, the Wolverines had momentum in their favor.

With the ball back, Ohio State once again got things moving after another good run. The Michigan defense did not give up however, and actually put the Buckeyes in a third and fifteen situation. Troy Smith felt the pressure and was forced to scramble near the sideline and just throw it down the field. The pass was incomplete and it looked as though Michigan would be getting the ball back with a chance to win it. Then the worst thing possible happened. A flag was thrown because Shawn Crable roughed the passer. Crable dove just as Smith threw the pass and made helmet-to-helmet contact. The 15 yard penalty and automatic first down gave Ohio State the break they needed to keep the ball and eventually score again. Troy Smith connected with Brian Robiskie from 13 yards out to give the Scarlett and Gray an 11 point advantage with only 5 minutes to play.

Michigan put together a quick drive themselves following the disappointment and were able to score. Thanks to an Ohio State penalty on fourth down, Michigan had their chances and hope saved. Chad Henne eventually found Tyler Ecker on a great play where it was almost out of desperation. Henne stepped up in the pocket and found Ecker, who then got the extra yardage to reach the endzone. The Wolverines had no timeouts remaining with 2:16 on the clock, and trailed by 3 points as they converted a 2 point conversion following the TD pass. It all came down to an onside kick. If you recover then a field goal ties the game and a touchdown wins it, but if it ends up in the hands of a Buckeye, then the game is practically over. When Garrett Rivas teed it up and kicked it off the ground, it went right to Ted Ginn Jr. who just caught it and went down. Ohio State recovers and wins 42-39.

Never before has the end of a game felt so bad. I don’t know if it was the fact that changing just one play may have allowed Michigan to win or having to watch Ohio State celebrate a Big Ten title, an undefeated season, and a trip to the BCS National Championship Game. All in all, it was just a horrible span of a couple of days. On Friday, we all lost a legend and overall great person in Bo Schembechler. Then on Saturday, we had to witness a shootout go in the favor of our most hated rival.

Where does this exactly put Michigan now? Chances are that the Wolverines will head to the Rose Bowl, which is a great consolation prize. But the talk of a rematch is rampant. A couple of things would have to happen in order for “Ohio State vs. Michigan II” to be played. It all really depends on how the BCS standings this week look. Where Michigan falls to in the polls will determine if the chance is there. Then, if the Wolverines are in the position a couple of teams would have to lose for the Maize and Blue to end up in Glendale. A complete breakdown on if a rematch is possible and whether or not it is wanted will be posted this coming week here at MSC.

Although Michigan did lose yesterday, let’s not forget about how great of a season this has been. Going from 7-5 one year ago to 11-1 is pretty good, and a BCS bid is likely to be on its way. The final two weeks of the college football season will be very exciting as we will find out who the second team to play for a national championship is, and also how the entire bowl picture is shaping up. Until next time, thanks for a great season and Go Blue!