Forcier's Final Fumbling Flop

The Michigan Wolverines are assured their second straight losing season. The Ohio State Buckeyes are assured a Big 10 Title and trip to the Rose Bowl. The greatest rivalry in college football went the Buckeye way for the sixth straight year. Thaddeus Gibson’s interception with 3:34 left at the Michigan 42 yard line sealed the deal for Tate Forcier and the 5-7 Wolverines. Forcier, a true freshman quarterback, was picked off four time in the 21-10 loss in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes are headed to the Rose Bowl riding a five game winning streak and 10-2 record. The Wolverine fangs didn’t do the damage necessary to defeat OSU. It was a return to normalcy of sorts for Ohio State’s running game that distinguished doom for Rich Rodriguez and the school up north.
Forcier fumbled on his first drive. Pinned inside their own five yard line, the possession ended in disaster for Forcier and the Wolves. Ohio State defensive tackle, Cameron Hayward, recovered the fumble and scored the first touchdown of the day. The Buckeyes upped their lead to 14-3 following a mid- second quarter Michigan 46 yard field goal. Jason Olesnavage drilled it through the uprights, after an earlier miss from 24 yards. The Bucks’ backfield kicked it into high gear and quickly established the run, an enigma the Wolverines struggled to solve. Brandon Saine ended an 80 yard, 6 play OSU drive with a 29 yard surge into the end zone. The entire touchdown drive consisted of run plays. Jim Tressel’s offense must be centered on the backfield. Ohio State has proven for weeks now they are most effective when gearing up the ground game. Sophomore, Terrelle Pryor is a dual-threat quarterback with fast feet and the ability to make something out of nothing. His nine yard scramble in the second was followed by a 25 yard surge to set up Saine’s touchdown. Ohio State scored their fewest amount of points since September 19th against Michigan State. The Wolverines’ defense held the Buckeye receivers in check and kept this a game. As usual, Ohio State’s offense was extremely conservative. Tressel’s head-scratching play-calling is nothing new for OSU fans. The Buckeyes succeeded in Ann Arbor because they were able to control the clock and carry the ball for 251 rushing yards. The inexperienced UM quarterback made key costly errors and couldn’t complete the passes he needed to sustain drives. But, the Buckeyes offense did little with their first-half possessions and the Michigan defense did a good job at containing them.
Vincent Smith’s reception five minutes into the second half trimmed the Buckeye lead to four. Forcier hit his running back for an 18 yard pass. The score was set up by Pryor’s first turnover in four games. Ohio State responded immediately on their next possession. Pryor marched 89 yards after beginning the drive on the OSU 11 yard line. Dan Herron caught a 12 yard screen pass from Pryor to put the Buckeyes on top by 12. The Buckeyes capitalized on Michigan’s mistakes to extend their winning streak in this suddenly lopsided rivalry. Herron continued to stomp and pound it out against the Michigan defense. Saine, Herron and Pryor exchanged rushes in the fourth quarter to run out the clock on another murky Michigan season.
Pryor finished 9 of 17 for 67 yards. He also ran for 74 yards. That goes to show you how terrific Tressel’s team was at running the football yesterday. Herron added 96 yards on the ground with one touchdown. Saine broke free for 86 yards and a touchdown. DeVair Posey lead the OSU receiving core with a handful of catches for 38 of the Bucks’ 67 total yards. Senior safety, Kurt Coleman, snared a pair of picks in front of the 111,000 fan blend of maize, blue, scarlet and gray. Devon Torrence and Gibson hauled in the other two Ohio State interceptions. Freshman receiver, Roy Roundtree, grabbed a game-high 9 receptions for 116 yards for the losing team. Smith ate up just 32 yards on the ground with eight carries, and Forcier was 23 of 28 for 226 yards. He hadn’t thrown more than one pick in a game this season before facing the Buckeyes. Saturday was Tressel’s eighth win against hated Michigan in nine tries. The Buckeyes were nearly outgained in yardage by the Wolverines. The refined running game was the unique advantage. It was the net rushing yards that made the difference at the end of the day. Forcier is usually a play-maker, and he did show glimpses of greatness early Saturday. The Wolverines couldn’t put things together on big plays to make strides against their rivals. Now, the Buckeyes can rest easily and treasure their small “gold pants” charm. They’ve made headway since the shaky start this season. They downed their arch rival and earned another conference title. The Buckeyes were able to identify their strengths and exploit their opponents’ weaknesses. They converted turnovers and responded on every set of downs to restore their leads. The coveted Rose Bowl awaits in Pasadena. Pac-10 powerhouse Oregon is in line to play against them. That means it’s time to cover the Rose Bowl from soup to nuts. Hopefully, it will be the Bucknuts tasting some Duck Soup in January.

Parting Points: Is it too much to ask the Giants not to lose five games in a row?