Duke and Ohio State entered Wednesday night with unblemished records. The Blue Devils traveled to Tallahassee to face the11-5 Seminoles, while the Bucks played at Crisler Arena against 11-5 Michigan. Only one unbeaten would remain…
Florida State took down Duke in Tallahassee for the second time in five years to snap the Devils’ 25 game winning streak. The top ranked Blue Devils were defeated 66-61 at Donald Tucker Center on Wednesday for the first time this season. It was the national champ’s first setback since March 2010. FSU’s senior guard, Derwin Kitchen collected 22 points, including 17 in the second half, to carry the Seminoles to their 12th win. Chris Singleton added 18 points in the victory while Kyle Singler led Duke with 20. Duke is sure to be replaced at the top despite a strong comeback in the second half last night. The Devils struggled in the first half, missing ten 3-point attempts as the Seminoles took a 28-24 halftime lead. FSU surged to an eleven point advantage early in the second half but the Devils made it a tight game in the final minutes. Duke erased FSU’s 40-29 cushion and went on to tie the game at 42-42 with a 13-2. Singleton sunk two free throws with 33 seconds left to give the ‘Noles a five point edge. Nolan Smith’s trey cut Duke’s deficit to two with less than thirty ticks remaining but a pair of free throws and a bucket sealed the deal for the home team. Smith finished with 19 points for the number one Devils.
The Wolverines hosted rival OSU Wednesday on the day their football team announced the hiring of SDSU’s Brady Hoke. Michigan rallied from a 53-41 deficit but the Buckeyes held on to win the contest 68-64 to remain undefeated this season. Ohio State used a 12-0 second half run to put some distance between the one point halftime score. William Buford led the Bucks with 19 points and nine rebounds. David Lighty scored 12 points for the number two Buckeyes, who could be sitting pretty on the top of the college basketball world when the rankings come out this weekend. Lighty hit five free throws in the final five minutes of the game as OSU won for the 17th time this season. Darius Morgan had 18 points to carry the Wolverines, who shot over 50% from the field in a strong effort. Evan Smotrycz tied the game at 41with a shot from the arc shortly after halftime. Ohio State followed with a 12-0 run and used a barrage of defense and free throws to cling to their lead. Michigan held the Bucks without a field goal in the game’s final eight minutes. Ohio State hit 17-of-25 from the charity stripe. The Wolverines did a tremendous job containing fab freshman, Jared Sullinger. The 6’9” Sullinger has scored in double figures all but twice this season. Michigan limited him to just 12 and forced him to turn the ball over six times. Ohio State is off to the best start since 1990. That team began the season 17-0 too. The next game for the Bucks comes Saturday at Penn State. OSU looks to add to their ten game road winning streak.
Parting Points: Song for Thursday- “Hesitate” by Stone Sour
I don’t care what the Jets say off the field this week. If they don’t harass Tom Brady on Sunday, their weekly gabs really don’t matter.
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Friday, November 21, 2008
Columbus Calling
The wobbling Wolverines play their archrivals, Ohio State, on Saturday in Columbus. Kickoff is slated for noon, by which time the Buckeyes could be favored by as many points as there are calendar days on game day (22). Ohio State needs to manhandle Michigan if they expect to snare or share the Big Ten title. A Penn State loss to Michigan State combined with a Buckeye win would entitle at least a share of the conference.
The Rich Rodriguez-led Wolverines have a school record 8 dismal losses and yield an average of 28 points per game. Michigan will be seeing that same number 28 in their nightmares if OSU tailback, Chris Wells, has his way Saturday. “Beanie” ran wild against Michigan in 2007 and tends to standout in the rivalry game each year. He scored two touchdowns and ran for 222 yards in the 2007 victory. The 14-3 win meant Wells scored all of Ohio State’s points. The energetic back made a statement his freshmen season when he led the Buckeyes at home with a 52 yard touchdown run in 2006. The Buckeyes certainly know they need to have Beanie on their side tomorrow afternoon.
Ohio State will exercise their 13th nationally ranked defense to stop the maize and blue backup quarterback, Nick Sheridan. Starter, Steve Threet, may or may not play according to Coach Rodriguez. He has an ongoing shoulder injury that has kept him on the sidelines in Michigan’s most disappointing season in a long time. Sheridan is not a pass-happy hauler. His completion percentage is paltry and total yardage through the air almost absent. In fact, Michigan is missing many manufacturers on offense. Ranked 105th in the nation in total offense, the effort from this year’s Wolverines amounts to less than 300 yards per game. The Buckeyes had 305 rushing yards only last week against Illinois and over 440 total three footers when they knocked over and tumbled Northwestern 45-10 in early November. Even when quarterback, Terrelle Pryor isn’t throwing for many gains, the OSU offense finds ways to counter stiff defenses. The line is solid and Pryor has adapted so well to the schemes.
This yearly game tops my list of college football rivalries. It is never dull when Michigan travels to the Horseshoe or the Buckeyes march into the Big House during the last Big 10 game of the year. The Buckeyes are going for their fifth straight win over Michigan this weekend. There are several reasons the Buckeyes will get number five.
Michigan is poor defensively at the tackle position. Wells can break tackles and jump over defensive lineman with the finesse of an Olympic hurdler. That spells disaster for the Wolves’ defense. OSU forces turnovers and that has been a Michigan weakness all year. They have turned the ball over 28 times. There’s that number again.
History shows OSU struggling with spread offenses and Rodriguez practically reinvented the spread. But, I do think the Buckeyes will be able to pressure Sheridan, forcing him to the ground or to fumble the football. The running game for Michigan is not stellar and with the veteran OSU unit at linebacker, the Wolves will struggle to penetrate. Ohio State can disrupt the rhythm of the Michigan offense. Special teams for Michigan are another problem and I think the Buckeyes kicking game will be important. They need to keep the Wolves deep into their own territory and not allow long yardage.
There are bigger games on this weekend’s schedule. Texas Tech and Oklahoma will be storming in Norman and the Spartans look to spearhead Penn State’s Rose Bowl hopes tomorrow. But Michigan-Ohio State is the king of all rivalries despite the team records and stakes. It’s the 105th game of the heated rivalry. Candor Coach Tressel never loses to Michigan but this is Rodriguez’s initiation to the rivalry. Anything can happen.
Parting Points: “I do not believe in ogres, nor soothsayers, nor in supernatural things.”-Robert Jordan, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
The Rich Rodriguez-led Wolverines have a school record 8 dismal losses and yield an average of 28 points per game. Michigan will be seeing that same number 28 in their nightmares if OSU tailback, Chris Wells, has his way Saturday. “Beanie” ran wild against Michigan in 2007 and tends to standout in the rivalry game each year. He scored two touchdowns and ran for 222 yards in the 2007 victory. The 14-3 win meant Wells scored all of Ohio State’s points. The energetic back made a statement his freshmen season when he led the Buckeyes at home with a 52 yard touchdown run in 2006. The Buckeyes certainly know they need to have Beanie on their side tomorrow afternoon.
Ohio State will exercise their 13th nationally ranked defense to stop the maize and blue backup quarterback, Nick Sheridan. Starter, Steve Threet, may or may not play according to Coach Rodriguez. He has an ongoing shoulder injury that has kept him on the sidelines in Michigan’s most disappointing season in a long time. Sheridan is not a pass-happy hauler. His completion percentage is paltry and total yardage through the air almost absent. In fact, Michigan is missing many manufacturers on offense. Ranked 105th in the nation in total offense, the effort from this year’s Wolverines amounts to less than 300 yards per game. The Buckeyes had 305 rushing yards only last week against Illinois and over 440 total three footers when they knocked over and tumbled Northwestern 45-10 in early November. Even when quarterback, Terrelle Pryor isn’t throwing for many gains, the OSU offense finds ways to counter stiff defenses. The line is solid and Pryor has adapted so well to the schemes.
This yearly game tops my list of college football rivalries. It is never dull when Michigan travels to the Horseshoe or the Buckeyes march into the Big House during the last Big 10 game of the year. The Buckeyes are going for their fifth straight win over Michigan this weekend. There are several reasons the Buckeyes will get number five.
Michigan is poor defensively at the tackle position. Wells can break tackles and jump over defensive lineman with the finesse of an Olympic hurdler. That spells disaster for the Wolves’ defense. OSU forces turnovers and that has been a Michigan weakness all year. They have turned the ball over 28 times. There’s that number again.
History shows OSU struggling with spread offenses and Rodriguez practically reinvented the spread. But, I do think the Buckeyes will be able to pressure Sheridan, forcing him to the ground or to fumble the football. The running game for Michigan is not stellar and with the veteran OSU unit at linebacker, the Wolves will struggle to penetrate. Ohio State can disrupt the rhythm of the Michigan offense. Special teams for Michigan are another problem and I think the Buckeyes kicking game will be important. They need to keep the Wolves deep into their own territory and not allow long yardage.
There are bigger games on this weekend’s schedule. Texas Tech and Oklahoma will be storming in Norman and the Spartans look to spearhead Penn State’s Rose Bowl hopes tomorrow. But Michigan-Ohio State is the king of all rivalries despite the team records and stakes. It’s the 105th game of the heated rivalry. Candor Coach Tressel never loses to Michigan but this is Rodriguez’s initiation to the rivalry. Anything can happen.
Parting Points: “I do not believe in ogres, nor soothsayers, nor in supernatural things.”-Robert Jordan, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
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