And even though their season is not over with this loss, because a loss to number nine ranked MI State is not a bad loss in the eyes of the committee, some of the Ohio State players are acting like it is. Carrying the ball 12 times during a wet and windy last-second loss was not how he planned to go out. Last week’s 17-14 defeat to MI State was the seniors’ fourth loss in 52 games.
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By the way, when I say Peppers is getting involved in the run game, I’m no longer just talking about a special package; he’s coming in as a regular tailback from time to time. I couldn’t disagree with him, his comments, that he should have gotten the ball a little bit more.
That Elliott intends to turn pro after this season is no surprise. He is the most talented running back prospect in the 2016 class and his comments from Saturday won’t change that. “We do not condone that”, Meyer said during his weekly news conference Monday. It didn’t work out. It was the first time in 16 games that Elliott finished under 100 rushing yards.
I’m sure the majority of college football fans counted MI State out of everything when they were upset by Nebraska in controversial fashion a few short weeks ago, but with one game remaining, the Spartans control their own destiny in the Big Ten following a stunning upset over Ohio State this past Saturday. “I’m disappointed in the situations that we were put in, and I wish it all played out differently”. So the finger will be pointed right here. That decade, of course, featured arguably the two most prominent figures in each university’s football program to date – Ohio State’s Woody Hayes and Michigan’s Bo Schembechler.
The Buckeyes’ 23-game winning streak? Statements like these are typically made after the final game of the season, when there is no more games to be played. Last year, offensive coordinator Tom Herman helped Ohio State smoothly move from Braxton Miller to J.T. Barrett to Cardale Jones at quarterback. The Buckeyes might not be officially buried, but they are in critical condition. It marked the Spartans’ second straight win in Ohio Stadium (10-7 win in 2011).
The key matchup will be the Spartans’ offensive line against Penn State’s stellar defensive line led by the nation’s sack leader, Carl Nassib. “We tend to make things bigger than they are”. So it was OK for MI State to pass in the rain, with a backup quarterback, no less, but not for the Buckeyes? The Spartans displayed outstanding gap integrity every time the Buckeyes tried to run wide. “And we’re going to do our best to get ready to play this week”. The Buckeyes were squarely in the national title and CFP picture. I don’t know what they were seeing. Go figure, but it likely cost Ohio State the football game. At least not like this. And in our house and our community, as Bob Ufer put it, it was a “dastardly deed” and a day that would ‘live in infamy.’ That was my first experience in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. Will they at MI?
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A very isolated incident, Meyer said.
