Knowles dared JJ to beat them with cover zero.
Harbaugh managed to “break” Ryan Day with his comments last year. He has truly created John Cooper 2.0, and it all started with Covid year.
Day has been so intensely focused on running the ball and stopping the run- all season- that he abandoned who he, their identity, how they got there. If you win- who cares if your a “ finesse” team? You recruited great skill players. That doesn’t mean they are not tough.
That’s what made the game so hard to watch. You could see it on the players and staff of the UM players- after Corum went out and Michigan couldn’t run it at all. They knew they were in trouble.
Then OSU had them in 3rd and nine in their own territory, and played a blitz with zero safeties back. UM hits that little out pass, needs to break one tackle and ties the game at 10.
That breathed life into the UM bench, and planted the first seeds of doubt in the OSU bench.
Unbelievably- and Klatt said this- OSU did not change up their defensive scheme. The ONLY thing that could really hurt OSU was deep balls. Yet they stayed with and gave up another. Johnson was so wide open that even a floating wobbler that made him have to slow down and wait- was still an easy TD. Again- more belief on one side of the field, and doubt on the other.
Still- a very close game at half. But somehow, inexplicably- Knowles starts the second half with the same cover Zero- and again, UM gets a TE waaaayyy behind the defense. Another easy throw any HS QB could make, and a lead UM would never relinquish. As Booger McFarland and Klatt said- all OSU needed to do was play a tight zone- make JJ throw into tight windows and drive the whole field, something he struggled with all season.
Meanwhile- Day turtles up and wants to prove how tough they are, and run. He never attacked with his prized assassin of a QB/WRs. He made OSU easy to defend.
you could read the players faces and the coaches faces and the game is pretty much over at that point. The long runs at the end we’re nothing more than adding salt in a wound, and ironically was Michigan’s offensive coordinator taking advantage of the cover zero by motioning a player and leaving the right edge totally unguarded past the line of scrimmage. It was so bad that they ran that play three times. Got long touchdowns on two of them and almost broke one for a long touchdown in between. And still- Knowles never changed the defensive play calls.
Congratulations to you Michigan folks and I mean that sincerely. The game yesterday was an eerie reminder of the Cooper years for those of us who were fans back then. Ohio State clearly had the horses to beat Michigan and probably substantially. But the coaches choked up and their tense approach to this game and the in game results made the players choke up as well.
Harbaugh, in three short years ( and I include the Covid year as that’s what started it) Has turned his weakness into his strength. He was 0-5
Versus OSU. Now he is 2-5, but clearly owns the space in Day’s head. You have to tip your hat to him.
He created a self fulfilling prophecy in Day’s head.