Rival Rewind: Ohio Gives Up, ND Gets Revenge on Sparty
When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan.
Last week, we saw Ohio State nearly lose to Toledo, while Michigan State stomped Florida Atlantic and Notre Dame lost to our beloved Wolverines. We all got the sense that Ohio State was nowhere near as good as it has been for the past decade and was ripe for a loss. We also felt that Michigan State hadn’t been tested yet this season and if Notre Dame could find a way to stop shooting itself in the foot, it was capable of beating the Spartans. Did any of that come to fruition? Let’s see.
 Ohio State: Lost to Miami 6-24Record: 2-1 In Week 1, Ohio State dominated Akron, but in Week 2, the Buckeyes struggled against a good Toledo team. It showed signs of weakness that made the Buckeyes ripe for a loss when they traveled to Miami for a return matchup with the Hurricanes. That came true as Ohio State was never really in the game from the start and showed little signs of fight in a 24-6 loss in the Cheat and Still Suck Bowl or Ineligibowl or whatever name is most appropriate. The Buckeyes were held to just 209 yards of total offense from a Miami defense that gave up 499 in a 32-24 loss to Maryland in Week 1. Quarterback Joe Bauserman, who played efficiently enough in the first two games, completed just 2-of-14 passes for 13 yards in this one. Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller completed just 2-of-4 for 22 yards and an interception. This against a Miami defense that allowed Maryland to pass for 348 in Week 1. Miami scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, while forcing Ohio State into three-and-outs on each of its first two. However, it wasn’t as if the Hurricanes turned in a flawless performance. Quarterback Jacory Harris tossed two interceptions but the Buckeyes weren’t able to capitalize. Ohio State rushed the ball fairly well, with Jordan Hall gaining 87 yards on 14 carries (6.2 ypc) and Carlos Hyde picking up another 54 yards on 12 carries (4.5 ypc). But the passing game wasn’t working, which allowed Miami to stuff the run and keep the Buckeyes out of the end zone. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the game was that interim head coach Luke Fickell seemingly gave up with a couple minutes left, trailing 17-6, and all three timeouts remaining. Fickell chose not to stop the clock even once as Miami drove for the final score – this a week after Michigan scored two touchdowns in the final 1:13 to beat Notre Dame. With the loss, Ohio State fell out the national rankings for the first time since Nov. 21, 2004 when it entered after beating Michigan. Ohio State now has a quarterback situation on its hands with Colorado coming to town. The Buffaloes are just 1-2, having lost to Hawaii, Cal (in OT), and beaten Colorado State. Next: Saturday v. Colorado (1-2) - 3:30pm on ABC
 OSU dropped its first road game to an unranked non-conference opponent in 23 years |
 Michigan State: Lost to Notre Dame 13-31Record: 2-1 After rolling through two cupcakes in the first two weeks of the season, Michigan State traveled to South Bend to take on a Notre Dame team that played well in two season-opening losses. Though the Spartans outgained the Irish 358-275, nearly all of it was through the air and MSU wasn’t able to turn the yards into points. ND stuffed the Spartan run game, holding Le’Veon Bell and Edwin Baker to a combined 53 yards on 17 carries (3.1 ypc). In MSU’s first two games, it averaged 213 rushing yards per game, but it struggled to just 29 against ND. Michigan gained 114 against the Irish in Week 2, mostly by Denard Robinson. One bright spot for the Spartans was the combination of quarterback Kirk Cousins and receiver B.J. Cunningham. The two connected 12 times for 158 yards. Unfortunately for the Spartans, 12 penalties and a pair of turnovers were enough to keep them from winning. State now hosts Central Michigan, who beat South Carolina State and lost to Kentucky and Western Michigan. It should be another easy win for MSU before a big showdown in Columbus a week later. Next: Saturday v. Central Michigan (1-2) – 12pm on ESPNU
 B.J. Cunningham was the lone bright spot for Sparty at Notre Dame (photo by Michael Conroy, AP)
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Notre Dame: Beat Michigan State 31-13 Contrary to what was written about Michigan State above, Notre Dame entered the matchup hungry for a win after two heartbreaking losses and finally strung together a good enough game to get the win. Cierre Wood scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and George Atkinson III took a kickoff back 89 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Tommy Rees had a more consistent game than a week ago, completing 18-of-26 passes for 161 yards, a touchdown and an interception. It was the Irish defense that deserves the most praise for this win, shutting down the Spartan run game, and picking off Kirk Cousins inside the five-yard line to seal the win. This result can be looked at two ways for Michigan: bad that State lost since Michigan can’t hand them their first loss, or good because it proves they are beatable. I prefer the latter because Michigan already beat Notre Dame. This gives UM confidence that it can go in and beat MSU by shutting down the running game like ND did. This week, ND travels to Pittsburgh who gave up a huge lead in losing to Iowa last week. Next: Saturday at Pittsburgh (2-1) – 12pm on ABC
 ND's Robert Blanton sealed the win with an INT (photo by John Gress, Getty Images)
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