Ohio State Vs Michigan: Days After

Now that it has been a few days and the emotion has worn off for both sides, let’s talk about what we saw in the 2023 edition of The Game. As we know the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes for the third straight season and 3 of the last 11 attempts. This year’s game was a lot closer than the previous two as the final score was 30-24. It was actually a little surprising to me that it was a closer game than last year, especially because the Wolverines have over 40 seniors on this squad, they were playing at home, and the Buckeyes were led by a quarterback a little rough around the edges and playing in this game and in Ann Arbor for the first time. That’s usually a recipe for a blowout. OSU’s quarterback Kyle McCord did very well, although you could tell at times it seemed the atmosphere and moment seemed a little big for him. The one thing I think we can all agree on is this year, UM beat us fair and square, and we have to stand on that.

This rivalry has always had each side going on runs over the years and it just happens to be Michigan’s turn to go on that run. That is also what makes rivalries so good. They wouldn’t exist if one side won all the time. Eight games in a row most recently was putting in danger of being nothing. It was finally back 3 years ago and as much as Buckeyes fans hate, they just need to endure until the tide turns again which it always does and always will. Michigan didn’t turn the ball over and they won the ground game. Those are the things both coaches wanted to do, because those are the things that win the game. They did it and OSU didn’t. Nobody was overly spectacular in the game, but the Wolverines didn’t shoot themselves in the foot and sometimes that is all it takes. They managed the clock and managed the game enough to win by 22 yards. JJ McCarthy is a very good game manager and they can always count on Blake Corum to get them the needed yards. Nobody needs to act like they didn’t deserve to win this specific game, because they did deserve it, and they did win and it is just time to move forward.