Michigan football grades: Perfect coaching day from Sherrone Moore vs. Ohio State
Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia grades Michigan football on a scale of A to F after the Wolverines' 30-24 victory vs. the Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium:
Offense: A-
Michigan began the day with two three-and-outs and punted on three of its first five possessions while the longest rush in the first half went for just 5 yards. But the Wolverines settled in and scored on six of their final seven possessions (not counting the kneel down to end it). J.J. McCarthy wasn't asked to win the game, but he made enough plays to play a major role for U-M. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown, which came on a third-and-10 pass to Roman Wilson in double coverage that was "ridiculous," according to acting coach Sherrone Moore. McCarthy also ran our times for 17 yards, which included a key 15-yard scramble midway through the third quarter to set up the final touchdown. Blake Corum, like McCarthy, didn't star but was effective, rushing 22 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns, the first of which set a new program record for most rushing TDs in a season. Donovan Edwards ran 10 times for 31 yards and also completed a 34-yard pass to Colston Loveland on a trick play to open the fourth quarter. Loveland finished with five catches for a game-high 88 yards, In total, Michigan scored 30 points against the No. 2 scoring defense in the country (9.27 points per game).
Defense: B+
SHAWN WINDSOR: Every time Ohio State found something, Michigan found more. It owns this rivalry now.
Michigan was gashed in ways defensively it hadn't been all year. Kyle McCord completed 18 of 30 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. The Buckeyes also had their way on the ground at times, as they ran 28 times for 107 yards (3.8 yards per attempt) and a touchdown in the third quarter that ended with eight consecutive carries before TreVeyon Henderson plowed into the end zone. Even though Michigan gave up what tied for a season-high with 24 points, Jesse Minter's unit forced three punts and a pair of turnovers and that's what changed the tide. U-M's first pick came in the game's opening quarter, when Will Johnson jumped a slant-route by Marvin Harrison Jr. and returned the pick inside OSU's 10. Then, with the game in the balance in the final 30 seconds, Ohio native Rod Moore (five tackles) made a diving interception for the game-sealing play. Junior Colson, who had a cast on his left hand postgame, led U-M with 11 tackles. Kris Jenkins had a season-high five tackles and Mason Graham had a sack.
Special teams: A-
RAINER SABIN: J.J. McCarthy's big step up elevates Michigan to one of the program's biggest victories
James Turner, a transfer from Louisville who was tasked with following the best kicker in program history, couldn't have been more solid in the season's biggest game. Michigan's kicker went 3-for-3 on his field goals and knocked home all three of his PATs, each kick seemingly bigger than the last. His first pressure kick came with 11:43 to go in the third quarter, when he drilled a 50-yarder into the north end zone. He then calmly knocked home kicks from 38 and 37 yards going into the wind in the fourth quarter, the last one which came with 1:05 to play to extend U-M's lead to six. "He was money," Corum said. "Calm, cool and collected. Hit all of 'em. Couldn't ask for a better kicker than my guy, so jolly good fellow to him." Meanwhile, Tommy Doman punted three times for an average of 52 yards and though he only pinned OSU inside its 20 once, it came in timely fashion. In the final minutes of the first half, Doman dropped a punt at the Buckeyes 2. OSU didn't have enough time to drive the length, and was forced to attempt a 52-yard kick, which missed wide left. The lone error was a Doman kickoff that went out of bounds.
Coaching: A
JEFF SEIDEL: Michigan already had motivation vs. Ohio State. Zak Zinter pushed it over the top.
The Wolverines struggled often against the Buckeyes' elite defense as they converted just 3 of 12 third downs on the day, however they stayed aggressive all afternoon. Moore attempted three different fourth-down conversions, each of which was successful. The first, on fourth-and-inches from the goal line which Corum pounded in for the game's opening score. In the second quarter, Corum dove over the pile on fourth-and-1 to move the sticks in Buckeyes territory. Three plays later, McCarthy found Loveland in the flat on fourth-and-1 for a gain of 7 to set up the score to Wilson. Michigan also kept a few plays up its sleeve for this game. The first, when Alex Orji subbed into the game at quarterback and kept the read option to the right side for a gain of 20 — the longest play of the game to that point before Corum's score moments later. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, U-M dialed up a running back pass from Edwards to Loveland for a gain of 34, the longest pass play of the day. "When you have confidence (the players) are going to execute at a high level, it's just like first down," explained Moore. "I told them we were going to be aggressive, wanted to attack it and those guys went out there and played their tails off."
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football grades: Near perfect coaching from Sherrone Moore
