Urban Meyer shares what Ohio State is missing vs. Michigan football
No one in Columbus thought Michigan football would ever beat Ohio State again.
There was a sizable talent gap. The Buckeyes took The Game more seriously. It was essentially the state of Ohio’s birthright to beat Michigan. The media agreed, locally and nationally.
Though there was, occasionally, regional hope that the Wolverines could steal one, no one envisioned that the maize and blue would be where they are today: sitting on two convincing wins, including a blowout in Columbus.
Now the Buckeyes are reeling. It has been more than 1,200 days since OSU beat Michigan, dating back to 2019’s 56-27 drubbing in Ann Arbor (the two teams didn’t play in 2020).
Jim Harbaugh appears to have found the formula in the rivalry, and with Ohio State coming back to The Big House in 2023 to face a Michigan team that returns the fifth-most talent in college football, there’s an expectation the Wolverines can make it three wins in a row.
So now the onus is on Ohio State to change. None of these players really know what it’s like to beat Michigan, and Ryan Day is 1-2 against the maize and blue. But Urban Meyer, who went 7-0 against the Wolverines, said last week he knows what the Buckeyes have to do to beat their rival: control the line of scrimmage.
Urban Meyer says controlling the line of scrimmage is the No. 1 thing Ohio State must do to get back to beating Michigan.
He says he has “no doubt” Ryan Day is the right man for the job. pic.twitter.com/6jEYRFApwA
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 14, 2023
In Urban Meyer’s mind, the Ohio State Buckeyes’ strategy to beat Michigan is a simple one: Control the line of scrimmage.
Perhaps it’s easier said than done. But the three-time NCAA champion expounded on Ryan Day’s outlook vs. Michigan, as well as the lively rivalry between the two programs.
“I’m not sure there’s anybody that’s ever respected that rivalry more than I have. … When someone says ‘the team up north wasn’t very good,’ then I would look at them and say ‘you don’t really understand this rivalry,'” Meyer began.
The former Buckeyes coach continued, “It’s one of the top programs in America with a great coach. What have you got to do to beat (Michigan)? You’ve got to control the line of scrimmage.”
As far as doing so in the short term, it appears Michigan has the upper hand. The Wolverines lost two offensive linemen this offseason from the two-time Joe Moore Award-winning unit. Though those were big losses, Rimington Trophy winner Olu Oluwatimi and left tackle Ryan Hayes, Michigan actually has an astounding nine linemen who have started at least one game vying for five spots. Defensively, Michigan lost two edge rushers and defensive tackle Mazi Smith, but it is confident in the ascendancy of Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Rayshaun Benny, Braiden McGregor and Josaiah Stewart.
Conversely, Ohio State appears to be searching for answers on its offensive line and lost a few key pieces on its defensive front. It does have some pieces on Jim Knowles’ second defense, namely in the middle and on the back end, but that isn’t really conducive to doing what Meyer is espousing.
For now, we’ll have to wait until Nov. 25 to find out if OSU has learned any lessons and has the capability of fixing its issues. Meanwhile, Michigan will work to further gain an advantage in the trenches, knowing that the past two years have set the Wolverines apart in both the rivalry and in the conference.
