Ohio State’s offense better wake up against Michigan because legacy is on the line: Stephen Means’ Halftime Thoughts

On By Littum

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard was knocked out of the game as Ohio State trailed Michigan 7-3 in the second quarter, forced to miss a game with a head injury. He then spent the next 10 minutes (real time) of his life fighting to get his helmet back.

He implored the coaching staff, the referees, his teammates and even the crowd to join him in his cause. A game he eventually won, missing just one play, when Devin Brown handed off the ball to Quinshon Judkins for a fourth-down conversion.

It was cool, and basically what makes rivalries so much fun. All the emotions and vibes fill you with a level of anxiety that makes you step away for a second to calm yourself.

It’s the type of moment you can build a legacy off of, and Howard is sure to do just that if the Buckeyes pull off this win. But all that feeling means nothing if you can’t channel it into something tangible. That’s what’s missing today for OSU.

Ohio State continues to run its head against the wall trying to establish a running game that has been non-existent against its rival for four years. As a result, it was 14 carries for 36 yards (2.6 yards per carry). The defense keeps giving the Buckeyes chances, but they can’t rely on that forever, and a 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl last season proved that.

Perhaps part of the addiction is being unsure of where their quarterback’s head is – literally and figuratively – and as a result, the ability to hit open receivers may not be where they need it to be. But even then, it wasn’t that off base, going 12 of 18 for 119 yards and the touchdown that allowed them to go into halftime tied at 10 points. Howard’s only real mistake came long before he got hurt, and was the reason for Michigan’s touchdown by winding up the Wolverines with best field position.

Whatever the reason, the Buckeyes need to figure it out because there is so much at stake if they don’t. They have spent 11 months discussing the importance of today and how everything that has happened was a direct result of getting on the field at this moment.

They don’t want to blow it by being stubborn and believing that emotion is all it takes to win. Emotions must turn into execution in the second half. Unless Ohio State wants some other kind of emotion to be born out of it.

The Buckeyes signed a veteran quarterback and spent 11 months turning him into an NFL quarterback. Now he is fighting to put an end to their football trauma. Let him do it. Instead of trying to prove something to ghosts thanks to games, they can’t come back.