- With Ohio State, I am wary of letting coverage mirror 2018 when every week seemed to be a referendum on whether or not the Buckeyes could beat Alabama. That is a little too reductionist. That game can’t be played until it is, and all teams develop through the course of the year — perhaps rarely more than this year when there was no spring practice and the preseason was unusual.
- Nonetheless, Ohio State players and coaches alike supported the narrative then and now that they expect to be better than they have been so far this season. Justin Fields and the receivers have been so good it might not matter, but it is still fair to expect more from the defense and perhaps the running game. A spate of penalties on the offensive line Saturday night might also be reason for concern.
- There is a real possibility the secondary just isn’t very good. Not saying I would bet on that yet, but it must be considered. One of the reasons offenses dominate in college football compared to the NFL is most college football teams are bad in coverage. There are only so many good cornerbacks to go around, and time to develop skills and chemistry is limited. Ohio State has new players in new roles (with Shaun Wade moving outside after thriving as the slot corner last season) and a coach who wasn’t here last year, so nothing can be taken for granted. They are going to need time to reach their potential, but maybe the guys there now are a step down from first-rounders Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette (who himself needed four years to reach his potential).
- I had one of these blogs in the works last week that said what’s happening at Michigan was concerning but not to write the Wolverines off yet if for no other reason than they weren’t mathematically out of the conference race yet. After being soundly beaten by Indiana, go ahead and write them off now unless you see Ohio State losing to them and another time while Indiana also goes into a tailspin.
- Stranger things have happened, but it’s hard to see Jim Harbaugh turning it around there, particularly this year. The Wolverines' 2020 season range now appears to be 2008 Michigan to 2004 Ohio State. That Michigan team was the worst in school history, finishing 3-9, while that Ohio State team struggled early but behind an evolving young quarterback finished the season with a flourish (including a stunning blowout of the Wolverines, who have barely ever been the same for what its worth…).
The last time the Ohio State-Michigan series was only separated by six games was after a 40-0 Michigan win in 1905, the year before the forward pass was legalized https://t.co/vImHDXxsz6
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) December 1, 2019
- I’ve wondered for a dozen years or so if Michigan would ever be the program it thought of itself as in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, and at this point I’m about as convinced as ever it won’t. I don’t subscribe to the theory Jim Harbaugh is the only guy who could have saved the Wolverines, but population shifts, recruiting trends and about 15 years of institutional inertia make it hard to see how anyone else can. Ohio State locking down the top players in Ohio and multiple other schools becoming far more competitive for the rest has crippled Michigan. It cut the legs out of Lloyd Carr’s program, and they have never quite figures out how to adjust. Beyond that, strength and conditioning and skill development have not appeared to be anything to write home about since late in the Carr era (which ended more than a dozen years ago in case you forgot).
- The good news for Michigan is the latter theoretically is fixable (lots of programs with a lesser brand name do a better job of developing players even without recruiting many elite players), and the nature of today’s game can make it possible to outperform your average recruiting ranking IF you can secure an elite quarterback. That’s how Clemson got off the ground, and it’s how Oklahoma has remained a perennial playoff participant. (It could also be a trump card for Ryan Day if he isn’t able to maintain Urban Meyer’s recruiting level, but so far it appears Day is just going to do both for good measure.)
- To a certain extent, Harbaugh’s failure at Michigan shouldn’t be terribly surprising. He took over rehab projects at Stanford and San Francisco. He elevated those teams but never won the big one. That is what he has done at Michigan, though the trend is going back downward now. He overachieved his first two years and then wasn’t able to maintain that work despite bringing in a couple of highly regarded recruiting classes.
- Harbaugh’s Michigan teams have followed the classic bully mode in that they beat up weaker opponents but struggle if they get punched in the mouth themselves.
- Michigan does not have the talent to play with Ohio State, but the Wolverines have also been out-toughed by the Buckeyes and more concernedly for Michigan by Wisconsin and Michigan State teams that have similar if not worse rosters than Michigan.
- What dumbfounded me about the Harbaugh hype upon his hiring was people writing about him as if he was on par with Meyer or Nick Saban when he clearly isn’t because, well, he hasn’t accomplished what they’ve accomplished.
- Penn State’s 0-3 start wasn’t on anyone’s radar, particularly after they were worked over by Maryland. James Franklin continues to be a good recruiter and questionable coach — the Bret Bielema of the East? Franklin’s press conferences produce fewer headlines, but he has the same tendency to talk about almost beating Ohio State as if it is a lot more similar to actually beating Ohio State than it really is.
- Indiana is without question a solid team rapidly becoming a solid program under Tom Allen, who has built on the foundation put in place by current Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. The Hoosiers are no longer a punchline on defense, and they have a dynamic quarterback (Michael Penix Jr.) with lots of good weapons at his disposal. The offensive line, another long-time sore spot, has now been pretty good for a good number of years, too.
- Maryland is more of an unknown (they’ve won two in a row but started the season by getting blown out by Northwestern), but we should find out more about them this week. Second-year coach Mike Locksley had a disastrous tenure as head coach at New Mexico, but he’s a Maryland guy known for his offensive and recruiting acumen Chase Young said he might have gone to Maryland if Locksley had been there). He’s got a budding star at quarterback, too, in Taulia Tagovailoa. The Terrapins are not likely true contenders, but they can’t be overlooked, either — especially with Ohio State’s secondary struggling so far this season.
“Marcus Musings” is a semi-regular feature here at the blog. While most of our other coverage is concentrated on news and analysis, this is a place to share opinions on various stories permeating the sports world and (hopefully) have some fun. Have your own thoughts? Send them along to marcus.hartman@coxin.com or find us on Twitter or Facebook.
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