| 28 November 2010
I have to admit to being worried the way this one started. If you go back and look at the season, early success was key to Pryors performance. He did not have that on Saturday. First pass of the game sailed over the receivers head. The second play we have a missed block that leads to a tackle for loss. On third down Pryor throws underneath to Boren. Three and out on the first series which included a bad throw and a bad decision by Pryor. On defense we come out and tackle poorly, something that continued throughout the half. The thought that we were due for an upset in The Game crept into my thinking.
When we went up 10-0 I thought all was right in the world but another round of poor tackling allowed Michigan to go right down the field to cut the lead but it set the stage for us to put them away. The kick return by Jordan Hall was the back breaker. He had been so close to breaking one all year. He finally did so on the biggest of stages. How solid has Hall been in the kicking game. One of the arguments for
Glenvilles Shane Wynn has been his kick return ability. Hall is going to be hard to beat out. He is making great decisions on fielding punts and when he does field the ball he is not bobbling the ball. Any yardage on kick returns is extra. Securing the change of possession is the most critical element. You are not going to find someone better than Hall, and he has been getting us some yardage too.
The seniors showed up on defense today. I felt like Brian Rolle, Jermale Hines and Cam Heyward left Ohio stadium on a high note, all having senior year Michigan games that they will not forget. Hines has been solid his entire career. There have been some times when being a 215 lb middle linebacker has been a problem for Rolle but he has been solid. In recent games he has been outstanding. Cam Heyward has been a fan favorite ever since he came here. This was not the senior year we wanted but in the last few weeks he has been the player we had hoped he would be. Great game yesterday for these seniors. I thought Nate Williams had his best game in over a month. Early on he looked like the best lineman on the defense. He completely disappeared for weeks. Yesterday he returned to the form that had some speculating about him leaving early.
The player I want to talk about is Travis Howard. His development throughout the year has been something to watch. He showed flashes of being a future starter mixed in with too many bad plays as the year started. We all saw him getting chewed out on the sideline in one of the early games. A couple of weeks ago I noted that he was making as many good plays as bad. Now he is making more good plays than bad plays. Yesterday I can't recall a single play off the top of my head where I asked myself what was he thinking. He is a good sized corner that does not mind mixing it up. I think we are solid with him at one corner next year. On the other end of the spectrum we have Ohrian Johnson. He forced a fumble yesterday. That does not make up for the missed tackles and bad reads. We have to be better at free safety next year. Can't wait to see Barnett back in there.
Mike Adams gave up a sack yesterday. It has been a few games since that has happened. No doubt the most improved player on this football team. The offensive line in general has been a strength of this team. Always solid and more often than not outstanding. I think because of Pryor we will never know how good they could have been because we did not run the ball as much as we would have without such a threat at quarterback. I think this line, we a good back like Herron, could have put up the best rushing numbers we have seen from a Buckeye team in the digital age.
Who was that wearing number 8 yesterday? It sure looked like a player we thought could be an early entry player. He caught everything thrown his way for the first time all year and made something happen after the catch. Sanzenbacher is just a solid guy all the way around. As a freshman he had some drops. I can't recall the last time he dropped a ball. Outstanding senior year and I would say outstanding career. I would say a great decision by the staff to take a kid who was not going to knock anyones socks off with his measurables.
Great season by this team. I know it will always be remembered for what could have been. Maybe adding a Sugar Bowl or Orange win to the year will make fans stop looking at what could have been and see what was a really memorable year.
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