As the ball dropped to ring in 2023, Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles’ 50-yard attempt knuckled wide left to end a classic Peach Bowl. Georgia had only regained the lead for the second time the entire night on an Adonai Mitchell 10-yard touchdown reception 50 seconds prior.
It capped a day where the Big Ten conference became the first conference to send two teams to the College Football Playoff and fail to have either qualify for the National Championship.
Earlier in the evening at the Fiesta Bowl, Michigan seemed to either commit inopportune turnovers or surrender a giant splash play that allowed TCU to maintain a lead, in a game they never trailed in.
“We were one short of executing the touchdown, the turnover. They made their fair share of mistakes. We made ours. They made their big plays. We made our big plays. And we just had one fewer big play, one less misfire,” said Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh following the 51-45 defeat to No. 3 TCU.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Big Ten meltdown from yesterday:
1. JJ McCarthy is still a big question mark
McCarthy’s end-of-game numbers look like he has asserted himself as the quarterback for the Wolverines for the foreseeable future. While 343 yards passing, two touchdown passes, with a QBR of 78.5 look great on the cover, it is when you start reviewing the game you start to ask the questions.
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McCarthy’s two pick-sixes were one of — if not the — main reason Michigan fell to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
Watching the game, it felt McCarthy gain most of his stats in a pseudo-garbage time in the second half after the second interception for a touchdown where TCU enjoyed multiple possession leads.
I never got the feeling McCarthy could complete the comeback, Michigan relies so much on a potent running game that after Donovan Edwards’ first 54-yard burst to open the ball game, the Wolverines’ ground game was held in check averaging 3.4 yards on 39 carries.
I don’t want to use the term “game manager” to describe McCarthy, but he isn’t a quarterback that can bring you back into big games and erase deficits.
While it seems Michigan has “fixed” its Ohio State problem, it still has a problem on the national stage, losing six consecutive bowls, including four NY6 bowls with two CFP appearances. The question still remains is McCarthy the quarterback to reverse the course for the Wolverines on the national stage?
2. CJ Stroud earned his stripes
When you go on a run like Ohio State has for the last two decades within the Big Ten and against Michigan, the standard of excellence is raised. Significantly. C.J. Stroud encountered this firsthand.
After losing back-to-back to Michigan, the whispers around Columbus became more vocal of Stroud possessed the desired traits and had the toughness to win the big games.
While no one will mistake Georgia for Michigan, his play last night was the reason Ohio State could have won the game.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart praised the Buckeyes following a 42-41 win, “Really, I know you don’t believe it, my heart goes out to those guys because they played well enough to win, a lot of credit goes to them.”
Stroud had one of the best games of his career in what most likely will be his last game as a Buckeye. The redshirt sophomore was a true dual threat making plays all over the field, finishing with 348 passing yards and four touchdowns on better than 10 yards per attempt while also running for 34 yards.
While he may never be regarded in the same vein as those who beat Michigan, Stroud did everything and then some to try to will the Buckeyes to a berth in the National Championship Game and that earned him his stripes from his harshest critics.
3. Ohio State ran out of bullets
During last night’s telecast, Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler kept mentioning that Ryan Day said they needed 40 to 45 points to win the game. Early in the game, the broadcast duo seemed to scoff at the notion that was not even possible against the impenetrable Bulldogs’ defense.
As the game progressed, however, Ohio State proved it could move the ball at will, and this was without wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and running back TreVeyon Henderson.
The first blow to the Ohio State arsenal was when tight end Cade Stover left the game with a back injury deemed severe enough by the Ohio State medical staff to rush him to a local hospital.
The true death blow however came with 37 seconds in the third quarter on a third and goal, Stroud floated a pass to the back of the end zone trying to locate Marvin Harrison Jr. Harrison was met by Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard who laid a legal hit that concussed Harrison and he did not return the rest of the way.
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“I was told that it was not targeting, that [Harrison] didn’t take a shot to the head, which is hard for — I didn’t see it, so I don’t know,” Day said after the game. “But to get a concussion and not get hit in the head — I have to see the replay.”
For Stroud losing two key weapons in his arsenal helped simplify the defensive strategy with Georgia.
Harrison commanded extra attention throughout the first half, opening the up for fellow receivers Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming.
By the end of the game, Stroud simply ran out of bullets in his chamber forcing him to effectively go it alone and ultimately come up just short.
But, It is also a reminder of just how deep Ohio State is. To have four key pieces not play and still push the defending national champions to the brink is impressive in itself. And while there are no moral victories at this level, the Peach Bowl loss was as close to one as you are going to find.
4. Michigan’s questionable strategy and decisions
There were many reasons why Michigan lost at the Fiesta Bowl.
Turnovers — especially McCarthy’s pick sixes — are a primary reason. So too was poor red zone execution on offense.
However, the other major takeaway I had was several head-scratching coaching decisions by Jim Harbaugh and his staff.
The first time I scratched my head was on the opening drive when Michigan decided to go for it on fourth and goal from the TCU two-yard line.
With a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line, and a ground game that already gashed the Horned Frogs for 69 yards on the opening drive it would seem obvious to continue to run the ball. Instead, the Wolverines opted for a trick play on fourth and goal that the Horned Frogs’ defense read right away and sacked Colston Loveland for an eight-yard loss.
Harbaugh commented on the play call after the game, “Because we thought it would work. I take full responsibility for it not working and should have had something different called. Put that one on me. They had it wired and they had it well-defended. Sitting here now, definitely wish I would have called a different one.”
As the Horned Frogs mounted multiple possession leads, it seemed like Michigan’s offense was looking for the home run to get back into it, when it had plenty of time on the clock. It seemed nothing was available intermediate or short putting McCarthy at a disadvantage.
However, the most egregious strategy and decisions came late in the fourth quarter as Michigan would get it to a one-possession game. They wasted so much time with substitutions and time getting to the ball. Harbaugh and his staff seemed completely unfamiliar with what to do in these situations. The Wolverines easily gave away 90 seconds of game clock through this poor execution. Scoring before the four-minute mark was imperative to getting the ball back.
Lastly, some will criticize Harbaugh’s use of timeouts at the end of the game. This is actually the one time I agreed with Harbaugh’s logic.
If you believe your defense can make a stand, you can aid your offense with the timeouts available to you.
If TCU was able, and it did get a first down on the first three plays, you as a defense get a read on what TCU will call and have the full array of timeouts at your use. Which again Michigan did.
The issue with this strategy is that Michigan does not have the offense to go the length of the field in 45 seconds. Michigan is a run-first team, it isn’t as adept when they need to be one-dimensional and pass on every down to score quickly.
5. The Big Ten proved it belonged
After a day where the two College Football Playoff semifinal games put up a combined 179 points, 2,016 total yards, and plenty of riveting action, it proved in this field the committee was right by putting in two Big Ten teams and had the right field of four in.
Traditionally the semifinal games have been anticlimactic and the great game was the exception to the rule.
This year, fans were treated to some of the best football they’d seen all season.
While the Big Ten doesn’t shake its lack of winning big game tag, it softened the harshness of the blow by the way the games were played and how exciting they were.
There was much debate in my house as the clock neared midnight. Do we watch the ball drop? Or watch Noah Ruggles kick the field goal?
That sort of excitement is what the sport needs more than ever.
Sometimes in these games, an element of luck is needed to get over the top.
Georgia sniffed out Ohio State’s fake punt attempt in the nick of time with a timeout. Had Ohio State gotten the snap off before the timeout, they clearly would have gotten the first down, leading to who knows what kind of momentum for the Buckeyes. That could have been game over right then and there with that kind of momentum.
For the Wolverines, wide receiver Roman Wilson being a few more inches into the end zone would have been a touchdown. But instead in a twist of fate, Kalel Mullings’ fumble took points away from the Wolverines.
At some point, the Big Ten will get it right. But for now, the league justified its presence for arguably the best semifinal round the playoff has seen in its young history.
