What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder — The Game Edition

I know the mood inside the Woody is just about what you’d want. I was told by somebody who was in there this week that the guys were “f***ing intense.” No surprise. That was on Tuesday. Before the most physical practice of the week. The hope was also that it would be one of the cleanest practices of the year.

I think there’s a benefit in having a quarterback in charge who has never lost to his rival. Will Howard hasn’t seen a loss to Michigan. There’s no, “Oh no, here we go again” feeling if things start poorly. If the 10-0 start at Penn State didn’t get to him, I wouldn’t expect a slow start tomorrow to affect him either.

I wonder if the rumors are true that Colston Loveland is out this week. Loveland is more than just Michigan’s top tight end – he’s also their top wide receiver. He’s the only physical matchup for a cornerback that Michigan employs. They like to talk about 6-foot-3 Amorion Walker as if he’s this up-and-coming possibility, but he still only has three catches on the season. Loveland is the only chain-moving X receiver on the roster.

I know that I’ll be disappointed in Chip Kelly if Ohio State opens the game by trying to establish the run up the middle. There’s plenty of time to find out if that works. Why not go where you know success is waiting and just throw the ball? And make sure you throw past the sticks on third down.

I think if Ryan Day and Chip Kelly get too hung up on “run the ball, win the game,” they’ll leave a bunch of first downs on the field. For as important as running the ball has been in this rivalry, if Will Howard has time to throw, Michigan is in big trouble. They need to get after him like Ohio State got after Kurtis Rourke last week.

I wonder if Donovan Jackson is ready for the speed rush of defensive end Josiah Stewart. Stewart is listed at 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds. He’s linebacker-sized, just like Penn State’s Abdul Carter. Jackson has now had four games under his belt at left tackle, so he’s better equipped now to handle Stewart, but don’t be shocked when he loses some. When that happens, Will Howard has to protect the ball. A short field for Michigan is exactly what will keep them in the game – and if it’s close in the fourth quarter, weird stuff can happen.

To read the rest of this edition of What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder, you can click here, but you’ll need to be a premium subscriber. Additional topics include the impact of mistakes, Michigan’s need for trickery, Will Howard’s experience, Michigan’s lack of confidence, Michigan’s lack of playmakers, Ohio State stretching the field horizontally and vertically, the impact of tempo, the abundance of mismatches, the demeanor of the Buckeyes this week, and much more.