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Posted on Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 3:24 p.m.

Grade the Wolverines and weigh in on whether Ohio State should be eligible for an AP national title

By Pete Cunningham

osu-um-scramble-fumble.jpg

Michigan defenders, from left to right, Desomnd Morgan, Jake Ryan and Thomas Gordon and Ohio State's Corey Brown race to a fumble during Ohio State's 26-21 win on Saturday.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

Ohio State defeated Michigan 26-21 on Saturday and, like it or not, kept its outside chance of winning an Associated Press national championship alive by finishing the season 12-0.

Though the Buckeyes are ineligible to play in the Big Ten championship game or possibly the BCS championship game because of NCAA sanctions, writers with votes in the Associated Press poll are still allowed to vote the Buckeyes No. 1 if they so choose and nothing bars them from crowning Ohio State the national champions.

What if Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Florida, Florida State and every other team with a chance to win the national championship ends the season in historically poor fashion? Will the Buckeyes be No. 1? And should they be allowed to be?

Give us your take and grade the Wolverines' performance against their most hated rivals in our interactive polls:

Should undefeated Ohio State be eligible for an AP National title?

Offense

Michigan looked prolific and explosive in the first half, but stagnant and mistake prone in the second. What stuck out more to you?

Defense

Porous and vulnerable early, the Wolverines defense kept Michigan in the game down the stretch in what could have turned into a blowout.

Special Teams

Special teams came up with a big fumble recovery, but otherwise was a non-factor. But did it look good in being a non-factor?

Coaching

Did you agree with the offensive play calling in the second half?

Overall

Put it all together, and what do you get?

Check out Kyle Meinke's grades for the Wolverines.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. Contact him at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Comments

15crown00

Mon, Nov 26, 2012 : 4:52 p.m.

OSU shouldn't be considered for a National Title. They were bad boys on probation.It's sort of like being put in prison and getting a get out of jail free card for 12 Saturdays during the regular season but going back as soon as the game is over.

lindor

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 8:01 p.m.

Ohio state owned us. Sure they've been sanctioned, etc... What we should be talking about is Urban recruiting and winning first year in with the sanctions. That does not bode well for UM. Hoke is a great guy but is he nothing more than a cheerleader out there who has already made poor decisions on the coaching end. Michigan deserves better than Borges (completely inept), especially compared to Mattison. Looks like we'll remain behind OSU with this nonsense.... 6-6 to 12-0!

edjasbord

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 1:59 p.m.

Mattison deserves a better counterpart than Borges. Hoke needs to man up, do what is best for the program. Be a manager. Borges has failed the test. With him at the helm, we will look at 2 to 4 losses every year. Sound familiar? Upper-level mediocrity.

A2comments

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 12:52 p.m.

The 2nd half was an embarrassment to the team and the coaching. I do question whether Borges knows how to use the talent he has properly. The entire season's strategy was built on Denard running. Gardner was not developed properly, should never have been a receiver, and Robinson never learned how to properly pass the ball.

15crown00

Mon, Nov 26, 2012 : 5 p.m.

you're either a passer or you're not.D Rob clearly wasn't and never will be.Sort of like a baseball player is either a hitter or he's not.U use the skills he has to make him as good a player as he can be.D Rob was a Rich Rod type of QB.Thank goodness the later left the scene.The coaches blew it with Devon for sure but it's always easy to look back after the fact and say "WHAT IF."

lindor

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 8:04 p.m.

Very well said! The decision to put the wrong person at WR shows how inept Borges is. Devin at QB, Denard at RB, WR, etc.... And we have got a shot against everyone (accept maybe Alabama because our coaching showed the last thing we can do is prepare and/or think outside the box.

observer

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 2:05 p.m.

I agree on all counts......also the offensive line was very soft all year......it used to be the staple of the team, but got pushed around....I know they are RR players, but Urban Liar won without his own....

Meral

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 4:32 a.m.

Looks like Borges fell a sleep at the wheel. At the other end O. St personal four of them and one had the binoculars on all the time. What where they trying to do? Read the lips of the coaches. What do you expect from a cheating school? It is a daily life over there. They even invite their old cheating coach to celebrate together.

Engineer

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 2:54 a.m.

Pete, no word yet on a new offensive coordinator? How sad! Our offense has gotten worse under Borges. The defense has made big improvements. We have no offense to go with it. Hoke needs to pull the trigger and upgrade the offense ASAP. This team we lost to today is not all that good and we should have won by a couple scores. Had the lead at half and only gave up 2 field goals all second half. Offense blows and Borges needs to be gone ASAP!!!!!

Engineer

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 2:45 a.m.

Any loss to OSU has got to be a failure. Especially one that the defense tried so hard to get for us. Borges was terrible in his play calling. What happened after last weeks display of creativity? When you are leading at the half and your defense only gives up 2 field goals all of second half you SHOULD win by 2 or 3 scores. Borges NEEDS to go!!!!

Dennis

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 2:21 a.m.

Who doesn't understand the meaning of probation and sanctions? If OSU's administration had any sense they would have imposed the bowl ban on last years 6-6-0 team. Ya think?

A2D2

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 1:14 a.m.

and another thing..... did you know that Michigan offense was ranked 68th in the nation coming into this game, just behind Purdue? The Michigan defense was 16th. . and just for kicks and giggles, Arizona's defense was ranked 114, while its offense was #8......some things never change Rich Rod.

A2D2

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 1:09 a.m.

This is the third game in which our coaching staff laid an egg. Very predictable offense.....and if I can predict it sitting in my Lazy-Boy, then I'm pretty sure that Ohio could, too. Terrible 4th down call (oooh, oooh, I know, I know, let's put our banged up QB out there and run it up the middle - they'll never think of that!!!!). Plus, how many times, Al Borges, can you run 112 pound Vincent Smith up the middle? . Here's how all of Michigan's 2nd half offensive series went: . 1st down: Devin throws 2nd down: Denard runs 3rd down: somebody else runs 4th down: Michigan punts . Hang the Notre Dame loss on Al Borges (pass, Denard, pass) Hang the Nebraska loss on Brady (I'm sure the junior high QB will be fine) Hang the Ohio loss on them both ...........

riverraisin

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 1:05 a.m.

AA.com, I know you will delete this post, but get rid of that ridiculous peel back, turning page ad in the top right hand corner. I try to ignore it but may quit coming to this site altogether if that is going to be the norm. Oh yeah....GoBlue

riverraisin

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 12:45 a.m.

I look at it this way, Ohio will not play in the B1G Championsip nor a bowl game. That equals 2 forfeit losses. How could any team that can't prove they deserve it, be the champs? Michigan did not play with any fire, attitude, or sense of urgency and were outplayed by ohio. I hate to say it, but we would not have deserved the win if we got it. The gameplan in the second half was atrocious. I just don't get Al Borges. We do nothing but lose yardage running up the middle, so what does he call on every 3rd and 2? You guessed it. The result being 4th and 4. He has the 2 best QB's in the B1G and didn't utilize them the way he did last week. This one was just plain frustrating.

Engineer

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 2:56 a.m.

I have to agree about the lack of passion on offense for sure. No buddy stepped up and willed us to a win. Of course I do feel Borge was a big part of it.

Liberty Soule

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 12:44 a.m.

I think we out smarted ourselves. Why in the world was Denard not in the game the whole time, at RB. The Denard offense with our offensive line has been terrible all year. Devin was off today, but that might have been because he kept going in and coming out of the game. As a passing QB it's tough to get in any rhythm when you're being platooned. I like Vincent Smith as a tough blocker, but not a 3rd and two yard RB. Also, Denard is not an up the middle guy on 3rd and two either. Both of these calls and pretty much the rest of the poor second half coaching goes to whoever calls the plays. I'm not sure if that was Borges or Hoke. I think Hoke called the stupid 4th down play in our own end, what was he thinking. If I were him I wouldn't go shakes hand with Urban Meyer, I'd be embarrassed. On a positive note, Coach Mattison (notice how I used "Coach") is doing a hell of job with the UM defense. They will be fun to watch next year. Bo always said, "You win with defense". We should have scored at least once in the second half and won that game. Again, it's back to the poor offensive play calling. We made Luke Fickle look like Coach Mattison, and we all know that isn't true. This one is going to be hard to swallow for a year, but I'm looking for to the bowl game and next year.

observer

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 2:09 p.m.

excellent points.....but if the bowl game is against a SEC team such as Florida etc....it could be a long game, not as bad as Alabama, but close.....

observer

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 10:49 p.m.

I thought they might leave Robinson and Gardner on the field at the same time.....even Spielman mentioned that with Robinson at QB, he posed no threat to pass, so they stacked the line to stop the run....no deception at all.....in the second half, it was almost like they were rotating QBs....very disappointing.....

edjasbord

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.

Yeah, Borges went from having both QBs in at the same time against Iowa to rotating them, which failed last year. Its as if he is obsessed with that approach. Very maladaptive; like you said, very disappointing.

Xgojim

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 10:40 p.m.

Ohio cheated for 10 years. They didn't even deserve to field a team. How could they deserve to qualify for anything this year except for Truck Drivers of the Year?

observer

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 10:50 p.m.

Bottom line is that the Wolverines could not beat them.....

aareader

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 10:29 p.m.

Nice to see OSU is now fully dressed with NO PLACE to GO! Next time, if they play by the rules, folks will give them some respect.... and maybe a bowl berth. If OSU gets recognition for a perfect season .... then all other teams will not have to follow NCAA rules in their quest for players, player conduct etc.

PLGreen

Sun, Nov 25, 2012 : 7:47 p.m.

There is no question OSU did not play by the rules, however the NCAA did not ban them from recognition. This is the fault of the NCAA, no one else.

Barzoom

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 9:47 p.m.

Poor play calling in the second half cost us the game.

golfer

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 9:36 p.m.

to bad it takes two half's to play a game. play calling second half was bad.

MRunner73

Sat, Nov 24, 2012 : 9:30 p.m.

It was a tale of two halfs. Great offense first half, what happened second half. (on offense). The Michigan defense did it's job. I do not point fingers so am befuddled about the play calling in the second half.