Matt Weiss said Michigan's offense beat OSU's defense with 'Day 1 training camp stuff'

Colin Gay, The Columbus Dispatch
·4 min read

Michigan football’s offense took control of the game from Ohio State’s defense Saturday.

The Wolverines scored 45 points on 530 offensive yards, with five big-play touchdowns of 40 yards or longer, including two runs by running back Donovan Edwards for 160 combined yards. With it, Michigan recorded the 45-23 victory against Ohio State, the Wolverines' second-straight win against the Buckeyes and its first inside Ohio Stadium since 2000.

But while previewing the Wolverines’ Big Ten championship matchup with Purdue Saturday, co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss also revisited Michigan's win over OSU, and he said his team didn’t have to bring out much against the Buckeyes.

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“We were ready for everything: for overtime, for a two-point shootout, whatever came up,” Weiss said. “A lot of the big plays we hit (were) base, Day 1 training camp stuff.”

For Weiss, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s first touchdown pass to wide receiver Cornelius Johnson was a perfect example. He said it happened because of a check by the quarterback identifying a zero blitz, throwing a hitch route as he drifted away from the free rusher leading to a 69-yard score.

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Ohio State's defense was different than what Michigan expected

Ohio State’s defensive game plan, Weiss said, was not what Michigan expected to see. He maintained the Buckeyes showed more “off-coverage on tape.”

“Just the way that they played us, no one had really tried to do that,” Weiss said. “There’s very few teams that really came up and played with no depth in the defense and sold out to stop the run. That’s not something that we had seen. The way that they played created a bit of opportunity.”

Against Ohio State, McCarthy threw for 263 yards, throwing three touchdown passes to Johnson and Colston Loveland on 45-yard passes or more, a deep ball, Weiss said, Michigan sees “every day in practice.”

After finding success with his arm, McCarthy helped open up the run game, leading an offense that recorded 252 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries.

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“That’s just disheartening,” Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said after the game. “Obviously, I have to take the blame for that. I should. Just got to do a better job. The story of explosive plays, I thought we matched well. … We matched through the course of the game, but too many explosives, and that’s disheartening for not just the defense, but the team, the fans. And I have to take responsibility for that.”

For Weiss, Michigan’s victory against Ohio State was an “epic team win," and one where he saw players on offense and defense play with joy, even when the game was still undecided.

“You look down at our sideline during timeouts and our guys were dancing up and down the sideline, you got Trevor Keegan playing air guitar on a critical third down when they were playing AC/DC,” Weiss said. “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

College football rankings 2022

Here's a look at the College Football Playoff's fifth ranking of the 2022 season.

  1. Georgia (12-0)

  2. Michigan (12-0)

  3. TCU (12-0)

  4. USC (11-1)

  5. Ohio State (11-1)

  6. Alabama (10-2)

  7. Tennessee (10-2)

  8. Penn State (10-2)

  9. Clemson (10-2)

  10. Kansas State (9-3)

  11. Utah (9-3)

  12. Washington (10-2)

  13. Florida State (9-3)

  14. LSC (9-3)

  15. Oregon State (9-3)

  16. Oregon (9-3)

  17. UCLA (9-3)

  18. Tulane (10-2)

  19. South Carolina (8-4)

  20. Texas (8-4)

  21. Notre Dame (8-4)

  22. UCF (9-3)

  23. North Carolina (9-3)

  24. Mississippi State (8-4)

  25. NC State (8-4)

Ohio State football's 2022 schedule

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Michigan OC Matt Weiss beat Ohio State football's defense