Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott criticizes coaches after loss to Michigan State

He said the junior running back, who announced following the game this is his a year ago at Ohio State, will not be punished or benched against the Wolverines.

Speaking on his upcoming departure, Elliott admitted that his announcement that he will leave Ohio State and has “no chance” of returning at the end of the year was ill-timed. Carrying the ball 12 times during a wet and windy last-second loss was not how he planned to go out.

As you might expect, OH and MI topped the local ratings with Columbus (42.0), Dayton (30.7), Cleveland (28.5), Detroit (26.0), and Cincinnati (17.9) making up the Top 5.

That Elliott intends to turn pro after this season is no surprise. He is easily the best running back in this draft according to Lambert.

He was right. Even Meyer acknowledged it, saying the play calling had been “very conservative”.

Harbaugh, a former Michigan quarterback who has played in the rivalry and famously guaranteed victory in 1986, will coach the Wolverines for the first time in the series when the teams meet on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

Meyer said he regrets not taking a more active role in play-calling as Saturdays game went on, and said he will have more of a role moving forward.

“I don’t know if it’d be the smartest decision for any of us”, he said. It didn’t work out.

“We squashed it as a team”, Meyer said.

For My Take, the biggest disappointment from the Buckeyes loss Saturday to Michigan State actually came after the game. We had a lot of momentum.

“It was even better than Christmas when I was growing up here in Ann Arbor”, Harbaugh said on the Big Ten coaches teleconference.

Nowadays with social media and technology, Harbaugh’s declaration would have raced across the college football landscape at warp speed.

The comments have created a national debate on whether players should publicly criticize coaches in any circumstance.

An 11-1 Ohio State team would at worst be a Rose Bowl candidate that just won its fourth straight game against MI. Eight out of the 10 meetings between Ohio State and MI during the Woody-Bo era featured a matchup of both teams ranked in the top 15. Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said he is not sure where his quarterback’s health now stands. Spartan quarterbacks Tyler O’Connor and Damion Terry split the reps at quarterback against Ohio State.

Ohio State lost 17-14 to Michigan State… sorry The Ohio State lost.

Michigan State’s defensive line dominated OSU’s offensive line. The Spartans turned into an option/quarterback run team. Not a good formula for Penn State late in the season with a banged up roster and struggles on the offensive front.

The final stats certainly reflect it. The Buckeyes finished with just five first downs for the game and just 132 yards total offense and just 46 yards in the air.

What can Ohio State do?

Harbaugh has also changed the direction of MI football immediately. “Whether they are always playing great or whatever, that’s a different answer, and obviously, they are playing very well right now”.