Ohio State's talent rises to topple rival Michigan regularly

Posted November 28, 2019 6:00 am

By LARRY LAGE

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2019, file photo, Ohio State defensive end Chase Young rushes against Northwestern during the second half of an NCAA college football game, in Evanston, Ill. Young got back on the field, and immediately back into the Heisman Trophy race. In his return from a two-game NCAA suspension, he had three sacks among nine tackles in the Buckeyes' win over Penn State last Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) The Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Ohio State has turned one of the greatest rivalries in sports into a one-sided series against Michigan by simply having more talent on the field.

That seems to be true throughout the rosters and it makes the largest difference on the offensive and defensive lines, where the biggest players on the field can control The Game.

The Buckeyes (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) are the top team in the College Football Playoff rankings and are No. 2 in The Associated Press poll at least in part because Urban Meyer left first-year coach Ryan Day with a roster full of highly touted recruits.

Jim Harbaugh, meanwhile, has been unable to match his style points on the recruiting trail with enough significant signings to beat Ohio State on the field.

Michigan's coach was hailed as the man who could make college football's winningest program respectable in The Game again, but he has fallen short four times.

The 10th-ranked Wolverines (9-2, 6-2, No. 13 CFP) are certainly not devoid of game-changing players, but they have not matched up well with their rivals in the past and that's not expected to change Saturday at home.

Recruiting rankings help to explain why Ohio State has won seven consecutive games for the second time in 15 years and is a victory away from a school-record winning streak in the series.

Michigan had the better recruiting class earlier this year for the first time since 2010, according to 247 Sports composite rankings, and those talented freshmen aren't enough to overcome the sea of five-star players with superior size and skill in scarlet and gray.

The Buckeyes, however, are on pace to have a recruiting class rated higher than Michigan's in 2020.

Day said he keeps close tabs on the Wolverines' recruiting efforts, posting a list of their prospects for his staff to see.

'œCompare our guys to theirs just about every day, every week,'ť he said.

Day said Michigan's recruiting outlook have been posted in Ohio State's facility since he was an assistant for Meyer.

'œIt just gives you some awareness of where we're at, the battles that we're in against certain guys,'ť he said. 'œWe rank our people. We just want to always know exactly who those guys are because we know we're going to be playing them. That's what's important.'ť

Ohio State lost a star on the defensive line when Nick Bosa chose to enter the NFL draft last year before his senior season, but the program had plenty of players to fill in.

Chase Young was ranked No. 7 overall coming out of high school and has developed into a Heisman Trophy candidate. Fellow defensive end Zach Harrison was rated as the top recruit at his position last year, No. 12 overall, and he hasn't even cracked the starting lineup.

On offense, sophomore guard Wyatt Davis was a five-star recruit ranked as the top player at his position and has lived up to the billing.

Michigan has a quartet of four-star recruits and a three-star prospect among its starting offensive linemen.

Senior guard Ben Bredeson, a second-team All-America player last year, is the best of the bunch and was rated No. 39 overall coming out of high school in Wisconsin.

Michigan's big guys up front gave quarterback Shea Patterson enough time to throw the last two weeks that he became the first player in school history to throw four-plus touchdown passes in two straight games.

'œAt times, throughout the season, it has felt like 7-on-7,'ť Patterson said. 'œA lot of credit goes to those guys.'ť

The Wolverines signed some of the top recruits in the country to play on the defensive line when they landed Rashan Gary and Aubrey Solomon, but Gary skipped his senior year to enter the draft and Solomon transferred to Tennessee.

That left four- and three-star recruits - Kwity Paye, Carlo Kemp and Aidan Hutchinson - none of whom was ranked among the top 100 overall to match up with elite talent on the other side of the line.

'œLast year, they had a really good front last year, so they were able to run a lot of different stuff,'ť Davis said. 'œNot saying that they don't have a great front this year, they do.'ť

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AP Sports Writers Steve Megargee and Mitch Stacy contributed to this report.

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Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage

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More AP college football: http://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2018, file photo, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes already have locked up the East Division, so they likely would survive a loss to Michigan if they win the conference championship game. But the Wolverines, 0-4 against Ohio State under Jim Harbaugh and losers in 14 of the last 15 in The Game, would love to cause their rival even just a little anxiety. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File) The Associated Press

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day celebrates after his team stopped Penn State on fourth down during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State beat Penn State 28-17. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete) The Associated Press

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