Michigan Offensive Coordinator On Ohio State: 'Not A Tough Team'

Fresh off beating Ohio State for the first time since 2011, Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis had a bold analysis of the Buckeyes on Monday night.

"They're a good team. They're a finesse team, they're not a tough team," Gattis said. "And we knew that going into the game that we can out-physical, that we can out-physical them. We can out-tough, and that was going to be the key to the game, and that's what we prepared for all year long."

On the offensive side of the ball, Ohio State's front seven had no answer for the backfield duo of sophomore Blake Corum and senior Hassan Haskins. Corum ran for 87 yards on six carries while Haskins had 169 yards on 28 carries with five touchdowns. That didn't surprise Gattis after watching Ohio State's 35-28 loss to Oregon on Sept. 11.

"You saw earlier this year in the game they lost to Oregon, Oregon was the most physical team on the field," Gattis said. "That's the way they lost, and we committed to that recipe, and it paid off."

The Michigan defense was all over the field on Saturday, routinely getting pressure on redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Stroud. Senior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson specifically shined, sacking Stroud three times to bring his season total up to 13. Hutchinson also racked up 15 pressures, the most ever recorded in a single game by Pro Football Focus.

Gattis' honest assessment of the Buckeyes follows head coach Jim Harbaugh's, who appeared to take a shot at Ohio State head coach Ryan Day after the game. When Day took over for Urban Meyer in 2019, he said he wanted to hang 100 points on the Wolverines.

“Some people were born on third and think they hit a triple," Harbaugh said.

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