Michigan vs. Ohio State: Game Grades, Analysis for the Wolverines

Well, it happened again. Michigan dropped a heartbreaker to Ohio State in double overtime, 30-27, on Saturday.

The Wolverines had the game in hand in the second half but thanks to some bad mistakes from quarterback Wilton Speight and some questionable calls and non-calls from the officiating crew, the Buckeyes knocked off their rival for the fifth straight year.

Check out my game grades and analysis.

Pass Offense: C

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

After speculation ran wild that Wilton Speight may or may not play, the big man fought through the pain and was Michigan's guy throughout the game. But it wasn't his best performance of the year.

Speight finished the game 23-of-36 for 219 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He looked very good at times, but his mistakes will stick out forever. He threw a pick-six in the first half to put Ohio State on the board, another interception in the second half to set up OSU inside the red zone and then fumbled at the goal line as Michigan was going in to score. Just brutal turnovers at the worst times for the redshirt junior.

As for the receivers, Amara Darboh made several big-time catches, including the game-tying touchdown catch in the first overtime on fourth down. Besides that, Grant Perry and Jake Butt flashed their skills, but there weren't enough big plays coming from the pass-catchers.

Pass Defense: B+

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Going into the game, Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett was the player Michigan had to watch the closest. He's a dual-threat quarterback who has gashed the Wolverines in the past with his feet but also with his ability to throw the deep ball.

Well, Michigan was ready for him and, for the most part, held him and the Buckeyes receivers in check.

Barrett finished the game just 15-of-32 for 124 yards and one interception. That interception came by way of Jabrill Peppers holding on to a pass breakup in the first half.

While the secondary was in great positions all game, a ton of the credit has to go to Michigan's defensive line which racked up eight sacks and forced Barrett to get rid of the ball before he wanted to on multiple occasions.

Run Offense: F+

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Ohio State's defensive line is one of the best in the country and showed it on Saturday. The Buckeyes held Michigan to 91 yards rushing in total, which was an average of just 2.1 yards per carry.

De'Veon Smith led the way for the Wolverines with a whopping 60 yards on 21 carries while Chris Evans chipped in 18 yards on the ground.

It was one of the worst performances from both of the running backs and the offensive line in the entire season. And it cost Michigan when it was trying to run the clock out in the second half.

Run Defense: D+

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For years, Michigan has struggled to contain dual-threat quarterbacks; UM defensive coordinator Don Brown was expected to come in and fix that. And, while he had a nice game plan in the first half, the Buckeyes and J.T. Barrett were able to break off a couple of huge runs in the second half and in overtime to gash the Wolverines.

Barrett racked up 125 yards rushing, and Curtis Samuel ran the rock seven times for 54 yards. All together, Ohio State put 206 yards on the top-ranked Michigan defense. Most of the runs came later in the game and helped OSU claw back and wrap up the game in overtime.

It wasn't the best performance in the world from top to bottom, even though the defensive line played well throughout the game.

Special Teams: A+

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While the play from the offense and defense was up and down all game, Michigan's special teams were fantastic on Saturday.

Led by Mr. Do It All, Kenny Allen, the Wolverines kicking and punting game was stellar. Allen was 2-for-2 on field goals, kicked all of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and averaged 47.3 yards per punt.

As for the rest of the special teams, both Jourdan Lewis and Jabrill Peppers had big kickoff returns while Jordan Glasgow made a crucial stop on Ohio State's fake punt attempt in the first half.

Coaching: B

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Jim Harbaugh has had an issue in big games so far in his young Michigan coaching career. And this game will be another blemish on his resume.

Michigan was up by 10 points in the second half and its defense was playing lights out. All the Wolverines needed to do was take care of the ball and run the clock out, but the play-calling and execution were questionable at times, to say the least.

Now, I wouldn't blame Harbaugh or any of the coaches for this loss. Players need to make plays in big moments, and that includes not making mistakes in said times. Michigan struggled with both of those things.

One thing I will give Harbaugh flying colors for was his post-game press conference when he didn't hold back on the poor officiating. It'll now be interesting to see how the Big Ten handles his comments.