Ohio State vs. Michigan: 5 Things We Learned from Ohio State's Loss to Michigan

The game lived up to the hype for the first time since Michigan slid to irrelevance after Rich Rodriguez became head coach. It was a showdown that was alternately a defensive battle and an offensive showcase.

In the end, the Wolverines prevailed, holding on for a 40-34 victory that pushed the Buckeyes to 6-6 overall; 3-5 in the Big Ten.

It goes without saying that this wasn't the year Ohio State fans had in mind, even with the tattoo scandal and all of the off-field issues that surrounded the program prior to the kickoff of the 2011 season. I don't think many saw the Ohio State program fall to a mediocre 6-6 finish on the year.

While they're bowl-eligible, there's some question as to whether or not the Buckeyes will accept an invitation to a bowl game on the heels of such a disappointing season. That's a debate that will be answered in short order.

As for this game, it was a duel that reminded many of us why we watch the storied rivalry. There were exciting offensive displays, tremendous defensive plays and plenty of drama to go around.

What did we learn about the Buckeye performance in this disappointing loss to the Wolverines?

The Buckeye Run Defense Has a Lot to Ground to Make Up Next Year

We knew this to a degree before the game ever kicked off. The Buckeyes came into the contest ranked fifth in the conference in run defense, allowing an average of 130.18 yards per game.

Against Ohio State, quarterback Denard Robinson and running back Fitz Toussaint combined for 290 yards on 46 carries. That's an impressive 6.30 yard-per-carry average.

Punter Will Hagerup's bumbled snap and subsequent loss-of-yardage helped drive the Wolverine ground total back to 277 net yards, but even that doesn't diminish the fact that Robinson and Toussaint ran right through the Buckeye defense.

Look around the league and try to gauge what will be coming back next season. Robinson may (or may not) be back again next season, Toussaint certainly will be. In addition, Iowa's Marcus Coker will likely return with a solid backup in Mi'Kail McCall, Wisconsin's Montee Ball and James White could both be back, Penn State's Silas Redd will be back, and Nebraska's Rex Burkhead could be back again.

That's a slew of talented and experienced running backs potentially returning to the league next season. Several of them will be on the Buckeye's schedule and the others could face Ohio State's defense depending on how the season plays out.

Slippery runners like Robinson and Toussaint are tough to get a grasp on, but both have been limited against certain defenses this year. Ohio State wasn't able to contain either of them and lost a chance to lock down a decent bowl game.

Luke Fickell Isn't the Guy for This Coaching Job

One game does not a career make. Certainly, Fickell had an awful lot to overcome in his new position as head coach. However, there were reminders yet again that he may not be ready for the pressure of coaching in Columbus.

Interestingly enough, I'm not even thinking of the play late in the game where Fickell's Buckeyes burned 15 seconds off the clock, with no timeouts, on a third-and-long, and ended up spiking the ball. I'm really not sure what the plan was there, but I put a little of the blame for that situation on quarterback Braxton Miller.

At least, I blame him for wasting so much time on the clock before getting the snap off. Fickell wanted that play to go much quicker than it did.

However, why he allowed his offensive coordinator to call a spike play on third-and-long with time running low is beyond me. They should have taken a shot 10-to-15 yards down field. If they missed, they weren't losing anything. If they made it, the clock stops to move the chains, they keep their drive alive and they still have a shot to win the game.

More than that though, I don't like the way Fickell approached the game late. With a shot to knock off Michigan still in hand, he continued to run the same plays they'd run all day. Those included long shots down field with a quarterback that was struggling to find the right range.

Tossing the long ball is fine, and I can't blame them for wanting to grab big yards quickly. However, only two people carried the ball all day long. One was Braxton Miller and the other was Daniel "Boom" Herron.

What about an end around?

What about getting a couple of short tosses to Herron in the flat?

Why not shake things up a little bit to potentially put Michigan back on their heels?

I realize that Jim Tressel didn't resort to trickery either, but he didn't have to. His teams were strong enough in their own right to play straight forward for four quarters and still win. This team had a ton of turnovers, were struggling to get to seven wins and needed a win against Michigan to salvage something really positive from the season.

Fickell didn't want to mix things up and I don't like that. Tossing someone new in, or pulling a play out of the bag that you haven't run all day can shake up the defense just enough to gain a little momentum.

Why was there no one to spell Herron when he was ineffective? There's more than one running back in the Buckeye stable.

I don't think Fickell is really the guy to lead this Buckeye team back to Big Ten titles. It showed again in this game.

Braxton Miller Is Going to Be a Star

He's already a star to a degree. However, he's young and still making mistakes out of inexperience.

Many of his passes in this game sailed high over his receivers' heads and some of those receivers were wide open with chances to pick up huge gains, and maybe score. It's difficult to quantify how many points were left on the field by Miller's overthrown passes.

However, that's not such a bad problem to have at this point. It's far better, in my opinion, to have a quarterback overthrowing his receivers as a freshman than to have him under-throwing them. All Miller lacks is a good grasp of his own strength and that will come with experience.

On the upside, Miller was just as explosive and dangerous on the ground as Michigan's Denard Robinson. He carried the ball 16 times for 100 yards (6.3 average) and scored a touchdown. He gave Michigan's defense nearly as many fits as Robinson did the Buckeyes.

If he pays any attention at all to his coaches, Miller will grow and learn how to control the ball a little better. If he can get just a little better touch on his passes, he'll become a very dangerous passer to go along with his tremendous running ability.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Miller in the Heisman discussion as early as next year, but to definitely be in the thick of the hunt by his junior year.

The Rivalry Hasn't Faded

Ohio State fans hate Michigan and vice versa. That's not going to change any time soon, nor should it.

However, in light of the recent Ohio State dominance of the Wolverines, the rivalry seemed to fade. It wasn't even remotely important on the national scene and didn't even have much leverage in the conference race.

That was still largely the case this year, except there's a chance that Michigan could now work out a BCS bowl deal with their 10th win of the season.

However, to the players this rivalry still means as much as it always has. That was evident early in the game when the two teams got into a shoving match, which threatened empty the benches.

Beating Michigan is still a high priority for the Buckeyes, and it showed just how much this game means.

This Was a Season Better Forgotten

It's been a tough season for Buckeye fans. Not only did they fail to win the conference for the seventh consecutive year, but they also barely reached bowl eligibility at 6-6.

It's a tremendous drop-off from the 12-1 season they had last year and the 11-2 record they posted in 2009.

Adding insult to injury, the Buckeyes couldn't get it done against a very good Michigan team, but still hasn't reached its full potential.

It is what it is. However, I think for most Buckeye fans, this year is better off tucked into the file labeled "forget that one."