Assessing which Michigan football players improved their stock or hurt their stock in Saturday's 56-27 loss to Ohio State:
Three up
Jon Runyan Jr. and Jalen Mayfield: Michigan's two offensive tackles played a big role in shutting down star Ohio State defensive end Chase Young. Young, who entered the game with 19 tackles for loss, a nation-best 16.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles, did not make much of an impact Saturday. He finished with zero tackles, although he did get credited for two hurries. Young has the ability to swing a game — and the Wolverines' tackles kept him from doing so.
Hassan Haskins: Those watching will point to Haskins missing an open hole on a failed fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter. And that was a costly mistake, as Haskins could've had a huge gain had he followed left guard Ben Bredeson into the hole. Still, he ran with purpose, fighting for extra yardage, and had 12 carries for 78 yards and one touchdown against a stout run defense. Haskins kept running hard even as the game spiraled out of control, and should be a building block for this offense entering next season.
Ronnie Bell: Bell led the team with six catches for 78 yards on nine targets. Nico Collins, the team's leading receiver, had two catches for 32 yards on five targets, as he was mostly covered by Ohio State's star cornerback Jeff Okudah, while Donovan Peoples-Jones struggled with drops and caught three passes for 69 yards and one touchdown on a team-high 12 total targets. Bell made several tough catches, including one across the middle that saw him take a huge hit. He did have a crucial drop on a would-be third-down conversion in the second half.
Three down
Josh Metellus: It was not a banner day for Michigan's senior safety and captain. Metellus appeared to be out of position on Ohio State's second touchdown, a 57-yard heave from Justin Fields to Chris Olave. Metellus also gave up another touchdown in the second half when Fields re-entered the game following a knee injury and promptly connected with Garrett Wilson in the back of the end zone.
Josh Uche: Michigan's star pass-rusher was held in check. Despite entering the game at or near the top of the nation in statistics such as pressure rate and pass-rush win percentage, Uche couldn't get past Ohio State's offensive line, which has struggled at times with pass protection this season. The Wolverines needed Uche to make an impact on passing downs, and he wasn't able to.
The defensive line: A big reason why Michigan's defense was carved up was the run defense, and some of that responsibility falls upon the defensive line. The Buckeyes' large and talented offensive line had no trouble creating push. A priority for the Wolverines this offseason will be retooling the interior defensive line and finding a solution to slowing down run-heavy teams such as Ohio State and Wisconsin, which both gashed Michigan.
Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.
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