Quick, dominant starts to the season vaulted Ohio State and Michigan into top-five positions in this week’s Associated Press college football poll. Breaking in eight new starters on each side of the ball, the Buckeyes used J.T. Barrett’s seven touchdown passes and piled up 776 yards, the third-biggest game ever for a Big Ten team, to roll Bowling Green 77-10. The Wolverines countered with defense in a 63-3 win over Hawaii, the Wolverines’ largest margin of victory since routing Northwestern 69-0 in 1975. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer viewed his team’s work as a byproduct of the most competition he has ever had within a team for starting roles. “It’s kind of a dog-eat-dog world out there,’’ Meyer said. “If one guy doesn’t make a play when he has the opportunity, there is someone else behind him who wants to go make it.’’ In Ann Arbor, the Wolverines’ Delano Hill and Channing Stribling returned interceptions for touchdowns and despite coach Jim Harbaugh’s decision to sit all-American cornerback Jourdan Lewis and defensive lineman Maurice Hurst, Michigan held Hawaii to minus-15 rushing yards in the first half and 232 yards for the game. “Watching our defense into the third quarter, there wasn’t…
Continue Reading: Buckeyes, Wolverines send dominating messages
