After Ohio State barely escaped from East Lansing with a "W", Many fans are probably wondering what happened to the dominant Buckeye team they watched the previous couple of weeks.  Coming off consecutive 62-3 victories, OSU was favored over (then 3-7) Michigan State by three touchdowns. 

Ohio State's offense has struggled in poor weather conditions going back to their home loss to the Spartans last year.  That trend continued Saturday as the passing game failed to amass even ninety yards. 

Now factor in that the Buckeye defense rather uncharacteristically gave up several big plays to a Michigan State offense that seemed to finally start figuring out what they were doing at precisely the wrong time - at least, as far as OSU was concerned. 

Ohio State Head Coach, Urban Meyer is usually a master at winning the field position battle.  But Saturday, poor beginning field position was an issue a few times as well.  Naturally, that compounded the other issues. 

As they say - "A win is a win".  But heading in to the Michigan game, that doesn't mean there aren't some issues that will need to be addressed this week.  And after reviewing the MSU game, it seems evident there are few, if any, problems that are not entirely "fixable". 

First of all, the weather is not expected to be nearly as bad in Columbus this weekend as it was in East Lansing last weekend.  While it may seem strange a traditional mid-western power like Ohio State struggles so much with poor conditions, it's rather obvious this offense does.  There is little reason to think they won't return to form under better conditions - even against the highly touted Michigan defense. 

As good as they are on the defensive line and in the secondary, the Wolverines are a little suspect at linebacker.   That is a weakness the Buckeyes should be able to exploit with their short to intermediate passing attack and their strong running game.  Potentially, a very favorable match-up for the good guys. 

As mentioned, the OSU defense uncharacteristically gave up some big plays to Michigan State.  Sometimes, it was due to simple mistakes - like over-pursuing a runner.  That's nothing a little more emphasis on fundamental gap responsibility shouldn't be able to address. 

Ohio State's defenders also seemed to have a little more trouble than usual shedding blockers.  Same fans may suggest that's because the refs allowed the Spartans to get away with a fair amount of holding - and that's a valid point.  But there were also instances where a block could clearly have been defeated with a little additional effort. 

There were more flat-out missed tackles than usual, as well.  There is little doubt those are exactly the kind of things that are being addressed in practice this week.  Unlike their defense, Michigan's offense is good - but not great.  If they play fundamentally sound football, the Silver Bullets should be able to slow them down considerably.

Obvious special teams errors - like fielding punts inside their own ten yard line - have most certainly been "discussed" already. 

The point is - these are mainly things than can be taken care of in short order.  Particularly given the magnitude of The Game this year, it would seem highly unlikely the Buckeyes will lack focus this week. 

And while it's fairly widely known Ohio State is the nation's youngest FBS team this season, this Michigan squad is made up of a lot of the same players who were dominated by the Buckeyes in last year's game.  Also keep in mind, it's been a while since UM has beaten OSU. 

By jumping out to an early lead on their home field, Ohio State could do a lot toward bringing out the doubts that must be in the back of the Wolverines' minds.  If that happens, it could be a great day for Ohio State football.  And a certain committee would have to be impressed, as well -