They say that Rivalry Week is special – that everything we think we know about the College Football landscape can be thrown out the window on what many fans consider the most thrilling weekend in sports. On Friday night, we got a small taste of that when Georgia Tech pushed the Bulldogs to their limits in Sanford; dragging them all the way to an eighth overtime before finally succumbing to the home side.
But even that nail-bitter couldn’t have prepared anyone for the absolute white-knuckler that unfolded in the Big Ten on Saturday. In sports, there are upsets, and then there are indictments. This was both. This was ‘The Game’. Michigan vs. Ohio State at The Shoe.
The visiting Wolverines entered the afternoon a sizeable underdog. Their 6-5 record was representative of a season marked by historic struggles on the offensive side of the ball, a losing record against ranked teams, and a winless record on the road. Despite all of this, Michigan was coming off their most decisive win of the season – a 50-6 drubbing of Northwestern, but found themselves down two of their best players (TE Colston Loveland and CB Will Johnson) going into the matchup with the Buckeyes.
But Michigan, much like a different team that plays 40 miles east of Ann Arbor, doesn’t make excuses or concessions when they get dealt a bad hand by the injury bug. To head coach Sherrone Moore and his players – most notably his seniors, who went into Saturday’s meeting having never tasted defeat against Ohio State, this game, season after season, means ‘everything.’
For Ohio State – this was it. You have the Wolverines at their presumed absolute weakest. No more Jim Harbaugh or Jesse Minter. No more JJ McCarthy or Blake Corum. No more Connor Stalions. No more excuses. The best roster in college football simply cannot lose to this unranked Michigan team in their own building.
However, almost inexplicably, that’s exactly what happened.
The 10-1 Buckeyes, the No. 2 team in the country whose only loss to this point came at the hands of top-ranked Oregon in Eugene, dropped ‘The Game’ at The Shoe, 13-10.
Worse, head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly played right into Michigan’s only chance at claiming such an unfathomable victory. The Wolverines didn’t muster up some unbelievable, out-of-nowhere offensive shootout with the Buckeyes. Davis Warren threw for less than 70 yards in the air and gave up two picks – one inside the Michigan 15 and the other inches from the end zone, both coming in the second half.
But, contrary to popular opinion, football is a game of three phases. And, to put it mildly, Ohio State allowed Michigan to overpower them on defense and special teams. All three of the Wolverines scoring drives began with excellent field position – at or better than their own 40 yard line (two started inside the Ohio St 40). Meanwhile, the Buckeyes two scoring drives began at their own 31 and 25, respectively – with their lone touchdown coming in the two-minute drill before halftime (it was also their only drive that went for 70+ yards).
The first real tilt in this game came on the Wolverines second possession. After surrendering the first points of the day to the home team via a 29-yard FG that gave Ohio State a 3-0 lead, Michigan was staring at a 3rd and 3 at their own 44 when they turned to their other playmaker at the QB position: Alex Orji. The ensuing QB run would establish a theme shared by the Wolverines two biggest offensive plays of the afternoon. Ohio State was so determined not to let them through the A/B gaps that a rusher could find a surprising amount of open field if they just managed to bounce out to the edge. Orji did on this play, and managed to find 29 yards – matching his season high for a rushing attempt, before getting tackled at the OSU 27.
Michigan would fail to convert on a 4th and 1 run by Kalel Mullings at the Buckeyes 3 yard line – but their aggression would ultimately be rewarded. Facing 3rd and long inside their own 5, Will Howard targeted Carnell Tate in the flat, but didn’t put enough air on the pass to keep it out of harm’s way…and that’s exactly where Wolverines DB Aamir Hall would snag it from. The graduate student from Baltimore returned the pick 11 yards to the Buckeyes 2, where Mullings picked up in almost the exact same spot he left off. This time, he and the Wolverines would find pay dirt, giving the team from Ann Arbor a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
The second tilt of the afternoon came in a pair. Ohio State’s Jayden Fielding, who only had nine field goal attempts for the season coming into Saturday’s affair, but was a perfect 4-4 when facing under 40 yards, missed two looks from 38 & 34 yards.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s final points of the opening half game from the foot of their star placekicker, Dominic Zvada – who nailed a 54-yarder that would have been good from another ten yards back, giving the Wolverines a 10-3 lead with just over two minutes remaining before halftime.
This would lead to the only drive of the day where Ohio State looked like the offense that they were supposed to look like. Will Howard went 6/8 for 58 yards, ending in a 10-yard TD pass to Jeremiah Smith on a route where the freshman got away with a savvy push-off matched up against Zeke Berry – who has been asked to play at corner in place of the injured Will Johnson. Tied at half, 10 all, with the Buckeyes getting the ball to start the second half.
To call it shocking that Ohio State wouldn’t score again for the rest of the game is an understatement. But, somehow, it gets worse. Michigan not only won the time of possession battle in the second half – they dominated it in the fourth quarter, to the tune of over 13 minutes for the visiting Wolverines, and just under two (1:57, to be precise) for the Buckeyes.
Two drives. 10 yards. No first downs…in the fourth quarter with ‘The Game’ on the line.
Ohio State couldn’t run on the Wolverines all day, averaging just 3 yards per carry on 26 attempts. Adding insult to injury, Michigan gave them chances to take the lead. Warren’s first interception came inside their own 20 late in the third quarter, but the Buckeyes would go three & out, leading to Fielding’s second missed FG. Then, with just under eight minutes remaining, Warren would underthrow an open Hogan Hansen in the end zone, where Captain Jack would capitalize with what surely felt like a game-titling interception for OSU. But, again, the Buckeyes would go three & out on the ensuing drive, punting from their own 21 to give Michigan yet another chance to pull ahead with time ticking down in regulation.
And, if there were any wheels left on the Buckeye wagon, this is where they all fell off. Facing 3rd & 6 from the Buckeye 44 yard line, Kalel Mullings would find the Wolverines second 20+ yard play of the day on offense, and it looked a lot like the first. After shaking off initial contact running up the middle, Mullings bounced to the outside and, just like Orji did early in the first half, discovered a hefty rushing lane. Orji broke to the left on his, but Mullings – aided by a sturdy block upfield by TE Martin Klein, ran to the right for a 27-yard gain to put Michigan inside the red zone.
Mullings continued to run it, reaching the Ohio State 10 on the other side of the two-minute warning to bring up a 3rd & 2. Then, inexplicably, Ryan Day attempted to call back-to-back timeouts (which you cannot do) because the Buckeyes had 12 men on the field coming out of the break. The penalty gave Michigan a first down at the OSU five.
Michigan, despite all their shortcomings, succeeded where their most heated rivals failed again and again – by playing complementary football. With 45 seconds left, Dominic Zvada kicked the game-winning field goal from XP range.
The Buckeyes last gasp at hope would get snuffed out with little drama. Another 3 & out where Will Howard would struggle with pressure from the Wolverines front four, completing just one pass for a yard on his last four dropbacks.
The drama would come, of course, but after Michigan had brought unbridled dread to Columbus by dealing the home team a demoralizing loss, subsequently knocking them out of a rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten championship. When the Wolverines did what rivals do, attempting to plant their flag in the middle of the field at The Shoe, Ohio State players took great issue. But hey, maybe they should have done something about it before the clock hit triple zeroes…
Against all odds, staring down the barrel of a season that could have easily been viewed as a legitimate failure by their own standards, Michigan wrestled glory from the jaws of squalor to end their season. Recruiting wins are nice, and ultimately vital to the future of the program. But beating Ohio State – and doing so by the sheer act of doing what they could not; playing to your values? That is everything.
