The home team Buckeyes wasted no time in trying to set the tone going 81 yards on 12 plays in the opening series to score a touchdown. Michigan would then come back with a drive down field that would end with a 49 yard field goal by Jake Moody to get their first points on the board. Ohio State then added to their total with a field goal before the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Michigan scored their first touchdown midway through the period when J.J. McCarthy connected with Cornelius Johnson who broke free and ran 69 yards to score and tie the game 10-10. OSU then went up 13-10 on a 47 yard field goal by place kicker Noah Ruggles. After that, Michigan’s McCarthy and Johnson would strike again, this time with a 75 yard reception on the first play of their next drive to give Michigan a 17-13 lead. The Buckeyes answered with a 42 yard touchdown pass thrown to Marvin Harrison Jr. with about four minutes left in the first half. Going into halftime, it was Ohio State 20, Michigan 17 in a hard fought Big Ten battle that everyone anticipated.
The second half was a completely different story as it was all Maize and Blue. As they have done in a majority of their games this season, they used the half time break to recharge, make adjustments, and take control of the game almost as if it was a new Michigan team playing. Michigan held the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes to just one field goal in the second half while scoring 28 points of their own. Within the first three minutes on their opening drive of the half, McCarthy found Freshman Tight End Colston Loveland for a 45 yard touchdown reception giving the Wolverines the lead again. After that touchdown, both Michigan and OSU saw their defenses step up to finish out the third quarter.
Starting the fourth quarter, it was still a close game with Michigan hanging on to a four point lead. The fan bases of both teams, inside of Ohio Stadium and at home in front of their televisions, were on the edge of their seats as the game could go either way. The Wolverines were in the red zone and threatening to score again. And that’s just what they did as the young Sophomore QB McCarthy took the snap on third and goal and headed into the end zone increasing the Michigan lead. After Moody’s extra point, it was Michigan by eleven, 31-20. The Buckeyes only points of the second half would come midway through the quarter cutting the lead to eight points. On the very next play after OSU’s field goal, Michigan’s Donovan Edwards would break free and run for a 75 yard touchdown and the Ohio State faithful’s hopes of victory started diminishing quickly. OSU would put together one last impressive drive to get into the red zone at the Michigan 16 yard line. However the Wolverine defense would step again, getting an interception by Taylor Upshaw and closing the door on any type of comeback the Buckeyes had hoped for. If that wasn’t enough, Michigan’s Edwards broke free again, this time for an 85 yard touchdown run with three and a half minutes left in the game to give Michigan a 45-23 win over Ohio State.
After the final whistle blew, the Michigan team gathered in the end zone where the Marching Band was seated and many of the Wolverines fans made their way down to. It had been over 20 years but it was finally time to sing the ‘Victors’ at Ohio Stadium in triumph.
In his post game speech, Michigan’s Edwards said “I give all credit to God” in talking about his performance. He finished with a remarkable 216 rushing yards on 22 carries and 2 touchdowns. McCarthy passed for 263 yards on 12 completions on 24 attempts. Johnson was the recipient of 160 of those passing yards and he also finished with 2 touchdowns in the game. On the defensive side, Michael Barrett led the team with 11 total tackles. The defense also tallied two interceptions in the game.
The Michigan Wolverines (12-0) will travel to Indianapolis next week as Big Ten East Champions to play in the Big Ten Championship Game. They will take on the Purdue Boilermakers ( 8-4) who are the Big Ten West Champions. The win over Ohio State also likely secures Michigan for one of the spots in the four team College Football Playoffs to compete for the National Championship.
Final Score: Michigan 45 – Ohio State 23
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