Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
No. 8 Ohio St. lets Elliott have it
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ezekiel Elliott ran through, around and past Michigan’s defense a week after running his mouth.
Elliott had 214 yards rushing and two touchdowns, helping No. 8 Ohio State rout the 10th-ranked Wolverines 42-13 on Saturday.
His performance came one game after he was held to 12 carries for 33 yards against Michigan State, then publicly criticized the team’s play-calling and declared he will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
“I regret everything I said,” Elliott said before being asked a question in a postgame news conference.
The Buckeyes (11-1, 7-1 Big Ten) have won 11 of the past 12 games in what has become a lopsided series, but Saturday’s victory wasn’t enough to get defending national champion Ohio State into the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State needed Penn State to beat No. 6 Michigan State on Saturday to set up a matchup against Iowa in the title game, but Michigan State easily handled the Nittany Lions, 55-16.
Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett had 19 carries for a season-high 139 yards, helping his team run for 369 yards.
The Wolverines (9-3, 6-2) simply could not stop Ohio State’s running game.
“The biggest thing is they were getting tired and they weren’t getting lined up,” Elliott said.
Elliott, who has 3,812 yards rushing in his career, passed Eddie George for No. 2 on the school’s all-time rushing list and trails only two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.
Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer said Elliott should at least be at the ceremony honoring college football’s most outstanding player.
“I think he should be in New York,” Meyer said.
“I think he is one of the best players in America. I don’t know if he should win. I don’t know the other players, but I am fortunate to be around him. He’s one of best players that I’ve ever been around.”
Elliott had a 5-yard run that put Ohio State ahead 14-3 in the second quarter and a 10-yard run put the Buckeyes ahead 35-13 early in the fourth.
“We couldn’t make tackles, especially on No. 15,” Michigan defensive tackle Chris Wormley said.
“A guy like that takes more than one person to tackle him.”
Barrett started the scoring barrage with a 7-yard run late in the first quarter. His 13-yard run late in the third quarter gave the Buckeyes an 18-point cushion, and his 17-yard run midway through the fourth ended the scoring.
Barrett was 9 of 15 passing for 113 yards, including a 25yard TD pass to Jalin Marshall that capped the first drive of the second half to give Ohio State a 21-10 lead.
Michigan trailed the entire game and pulled within four points twice in the first half.
When the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter, Wolverines quarterback Jake Rudock was sacked and slammed onto his left shoulder and left the game. Rudock was injured by former high school teammate Joey Bosa and was replaced by Wilton Speight.
Rudock and Bosa played together at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Rudock was 19 of 32 for 263 yards and 1 TD.
The Wolverines struggled to move the ball on the ground. Jabrill Peppers had 29 yards rushing on seven carries, and No. 1 running back De’Veon Smith had 10 carries for just 23 yards.
“I’m very proud of the team, the way they’ve worked and the way they’ve progressed,” said Jim Harbaugh, who is in his first season as Michigan’s coach.
“We’ve closed a lot of ground. More ground to make up, but knowing our team, we will keep working hard.”