South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Up and over
No. 5 Wolverines snap 8-game losing streak to No. 2 Buckeyes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Hassan Haskins scored five touchdowns and Aidan Hutchinson had three sacks, helping No. 5 Michigan finally beat No. 2 Ohio State 42-27 Saturday to give Jim Harbaugh his first win as a coach against the Buckeyes.
“It feels like the best one,” Harbaugh said. The Wolverines clinched the Big Ten East and will play in the conference title game next week with playoff hopes in hand after snapping an eight-game losing streak to Ohio State.
Michigan (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) advanced to the conference championship for the first time. The Wolverines now have a chance to win a Big Ten title for the first time since 2004 and a national championship for the first time since 1997.
Minutes after the game, long-suffering fans filled the Big House turf to celebrate a rare win in the storied series and they were in no rush to leave as music blared.
“Watching the snow fall and the crowd rush rush onto the field was truly a surreal moment,” Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara said.
Ohio State had a school-record winning streak in the rivalry, taking 15 of 16 to turn The Game into its game.
The Buckeyes (10-2, 8-1) blew their chances to continue their dominance with 10 penalties, many before the snap, and because they simply could not stop Michigan’s running game.
“We haven’t been in this position in forever, so it’s tough,” Ohio State receiver Chris Olave said.
Harbaugh clearly had his team ready to beat the Buckeyes.
After Harbaugh’s pay was slashed in his new deal last winter in part because of his lack of success against the Buckeyes, he reshaped his coaching staff again and renamed a running-heavy period of practice the “Beat Ohio,” drill for to add another layer of focus on the rivalry.
It seemed to work.
Haskins had 169 yards rushing on 28 carries, scoring a go-ahead touchdown late in the second half and four more after halftime to pad Michigan’s lead.
“It’s an amazing feeling, I want to thank each and every one of my linemen,” Haskins said.
Blake Corum returned from a two-plus game absence to run six times for 87 yards, helping the Wolverines gain a total of 297 yards on a ground against a rival that has pushed them around for much of this century.
“It was dominant,” Harbaugh acknowledged. “There was continual movement up front by the guys.”
Ohio State’s high-powered offense seemed rattled against Michigan’s new-look defense with first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald making all the right moves. Hutchinson, who set a single-season school record with 13 sacks, was in the backfield all day.
C.J. Stroud was 34 of 49 for 394 with two touchdowns, including a 25-yard pass to Garrett Wilson that gave the Buckeyes a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. Ohio State’s high-powered offense put up some big numbers through the air and solid ones on the ground, but not on the scoreboard where it mattered most.
“People are probably going to hate me for it, but I know in my heart I put up everything,” Stroud said.