‘IT HURTS A LOT’
Buckeyes try to process manhandling at Michigan
Ohio State was not going to beat Michigan every year until the end of time.
It’s not the way sports work, even if for the past decade it seemed that the Buckeyes’ dominance of the Wolverines might be permanent. Michigan is too good a program, too proud a program, to lose every single year to Ohio State.
But Saturday’s 42-27 loss to Michigan on Saturday felt different. It wasn’t only that No. 2 Ohio State was a touchdown favorite in a rivalry game it hadn’t lost since 2011 and hadn’t been defeated as a favorite since 2000.
It wasn’t only that so much was at stake. Now it will be No. 5 Michigan, not Ohio State, playing for the Big Ten title next week against Iowa. And Michigan is in now line for its first College Football Playoff berth while the Buckeyes play in an “other” bowl after two straight CFP appearances.
No, what felt so jarring was the way in which Michigan won. This wasn’t a fluke. This wasn’t the Wolverines catching a break or making a couple of plays that determined the outcome.
This was a manhandling from start to finish. Only Ohio State’s passing game kept this from being an absolute rout. Despite being sick and having to adjust continually because of Michigan’s pass rush, C.J. Stroud threw for 394 yards and two touchdowns to keep the Buckeyes within striking range.
Other than that, Michigan dominated. Its offensive line was considered good, not great. On Saturday, Ohio State’s run defense was no match for it. Michigan pushed the Buckeyes around. Hassan Haskins, who scored five touchdowns and gained 169 yards, led a run game that ran for 297 yards and averaged 7.2 per carry.
“We weren’t able to stop them,” OSU coach Ryan Day said. “That’s really, really disappointing, especially when you know they’re going to do it. We have to take a hard look and figure out why that was.”
Every time Ohio State would make a push to get back in the game, Michigan made the Buckeyes’ run defense look like Rutgers’.
“We have to stop the run,” safety Bryson Shaw said. “That’s the goal, especially in away games in the Big Ten. For them to run the ball on us like that, it’s embarrassing.”
Meanwhile, Ohio State’s run game did little. The Buckeyes got the ball to start the third quarter trailing 14-13 and were intent on establishing the run. Treveyon Henderson ran twice for 8 yards. But facing third-and-2, Michigan stuffed him for a 2-yard loss. That three-and-out set the tone for the second half.
Henderson finished with 74 yards in 17 carries. That included a 28-yard gain in the first quarter. Subtract that play and even exclude the four sacks Michigan had, and the Buckeyes mustered
only 63 yards in 23 carries. That’s just not good enough in snowy weather like Saturday’s.
Michigan played a superb game. The Wolverines played like a team on a yearlong mission, which they have been. Remember Jim Harbaugh’s vow at Big Ten media days to finally beat the Buckeyes after being winless in his first five games as Wolverines coach and to win the conference title or “die trying?” Michigan played with that urgency.
The Buckeyes? Well, they were frequently their own worst enemy. Penalties have been a persistent issue this season. They committed 10 of them on Saturday, including five false starts. That kept Ohio State’s offense just battling to move the chains instead of being able to take the stabs at big plays that are its forte.
Perhaps the most telling penalty was one that cost Ohio State only a halfyard. Upset that Michigan’s Roman Wilson grabbed his leg, Buckeyes cornerback Cameron Brown ripped off Wilson’s helmet, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and sparking a brief fracas between the teams. Haskins scored from inside the 1 on the next snap.
“We take pride in being disciplined,” Shaw said. “We never let our emotions get the best of us. It’s great to play with emotion. You know what they say: You can never let emotion play with you. I felt a few times it got the better of us, which is disappointing considering knowing what kind of guys we have on this team and how much we work the discipline aspect of it.”
After the game, the Buckeyes were clearly stunned at what had just happened.
“We haven’t been in this position forever,” senior wide receiver Chris Olave said, “so I don’t know what to say right now. It’s tough on us. We prepare so hard, but we didn’t come up with a win.”
Olave and guard Thayer Munford were the only Buckeyes who had started a Michigan game. In fact, most OSU players had never played Michigan because the majority on the roster are freshmen or sophomores, and last year’s game was canceled.
It showed. With some notable exceptions — Stroud, receiver Jaxon Smithnjigba and linebacker Steele Chambers among them — the Buckeyes weren’t up for the moment. Day has now experienced what predecessor Urban Meyer never did against Michigan.
“It hurts,” he said. “It hurts a lot.” The Buckeyes will next play in a bowl game, probably the Rose Bowl if Michigan beats Iowa. A trip to Pasadena was the destination bowl for most of Buckeye football’s existence. It is not where Ohio State expected to end this season.
“I put my heart and soul into this game,” Stroud said. “We all do for 365 days. To come up short, it’s not a good feeling.”
It will linger at least until Nov. 26, 2022 when Michigan comes to Columbus.
Bill Rabinowitz covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at brabinowitz@dispatch.com or on Twitter @brdispatch.