Aidan Hutchinson reveals new Ohio State preparation inside Michigan program

Aidan Hutchinson led the Michigan Wolverines to a program-defining victory last weekend over the Ohio State Buckeyes, and after the game, he revealed that Michigan had some special motivation in the week leading up to the rivalry-week contest.

Ryan Day led the heavily-favored Ohio State Buckeyes into Ann Arbor, only to be upset by the Michigan Wolverines. Really, the Buckeyes lost far more than a shot to play in the College Football Playoff. They also lost their chance at playing in the Big Ten Championship game, and a conference title game could very well have helped their case as a two-win team. And, of course, it also meant losing The Game, Michigan and Ohio State’s famous rivalry, which the Buckeyes had not lost since 2011. With Saturday’s result, Jim Harbaugh picked up his first win over Ohio State — in his seventh try.

Hutchinson revealed that the Michigan Wolverines were anticipating the win all week, so much so that they hung a new sign in Schembechler Hall that read, “what have you done to beat Ohio State today?”

Michigan’s 42-27 win was made possible, in large part, thanks to Hutchinson.

Hutchinson had a signature performance, totaling seven tackles (five solo stops) and three sacks — on top of the box-score stats, Hutchinson excelled in advanced stats, too. According to Pro Football Focus, Hutchinson had 15 quarterback pressures against Ohio State, a stat unique to the site, which is the most in a single game since PFF started tracking college stats in 2014. Suffice to say, it wasn’t a great day for Ohio State’s lines — whether the offensive or defensive line.

Jim Harbaugh makes the case for Hutchinson to win Heisman

Michigan previously produced the only defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, when Charles Woodson did it in 1997, and Wolverines’ head coach Jim Harbaugh believes defensive end Aidan Hutchinson should be the second.

“To talk a little bit about Aidan, his performance was dominant,” Harbaugh said after Michigans win. “Single-season sack record already, definitely should be a strong consideration for the Heisman Trophy.”

Hutchinson, a 6-foot-6, 265-pound senior from Plymouth, Michigan is having a record year, as Harbaugh noted. He has 54 tackles through 12 games, including 32 solo stops, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 13 sacks. Hutchinson’s 13 sacks marks a program record, surpassing LaMarr Woodley, who held the record with 12 sacks in 2006.

“One of those guys, Hassan (Haskins) or Aidan (Hutchinson), would be our most valuable player,” Harbaugh said. “They’re the ones. They’re the ones. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are.”

Thanks to Hutchinson’s help, Michigan has the chance to make its first College Football Playoff since the tournament’s inception. All the Wolverines will have to do is win the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa and their chances of missing out would be close to zero.

“I think the crowd was the loudest I ever heard the Big House – the most invested, rightfully so, but it was such a great atmosphere,” Hutchinson said after the win. “Talk about a good group of fans.”