Michigan beats Ohio State: Game balls from the victory over the Buckeyes
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Michigan Wolverines football scored a 13-10 upset of the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday on the road, extending their stranglehold in the series and leaving well over 100,000 people stunned and furious heading to their cars.
There were no shortage of standout performances in the victory, and here TheWolverine.com’s staff of Anthony Broome, Clayton Sayfie and Chris Balas hand out their game balls from another victory over Ryan Day and the Buckeyes.
Anthony Broome: Graduate RB Kalel Mullings
A few weeks ago, Mullings stepped into a scrum of reporters as baffled as we were at the way he was used at points this season, and was visibly uncomfortable but never once threw his coaching staff or team under the bus, because he knew when his moment would come he had to be ready. Saturday was that moment, when he damn-near singlehandedly took down the World Famous Ohio State Buckeyes on his own, running 32 times for 116 yards and U-M’s only touchdown of The Game. On the game-winning field goal drive, Mullings ripped off a 27-yard run that set up a chip shot field goal for Lou Groza snub Dominic Zvada.
Mullings is the consummate Michigan teammate and laid it all on the line in Saturday’s victory. And with it, he officially etched his name into the books as a Wolverine legend.
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Clayton Sayfie: Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale
Michigan’s head man on defense took a lot of shots throughout the season, some right and some wrong, for how the product looked on that side of the ball. In Saturday’s game against the vaunted Buckeye offense, and without perhaps its best player in junior cornerback Will Johnson, Michigan held OSU to 252 yards of total offense and 26 carries for 77 yards. Martindale has done an outstanding job over the last month or so and made the big adjustment while also getting a number of timely plays out of his defense, like an interception near the goal line from Aamir Hall and a pick in the red zone from Makari Paige. The highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football earned his paycheck and then some against the best team money can buy.
Chris Balas: Junior kicker Dominic Zvada
It is absolutely criminal that Zvada was not named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, but Michigan will gladly take a game-winning kick in the Horseshoe any day of the week. He banged through his seventh 50-plus-yard field goal of the season, and the Wolverines would not have picked up a victory in the game without him. Michigan is extremely lucky to have him, especially after seeing OSU struggle to make field goals – missing two of them – in another devasting loss to “the team up north.” Here’s to hoping he’s kicking in these types of games next season, too.
Michigan honorable mentions
• WR Peyton O’Leary and TE Marlin Klein: Combined for three critical third-down conversions on the game-winning drive
• Michigan offensive line: No sacks allowed
• Michigan’s defensive line: General badassery
• Graduate DBs Aamir Hall and Makari Paige: A pair of interceptions of OSU QB Will Howard
