Handing out game balls from Michigan football's win over Ohio State
Michigan football is heading to its first Big Ten championship game after a 42-27 win over Ohio State on Saturday. Members of TheWolverine.com staff got together after the contest to hand out our weekly game balls.
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Here are the Michigan honorees for the 11th win of the season:
Anthony Broome: DE/OLB Aidan Hutchinson
Hutchinson should be in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. What the voters decide to do from there is their business. There is not a single defensive player in the country that has meant more on and off the field than Hutchinson, and he has saved his best for showdown games. He added another three sacks to his total, bringing him to 13 on the season and setting Michigan’s all-time mark there.
Hutchinson has been the motor of this team and through the sheer force of will put it on his back. He now has a shot to carry them to a Big Ten title and potentially beyond.
Chris Balas: RB Hassan Haskins
His 169 yards and five scores behind a dominant line performance only told part of the story for Michigan football. He was patient in his runs — credit assistant Mike Hart for his work with the backs this year (it’s been incredible) — and once again, he didn’t lose a single yard behind the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t get enough credit for his footwork in between the tackles, but there was little doubt who was getting the ball down the stretch and what he’d do.
Another outstanding performance by one of the nation’s more underrated all-around backs.
Clayton Sayfie: HC Jim Harbaugh
Harbaugh has taken his fair share of criticism and had some even wanting him replaced after last season’s anomaly, but he deserves a ton of credit for what he’s done this season at Michigan. Specifically on this game, though, he put together a magnificent game plan and had his guys ready. The Wolverines committed a season-low two penalties, physically dominated the Buckeyes and had more juice from pregame warmups to a halftime scuffle to the postgame celebration. Those, along with the final score, are all signs that he out-coached third-year Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his staff.
The nation will rock with the praises of the Maize and Blue this evening because of what Harbaugh and Co. did this afternoon.
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Honorable mentions
Redshirt freshman QB Cade McNamara and his wideouts: It did not look sexy on Saturday and did not need to be. Anytime Michigan has needed to put together a drive this year, McNamara has got it done. He had completions to Roman Wilson, Mike Sainrisitil and Cornelius Johnson for 31, 34 and 37 yards, respectively. Big plays through the air materialized when they were needed most.
Freshman RB Blake Corum: Corum was clearly injured on Saturday in his return to the field dealing with an ankle sprain. He emptied the tank on Saturday and had a 55-yard run to help set the Wolverines up on one of their second-half touchdown drives.
Michigan’s offensive line: Not much to say here. They manhandled Ohio State up front all day. The Buckeye defensive line wanted nothing to do with this group. It was a cherry on top performance for a massive step forward for the offensive line room.
Michigan football’s next challenge comes on Saturday night in Indianapolis against Big Ten West champ Iowa. A win will lock up a spot in the College Football Playoff.
