Defense / ST notes: Michigan 'just more physical' than Ohio State, big-legged kicker Dominic Zvada has 'no real stress'
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Coordinator Wink Martindale‘s Michigan Wolverines football defense performed its best in the biggest game of the season, holding Ohio State to a season-low 10 points in a 13-10 victory in Columbus, U-M’s fourth straight in the series.
Michigan’s success started with stopping the run. The Buckeyes gained only 77 yards on 26 carries, averaging 3 yards a pop, and had only 3 rushes of 10-plus yards. That came after the Buckeyes averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 177.6 rushing yards per game coming into Saturday’s showdown.
The team that’s won the rushing yard battle has officially won 23 straight Michigan-Ohio State games. The Wolverines out-rushed Ohio State, 172-77, on this day, and have given up only 391 total rushing yards in the last four meetings with the Buckeyes.
“Our guys played great, especially the D- line,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said.
“Honestly, just playing violent and physical all game,” Michigan senior EDGE Josaiah Stewart said of how the Wolverines slowed down the Buckeyes’ rushing attack. “I said this last week, when we play together, I said that we’re the best defense in the country when we all play together. Ten points … that’s a pretty good job. Just the fire that we play with together, man, that’s our fuel is playing with each other.”
It wasn’t that Michigan’s defense got a bunch of sacks (zero) or tackles for loss (4). But the Wolverines stopped run after run for short gains. Nineteen of Ohio State’s 26 rushing attempts went for 3 or fewer yards.
“We’re just more physical,” Stewart said. “The film doesn’t lie. We attacked it all game. We took the fight to them. We didn’t wait or let them get in a rhythm, which is what’s most important. Like I always say, when you stop the run, you can really keep a team one-dimensional.”
Stewart, who’s now 2-0 against Ohio State since transferring in from Coastal Carolina, said he could feel Michigan get stronger and Ohio State become weaker — mentally and physically — as the game wore on.
“I felt like personally up front they couldn’t hang with us,” Stewart said. “I said this last week: I feel like we have an advantage every year — every game — up front, and we just took it to them. And we knew eventually, [FOX analyst] Joel Klatt said it best, boa constrictor.
“They start losing life as we keep getting physical, hitting them in the mouth, finishing strong. That really describes Michigan football. We’re gritty, we’re gonna finish and fight until the very end.”
Two Michigan turnovers prove crucial
Ohio State gained 252 total yards, its fewest all season, including only 175 through the air from quarterback Will Howard, who went 19-of-33 passing with 1 touchdown.
Howard made two costly mistakes, a pair of interceptions. The first was caught by graduate cornerback Aamir Hall, which gave Michigan great field position at the Ohio State 3-yard line and set up a touchdown run by graduate running back Kalel Mullings.
“That was just another example of our defense having our backs,” Mullings noted. “Time and time again, those guys on defense just make plays and give us opportunities.
“These guys make so many plays and put us in so many great positions that, shoot, you get the ball on the 3-yard line, you can’t ask for anything better. So just shout out to Aamir, shout out to the defense. Ten points … best offense in the country, all that stuff. Ten points.”
Graduate safety Makari Paige grabbed another as the Buckeyes were driving, picking him off on 3rd and 7 from the Michigan 16-yard line.
“We knew we had to get the ball off the offense,” Paige said. “That’s what we tried to do this week, and planned on that. The goal for the DBs was a plus-2. We got that done, and won the game.”
Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada continues to come up big
Michigan junior place kicker Dominic Zvada played at Ohio State as a member of Arkansas State in 2022, losing 45-12. He scored all 12 of the Red Wolves’ points, on 4 field goals. including one from 45 yards out.
He’s seen the environment, the backdrop … and he cashed in with 2 more huge field goals in Michigan’s win. Zvada made a 54-yarder to put the Wolverines up 10-3 and the game-winner with 45 seconds out, that one from 21 yards.
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“I’ve played here before on a different team, and obviously it’s nowhere near the level of stakes that ‘The Game’ is,” Zvada said. “But I already kinda knew the layout, where the student section was, how the wind worked.
“And so I felt really calm. I just felt really good, especially on that last kick. I knew I was gonna put it through, as cocky as that sounds. You gotta be confident, and I’ve been kicking pretty good all season. The operation has been really good, the line is really good, so I had no worries going into that kick. It was really, really smooth — no real stress at all.”
“He’s an absolute animal,” Moore said. “Just great kicker, great dude. He’s been a great addition to the team. I hope we can keep him for another year. He might go to the NFL, so we’ll try to keep them. But he’s really good. We just have complete trust in him every [kick]. It never, never fazes him.”
Zvada is now 7-of-7 on kicks of 50-plus yards this season. The previous Michigan record was 4 makes from 50-plus in a season and 5 for a career — he’s shattered both. Zvada is 17-of-18 on field goals overall this season.
Miscellaneous Michigan football defense / special teams notes
• Ohio State’s 10 points in a loss to Michigan are the fewest the Buckeyes have scored in a regular-season game since a 24-6 loss to Miami Sept. 17, 2011, when Luke Fickell was interim head coach.
• Howard hadn’t had a multi-interception game this season before today. Dating back to his time at Kansas State (2020-23), this was his sixth multi-pick game of his career.
• Ohio State’s 175 passing yards are the least they’ve had in a game since the 14-3 loss to Missouri in last year’s Cotton Bowl.
• Senior Tommy Doman‘s second-quarter punt traveled 68 yards, pinning the Buckeyes at their own seven-yard line. It was Doman’s second-longest career punt, after the 71-yarder he booted against OSU last season. Doman owns two of the three longest punts against Ohio State (70 yards, Monte Robbins, 1984).
• Michigan averaged 94 rushing yards allowed per game entering today’s matchup, and limited the OSU rushing offense to 72. The Buckeyes averaged 177 yards per game on the ground heading into today.
• Graduate safety Quinten Johnson played in his 57th career game, the fifth most in program history. He’s behind only Michael Barrett (64), Mike Sainristil (62), Cornelius Johnson (61), and Jake Moody (60).
• Notching a turnover marked Michigan’s third game with two interceptions this season and second in a row (Fresno State, Northwestern).