Offense notes: Michigan sticks to its bread and butter, physically dominates Ohio State on the ground

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A seven-point underdog, Michigan Wolverines football bruised and battered Ohio State in a 42-27 win at The Big House, physically dominating the line of scrimmage.

The Maize and Blue were the nation’s No. 7 rushing offense coming into Saturday, and while playing an Ohio State team that was picked by many to win the Big Ten and and advance to the College Football Playoff, they didn’t waver from their bread and butter. Versus an Ohio State defense that allowed just 102.3 rushing yards per game, Michigan racked up 297 yards on the ground, behind a historic performance from redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins, who went for 169 yards on 28 carries with five scores, tying the school’s all-time single-game rushing touchdown record.

The performance brought Haskins up to 18 rushing touchdowns on the season, tying Anthony Thomas (2000) and Chris Perry (2003) for second all time at Michigan. With at least two more contests to play, now that the Wolverines have advanced to the Big Ten championship game, Haskins will have the chance to tie or pass Ron Johnson, who had a program-best 19 rushing scores in 1968.

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The offensive line helped power the run game throughout, and the Wolverines had no negative rushes. Ohio State also notched no sacks and had just two quarterback hurries, with Michigan redshirt freshman signal-caller Cade McNamara taking minimal hits.

“It was dominant,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said of the run game and his offensive line’s play. “It was dominant in the offensive line. No question about it. There was movement, continual movement up front by the guys, and Hassan Haskins … they might have thought they saw a ghost, but they didn’t. It was No. 25, Hassan Haskins. He was running with great determination, great purpose, great ability. 

“Five touchdowns on the day ties a school record. He’s probably going to break the season touchdown record before it’s over, held by Ron Johnson in 1968. Kind of gives you a glimpse of how good of a runner Hassan Haskins is.”

Michigan got stronger as the game went on, too, with the Wolverines averaging a whopping 9.4 yards per carry in the second half. They only threw four times after halftime, completing all four attempts, and faced only two third downs, but Ohio State committed a penalty to move the chains on both. The Wolverines went 5-for-8 on third downs overall, averaging three yards to go.

“I told myself, I’m not going down,” Haskins remarked. “We’ve got to win this ball game. I just kept telling myself. I put that in the back of my mind. I went out there with the determination to win. The whole team took that mindset — we were winning the ball game.”

Big Plays Gave Michigan A Boost

The Wolverines stayed on schedule, as mentioned above, but also hit on some big plays that kept drives alive and got them in scoring position. Michigan had nine rushes of 10 or more yards, including a 55-yarder from second-year freshman Blake Corum and a 14-yarder from second-year freshman wideout A.J. Henning on a Statue-Of-Liberty type play to notch the first touchdown of the game.

Michigan also had three passes of 30-plus yards and four that went for 20 or more yards. McNamara, who completed passes to nine different receivers, finished 13-of-19 passing for 159 yards. His one mistake was a big one, tossing an interception at the goal line on the team’s second possession, but he and the offense bounced back to win going away. They scored on all four second-half possessions, outside of a kneel down at the end.

“We had a little bit of miscommunication, and I forced the ball a little bit,” McNamara said of his pick. “However we respond is the most important thing. I just had to keep letting it rip, and I had trust in our defense.”

Michigan responded by hanging 42 on the Buckeyes, the second-most they’ve posted in a Big Ten game this season. Their 487 total yards were the third-most in a conference tilt.

McNamara was able to kneel the ball down late, before the crowd poured onto the field for what was an epic celebration.

“Me and H2 [Haskins] were out there on the field,” McNamara explained. “As soon as I took the knee, and seeing the rest of our team meeting us out on the field, seeing the snow fall down as the rest of the crowd rushed out on the field, it was a truly surreal moment.”

Miscellaneous Michigan Football Offense Notes

• Haskins’ five touchdowns tied Ron Johnson, who accomplished the feat against Wisconsin in 1968, for the most in a single game in Michigan history.

• Michigan scored more points against Ohio State than any of OSU’s opponents this season (42). It was the first time that the Buckeyes have surrendered more than 40 points this campaign. The last time they gave up more points was to Alabama (52) in the national championship game in January.

• Michigan scored first for the 11th time in 12 games this season, with the touchdown coming on Henning’s 14-yard rush. It was his second rushing touchdown of the season.

• Corum’s 55-yard rush to help set up Michigan’s third touchdown of the game marked his longest rush since a 67-yarder against Washington Sept. 11.

• Michigan scored touchdowns on six of its seven red-zone trips.

• Michigan committed just two offensive penalties, a season low.

• With its first possession of the second half, Michigan had an 81-yard touchdown drive. That was U-M’s ninth drive of 80-plus yards that ended in a touchdown this season.

• The Wolverines’ 297 yards on the ground mark the most rushing yards the Ohio State defense has given up all season, and the highest single-game total since Nov. 17, 2018, when Maryland racked up 340 rushing yards.

• Michigan’s 42 points are the most the Wolverines have scored on Ohio State since they hung 58 in Columbus in 1946 and are the third-most they’ve ever put up on the Buckeyes.