Best and worst from Michigan's win over Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Michigan Wolverines football upset Ohio State, 13-10, Saturday at Ohio Stadium. Here are the best and worst from the game.
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Win streak
Michigan has only two players that have lost to Ohio State — graduate long snapper William Wagner and graduate safety Quinten Johnson. But that was a long time ago — 1,827 days and counting, to be exact.
There was a celebratory mood among the Ohio State fan base on social media this week, and the same vibe was felt walking around Ohio Stadium before the game. But the Buckeyes had yet to play the game, and that’s been the toughest part for them over the last four seasons.
Michigan has won four straight over Ohio State for the first time since 1988-91. An unranked Wolverine squad beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 1993 in Ann Arbor and just the second time since the 1966 victory in Columbus.
Michigan was a 19.5-point underdog, making this the biggest upset in the history of the series.
Ryan Day hung 10 points — nowhere near 100
Yup, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has a Michigan problem — there are no two ways about it.
Day came into this series with a 56-27 win over Michigan in 2019, his first year at the helm. But as his tenure has gone along, the Buckeyes have been incapable of replicating that (or coming close to it).
Day vowed to his team in 2020 that it would “hang 100” points on Michigan, after Jim Harbaugh reportedly called him out for a rules violation on a Big Ten coaches call. Day said that Michigan “better hope for a mercy rule.”
The Buckeyes have scored 84 points in the last four clashes with Michigan — still inching their way toward 100.
Mercy.
Best run
Michigan absolutely had to keep the chains moving on third-and-6 with just under three-and-a-half minutes — to get into field goal range, to keep the clock churning.
Graduate running back Kalel Mullings used an incredible extra effort to pick up the first. The Ohio State crowd had already started to cheer because they thought they had him dead to rights, in fact. But Mullings came through big as he has all season.
Mullings was a warrior all game. He rushed 32 times for 116 yards and a score, carrying the team in the second half with senior Donovan Edwards out for the game. Five of his rushes went for first downs or touchdowns, and they were all huge.
Key to victory
Day told FOX before last year’s game against Michigan — a 30-24 Wolverine win — that the team that won the rushing and turnover battles would come out victorious.
He’s a changed man, and he has his Michigan problem to thank for it. Day has always been great at recruiting outstanding weapons and coordinating a great passing attack. But his run games haven’t been as good.
Day hired Chip Kelly, the former longtime college and NFL head coach, to run the offense, and Kelly stuck with the run in this one. Ohio State ran 26 times for only 77 yards, though, averaging 3 per carry.
Michigan’s run defense was outstanding.
Michigan had to stop the run to get to quarterback Will Howard on passing downs, and the pressure was there. The Wolverines made him uncomfortable on 45.5 percent of his dropbacks. He misfired on some throws and saw his receivers drop some passes.
Stopping the run unlocks everything for Michigan’s defense in a matchup like this. And the Wolverines did it without stacking the box, hanging defenders back to limit big plays. Ohio State had only 3 passes of 15-plus yards with a 24-yard long.
Best field position
The Wolverines had six-straight possessions of less than 10 yards, but that stretch was where they scored 10 of their 13 points for the game. Just amazing.
Michigan’s lone touchdown of the game came on a drive of a whopping 3 yards, thanks to the second interception of the season by graduate cornerback Aamir Hall. He picked off a second-quarter pass and ran it to the 3. Mullings capitalized with the touchdown.
Michigan used great field position on its first field goal of the game, too, gaining only 3 yards following a bad punt. Junior Dominic Zvada made a 54-yard field goal that barely made it over the cross bars (having the wind in his favor helped).
Capitalizing on those opportunities is exactly what a team needs to do if it’s going to go nearly two quarters (second and third) without a first down and put up only 234 total yards.
Biggest hit
Paige brought the boom with the biggest hit of the game, knocking Howard out for a play.
Crushing mistake
Michigan had Ohio State on the ropes midway through the fourth quarter. The offense had to put one drive together to really put the pressure on the Buckeyes, and they did.
The Wolverines just didn’t finish it.
Michigan used 11 plays — with 3 third-down conversions — to get down to the Ohio State 3-yard line, which is where senior quarterback Davis Warren threw his second interception of the game. He had a wide-open freshman tight end Hogan Hansen in the end zone, but he didn’t put enough touch on the pass, and defensive end Jack Sawyer picked it up.
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That felt like the biggest missed opportunity of the day for either team — and there were a lot of them, including Warren’s pick on the prior possession. But the Michigan defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out.
Biggest choke job
Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding had been reliable all season, making 15 of 17 field goals with a 46-yard long.
He was perfect (11-of-11) from inside 40 yards on the season, until he wasn’t. Fielding missed kicks of 38 and 34 yards, after making a 29-yarder early on.
Just inexplicable.
Most automatic kicker
Michigan’s kicker, meanwhile, continues to have a ridiculous season. How he’s not a Lou Groza Award finalist is beyond us.
Zvada was good from 54 and 21 yards, with the latter being the game winner with 45 seconds left. Never a doubt.
Wild stat
Michigan completed 9 passes in a win over Ohio State. The Buckeyes haven’t allowed that few completions in a loss since 2016 (Penn State, 8).
Even more amazing: Michigan had 6 receivers catch a pass, but none had over 18 yards. Graduate wideout Peyton O’Leary had an 18-yard reception that he barely plucked before it hit the turf.
Dominance up front
Michigan had only 4 tackles for loss and 0 sacks, but that didn’t tell the story as to how dominant the defensive line was.
The group in the trenches completely controlled the game. Everyone uses the term “game-wreckers” for good linemen, but that was exactly what Michigan did up front.
Nineteen of Ohio State’s 26 rushing attempts went for 3 or fewer yards. According to PFF, the Buckeyes racked up 61 yards after contact on 77 rushing yards, meaning they got only 0.65 yards before contact per run from the offensive line.
Junior defensive tackle Mason Graham was incredible, per usual, with 7 tackles, including 5 solo. Here were the Ohio State gains on his tackles: 0, 1, 2, 2, 1, 3, 0.
Ugliest scene
Michigan planted the ‘M’ flag at midfield following the win, just as it did in 2022. But the Buckeyes — instead of preventing that from happening by winning — took exception. Their players rushed over and started a brawl, that included law enforcement spraying individuals on the field with pepper spray.
No gold pants
There’s not a single Ohio State player that’s beaten Michigan. Quite a few Buckeye seniors decided to return for one last season to beat the Wolverines, and it looked like they’d have a good shot of doing so.
No dice. No gold pants.
Michigan, meanwhile, has all sorts of players with winning records of varying degrees against the bitter rival. Oh, how sweet it is.
