Michigan defeats Ohio State for third consecutive year to reach Big Ten title game

The cart that carried Zak Zinter, a potential All-America offensive lineman, hadn’t yet cleared the field before he raised his left hand in the air; first as a thumb, then as a fist, to signal he was okay.

The face of Michigan’s offensive line group and a starter from the past two Joe Moore Award winning units was out, but the show had to go on. Karsen Barnhart bumped from right tackle to right guard, Trente Jones slid in at tackle and Michigan ran a delayed handoff to its star tailback.

Blake Corum, who had run 12 times for 28 yards prior to that moment, took the ball 22 yards and high-stepped over a defender as he leapt into the end zone to send the sold-out crowd of 110,615 into a frenzy.

A 38-yard James Turner field goal with 1:05 left put Michigan up by six, but gave Ohio State one last life.

Two long completion helped the Buckeyes cross midfield, but Rod Moore intercepted a pass with 25 seconds to play and without Jim Harbaugh on hand, Michigan defeated Ohio State for a third consecutive season, 30-24, to advance to the Big Ten championship game.

Michigan will play Iowa with a shot to win its third consecutive Big Ten title next Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

J.J. McCarthy, who hadn’t scored a touchdown in more than a month, made just enough plays. He had a controversial touchdown pass to Roman Wilson in the second quarter, a critical 15-yard run two plays before the go-ahead score and only threw one incompletion in the second half as he completed 16-of-20 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile Corum, who’d never been healthy for a game against the Buckeyes, got to make up for it in a big way. His score to open the contest was the 21st of the season which set a new U-M record, as he finished with 22 carries for 88 yards and a pair of scores.

Michigan’s lead was 27-17, when Ohio State went 65 yards on eight plays and Kyle McCord found Marvin Harrison Jr. on a 13-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to three. The Wolverines got the ball back with 8:05 to play and milked seven minutes of it off the clock to make it 30-24 and set up Ohio State’s final drive.

Survive the slog early

The Wolverines’ attack, slowed in recent weeks, was once again largely bottled in the first half. Michigan managed just 119 total yards on 29 plays (4.1 yards per attempt) and ran just 18 times for 34 yards (1.9 per attempt) as it accumulated a season-low six first downs before the break.

Not one carry went for more than five yards as Michigan’s offense began with consecutive three-and-outs.

However, as it has so many times, the defense sparked the day with a Kyle McCord interception on the next snap.

The junior’s gaze locked onto star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on a slant route and he forced the throw his way; however Michigan’s star defensive back Will Johnson jumped the route, picked it off and returned the ball to the Ohio State 7 for the first scoring opportunity of the game.

The Wolverines didn’t get cute from there. They handed the ball to Corum on four consecutive plays, the last of which he pounded home the game-opening touchdown on fourth-and-goal to give Michigan a 7-0 lead with 5:36 to go in the first.

The Buckeyes cut the lead to 7-3 after McCord found Harrison Jr. on an out-and-up route down the right sideline for a gain of 24 to cross midfield. A few plays later, Derrick Moore was flagged for hands to the face, which got OSU into scoring range for Jake Fielding who knocked home the 43-yard kick with 2:13 left in the first quarter.

Though the Wolverines led, their third down struggles mounted. Michigan went 0-for-2 on its first two attempts in the first quarter and its first attempt in the second had the same result, when McCarthy found AJ Barner for a gain of seven when Michigan needed eight.

This time Michigan went for it and Corum lept up and-over the pile for a first down. Three plays later, McCarthy’s scramble on third down was stopped a yard short of the sticks. Again U-M went for it on fourth-and-1 and McCarthy found Colston Loveland for a gain of 7.

It wasn’t until Michigan’s sixth third-down attempt − a difficult one when McCarthy backpedaled in the pocket under duress − when he connected with Roman Wilson in double coverage for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Wolverines up 14-3 midway through the second quarter.

The drive was 14 plays, covered 75 yards and had three conversions on third or fourth down as it took nearly seven minutes off the clock as Michigan had a chance to take control.

The Buckeyes wouldn’t let that happen. Ohio State marched on a 7-play, 73-yard drive and never even faced a third down before Emeka Egbuka waltzed into the end zone for a three-yard score. The big play when McCord found Cade Stover on 32-yard seam route − linebacker Jimmy Rolder, who’s being redshirted this season, was in coverage − before a penalty on Mason Graham set up a first-and-goal.

Two plays later, the Buckeyes made it 14-10 and set the stage for the drama in the second half.