ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For the first time in 2,191 days, since before the introduction of both NIL and the transfer portal, two mechanisms that radicalized college football, Ohio State has finally beaten Michigan.
And, boy, did the Buckeyes beat them soundly.
They won the rushing battle and kept Michigan out of the end zone. They smothered quarterback Bryce Underwood and exposed a Wolverines’ defense that lacked elite playmakers at all three levels. They snapped a four-game losing streak that felt like 40 with a resounding 27-9 win that propelled Ohio State into the Big Ten Championship game.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Ryan Day finally gets the Michigan monkey off his back
Until Ohio State head coach Ryan Day can reel off several consecutive victories over the Wolverines, leveling his all-time record against The Team Up North, images of his frozen posture following the 2024 meltdown will continue to circulate on social media. Stunned by his team’s inability to dispose of a subpar Michigan squad — one that played without a competent quarterback and finished the season 8-5 overall — Day stood motionless on the turf at Ohio Stadium as an ugly fracas unfolded around him. It was the unquestioned nadir of Day’s tenure, especially when juxtaposed with the national championship he’d win less than two months later.
And while hoisting that final trophy certainly represented a capstone of sorts within Day’s career, every head coach at Ohio State is expected to dominate the rivalry with Michigan, to ensure that the Big Ten runs through Columbus rather than Ann Arbor or anywhere else. He simply had to beat the Wolverines this time around to avoid becoming the first Buckeye coach to lose five straight rivalry games since John W. Wilce from 1922-27.
So much about the nature of Saturday’s game must have pleased Day, who cracked a smirk when he walked onto the field long before kickoff to choruses of negativity from early-arriving Michigan fans. His stunning stable of wide receivers carved up the Wolverines’ secondary. His rebuilt offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage to give quarterback Julian Sayin plenty of time and carve massive rushing lanes for tailback Bo Jackson, who finished with 117 yards on 22 carries. His defense was physical at the point of attack and bothered Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood enough to hold the Wolverines to just 63 yards through the air.
Not only had Day begun to tilt the rivalry back toward Ohio State’s favor, but he’d done so in resounding fashion and earned himself a trip to the Big Ten Championship game along the way.
Ryan Day gets emotional after Ohio State’s victory over Michigan
2. Julian Sayin outplays Bryce Underwood in matchup of first-year starting QBs
The legions of Buckeye fans who gobbled up tickets at Michigan Stadium were left slack-jawed and stunned on Ohio State’s opening possession when quarterback Julian Sayin, a sophomore making his first appearance in this rivalry, tossed an ugly interception along the left sideline. His back-shoulder throw toward Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith was easily undercut by Michigan cornerback Jyaire Hill for an interception that led to a Wolverines’ field goal.
But from that point forward, on an afternoon that spiraled into a rout by the middle of the third quarter, Sayin responded with a near-flawless performance that outclassed his high-profile counterpart, Bryce Underwood, a former five-star recruit and the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class.
Free from the kind of interior pressure that unnerved former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard last fall, Sayin completed 19 of 26 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns while enjoying plenty of time in the pocket. Six different players made at least two catches as Sayin spread the ball to all parts of the field and strung together five scoring drives in the span of six possessions to erase an early deficit.
All week, fans and media members alike wondered if wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate would be available after missing last Saturday’s win over Rutgers with undisclosed injuries. Smith hadn’t looked like himself since catching 10 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown against Purdue on Nov. 8, while Tate hadn’t appeared in a game since beating Penn State on Nov. 1. Without them, Sayin connected with tight end Max Klare seven times for 105 yards and a touchdown while undressing the Scarlet Knights.
Both Smith and Tate wound up playing against Michigan and imprinted themselves on the game with lengthy touchdowns that highlighted Sayin’s incredible touch. The former hauled in a 35-yard score early in the second quarter when Sayin lofted a beautiful throw down the right sideline. The latter broke the game open with a 50-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter when Sayin led him perfectly, the ball arcing over Tate’s shoulders and into his outstretched arms. Swirling winds and mealy snow hardly seemed to bother Sayin, a native of Southern California, as he registered his highest passing total since Nov. 8.
The same could not be said for Underwood, whose unsightly stat line included just 63 passing yards and a 44% completion rate. Michigan’s penchant for using extra offensive linemen and tight ends reduced the involvement of freshman receiver Andrew Marsh, who wasn’t even targeted before Ohio State pulled its starters, while leaving former quarterback Donoven McCulley as the only Michigan player with at least three receptions in the game.
The conservative nature of offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey’s play calling made it obvious that the Wolverines had little faith in Underwood’s ability to operate a downfield passing attack against such a talented defense.
3. An early turnover creates some adversity for Ohio State
For anyone unfamiliar with Ohio State’s dominance in reaching the final weekend of the regular season unbeaten, consider the following statistic: The Buckeyes arrived at Michigan Stadium as the only FBS team that had yet to trail in the second half of games this season. And Indiana was the only other FBS team to trail for fewer than 21:45 in second halves. That’s the kind of control that comes with early scoring and an offense that can run the clock by averaging more than 33 minutes of possession per game, eighth-most in the country. In fact, the Buckeyes had only trailed for 26:09 at any point this season.
Which is why the opening minutes of Saturday’s game were so fascinating when Michigan notched field goals on its first two drives, one of which was aided by a stunning interception from Sayin. The Wolverines ran the ball seven times for 70 yards on those possessions, gashing an Ohio State defense that only surrendered 80 rushing yards per game all season. Twice, Michigan tailback Jordan Marshall ripped off carries of 20-plus to maneuver closer to field goal range for kicker Dominic Zvada, who bounced back from recent struggles to nail his first two attempts in swirling winds.
That Ohio State quickly flipped the field on a weaving 36-yard run from tailback Bo Jackson, a true freshman, gave an appearance that the Buckeyes might quickly erase the 6-0 deficit with a single touchdown — especially after Michigan edge rusher Jaishawn Barham was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that moved the ball to within 2 yards of the end zone. But the Wolverines responded with an impressive goal-line stand on back-to-back runs by Ohio State tailback C.J. Donaldson and a failed sneak from Sayin. An illegal procedure penalty on fourth down prompted head coach Ryan Day to send in his field goal unit, which meant the Buckeyes would trail for a while longer.
Ohio State didn’t take the lead until the 11:44 mark of the second quarter, when Sayin dropped a beautiful throw down the well to Jeremiah Smith for a 35-yard touchdown on fourth-and-5.
4. Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada bounces back from season-long struggles
One of the key discussion points following Michigan’s stunning upset of Ohio State last November — aside, of course, from the postgame melee in which a flag was planted, pepper spray was unleashed and the fans in Columbus hurled obscenities at head coach Ryan Day following a fourth consecutive loss to the Wolverines — was the alarming disparity at kicker. Where Jayden Fielding had missed two kicks for the Buckeyes in a game that was ultimately decided by three points, Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada made all three of his attempts, including a 54-yarder in the third quarter and a 21-yarder in the fourth that proved to be the winning score.
Zvada’s clutch performance at Ohio Stadium was merely the continuation of an incredible season for the Arkansas State transfer, one that earned him first-team All-American honors. He would go on to make 21 of 22 attempts during his first year with the Wolverines, including all seven from beyond 50 yards, and established himself as a legitimate weapon for an offensively challenged team. He was expected to be among the best kickers in the country again in 2025.
But Zvada’s career arc veered in a new direction this fall when he missed two kicks in Michigan’s first three games and never quite righted the ship. There were additional misses against Wisconsin, Washington, Northwestern (x2) and Maryland entering Saturday’s date with Ohio State, which made it fair to question what head coach Sherrone Moore could realistically expect from his shaken star.
The answer, as it turned out, was supreme reliability as Zvada drilled three consecutive tries in the first half amid swirling winds, including two from 45 yards or longer to keep the Wolverines afloat. And while it was encouraging for Michigan to see Zvada bounce back so resoundingly, the over-reliance on his right foot dovetailed with an offense that stalled time and again in plus territory. The Wolverines cobbled together drives that reached the 27-yard line, the 7-yard line and the 30-yard line but never found the end zone.
4 ½. What’s next?
Ohio State’s victory now sets up a must-watch Big Ten Championship game.
Indiana’s lopsided 56-3 trouncing of in-state rival Purdue on Friday night meant the Hoosiers could sit back and enjoy the Saturday slate that would determine its opponent in the Big Ten title game, which will be played on Dec. 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Three scenarios were still in play when Ohio State and Michigan kicked off here in Ann Arbor:
— Michigan could reach the championship game with a win over Ohio State and a Washington victory over Oregon later in the day.
— Ohio State could reach the championship game by simply beating the Wolverines.
— Oregon could reach the championship game with a win over Washington and a Michigan victory over Ohio State.
Things began trending in the Buckeyes’ direction late in the first half when Sayin orchestrated an 11-play, 87-yard touchdown drive capped by a short pass to wide receiver Brandon Inniss. That score nudged Ohio State’s lead to 17-9 in a game when Michigan seemed nearly incapable of moving the ball through the air, widening the margin’s real-life feel.
The discrepancy only widened in the second half as Ohio State, which began celebrating near the midway point of the fourth quarter, held the Wolverines scoreless in the second half in a game that was all but over with plenty of time to spare. Michigan never threatened; the Buckeyes never blinked.
And now, after another unbeaten regular season for Day and Co., the end result is a mouthwatering matchup in Indianapolis next weekend pitting No. 1 Ohio State against No. 2 Indiana for the league championship. The winner will also earn the top overall seed in the College Football Playoff.
It’s hard to get much better than that.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.
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