A game winner, as it turned out…Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada connects on this 54 yard field goal in the second quarter that turned out to be the difference in the game. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
Ohio State couldn’t get out of its own way Saturday and couldn’t run the football in a 13-10 loss. And Michigan found a way to keep Ryan Day searching for answers in the rivalry he’s only won once.
Columbus, OH – Ohio State lost another football game to Michigan on Saturday that it should have won.
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Blame a lot of things that happened on the field from lack of execution by players, to interceptions thrown and interceptions not capitalized on, to two missed field goals, to play calling. Shake your head in disbelief that Michigan’s two first-half scoring drives covered two and three yards.
If you like, blame head Buckeye Ryan Day and call for his firing. You will receive lots of affirmation for those opinions.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
However, the seeds of Saturday’s stunning 13-10 loss began in 2021 when the Wolverines began this four-game winning streak in The Game.
Michigan for three years dominated the running game and the second half. And each time Day doubled down on having to run the ball better than Michigan to win this game no matter the rankings, point spreads, strengths of his offense or trajectory of the game.
He stuck to that idea, that sentiment, that stubbornness, on Saturday, and his team was outrushed 172 to 77. The Buckeyes averaged 3.0 yards on 26 attempts. Why not throw it more?
“You can’t just abandon the run,” he said. “You have to be able to control the ball.”
Michigan averaged 4.1 yards on 42 attempts. The numbers don’t lie. And when Michigan needed to run the ball well it was able to drive 57 yards to the winning 21-yard field goal by Dominic Zavada with 45 seconds left in the game.
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Michigan, despite a 7-5 record, can still run the football better than No. 2 and 10-2 Ohio State. And, even with all the other mishaps, not running the ball well ultimately caused a Day-coached team to lose to an unranked team for the first time.
The reasons the Buckeyes haven’t run the ball well enough to beat Michigan goes back to recruiting and, this year, injuries. No doubt losing left tackle Josh Simmons and center Seth McLaughlin to season-ending injuries made an obvious dent in the Buckeyes’ ability to make headway against the Wolverines. And not recruiting enough talent to have dependable next-man-up depth is well-documented.
Michigan ran the ball…Ohio State couldn’t. Kalel Mulliings (above, #20) ran for 116 yards for the Wolverines. Ohio State, collectively, ran for 72.
“We felt like we were a really good place coming into this game,” Day said. “I felt like we were prepared to play well in this game, and I think you can see maybe some of the stuff that happened in the offensive line and shuffling things around ended up really coming to a head today. We just didn’t seem to get through to the second level on some runs.”
The stats reveal Ohio State threw more than it ran: 33 to 26. Field position at times dictate some run plays, but the boos rained down more than once over two yards on first down and two yards on second down when your team is supposed to have the best receiving corps in the nation.
Quarterback Will Howard was asked about offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s play calling.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m going to stay away from that right now.”
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Howard completed 19 of 33 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, but he threw two interceptions. One set up Michigan’s first touchdown and a 7-3 lead in the second quarter when it was returned to the Ohio State three. The other occurred in the red zone in the third quarter.
“It was windy today, and we didn’t have a ton of time back there in terms of protection,” Day said. “So we tried to be smart about that. We had a good plan in the pass game going in, but ultimately it wasn’t good enough.”
In a game of few big plays…Michigan’s Alex Orgi gashed the Buckeyes for 40 yards on this run in the first half.
Not even when the defense set up the offense in the second half. Caleb Downs’ interception gave the Buckeyes the ball at the Michigan 16 late in the third quarter. But four plays, zero yards and Jayden Fielding’s missed 34-yard field goal was a killer. Senior defensive end Jack Sawyer intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it to the 21 with 6:13 left. But the Buckeyes again failed to gain a first down and punted.
Howard was hit hard on a run in the second quarter and left the game briefly. He was evaluated for a possible concussion and returned to the game. He did not say the hit had any lingering effects.
“It was my head, and I was good enough to come back,” Howard said. “There’s nothing that was inside of me that wanted to come off that field. I was trying to get up.”
For most of the game it didn’t seem that Michigan would be nearly good enough on offense. Ohio State’s defense was dominant, including Downs’ stop on a fourth-and-1 run at the Ohio State 3 early in the second quarter. Michigan passed for only 62 yards, and Ohio State led in total yards 252 to 234.
The score was tied 10-10 at halftime and Ohio State was largely responsible for every point. Why? Because of the touchdown drive following Howard’s first interception started at the two, and a short punt set up Zavada’s 54-yard field goal with 2:15 left in the first half.
That set up a promising sequence that has propelled the Buckeyes to dominating the end of the first half and the third quarter. Howard led a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith with 30 seconds left in the half.
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Buckeye kicker Jayden Fielding watches a critical missed field goal sail far right.
Armed with a 10-10 tie, the Buckeyes began the second half with the ball. But they never scored again. Their possessions ended with a punt, interception, missed field goal, punt and on downs as they tried to scramble in the final 45 seconds to at least tie the score.
“Overall execution wasn’t good enough in a game like this,” Day said. “That’s really what I’m thinking about right now. And the guys in that locker room.”
The seniors who came back for the stated reason of beating Michigan felt the crush of defeat like never before. One of them, linebacker Cody Simon, had little to say as questions came his way.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “All the seniors, all the older guys … we’re just going to have to lick our wounds and regroup. We just didn’t get the stops we needed to. We need to be prepared to win games just on defense.”
Howard transferred from Kansas State, and one of the achievements he craved was to lead his new team to a win over Michigan. As a leader he will be part of the regrouping effort to get the Buckeyes ready for the 12-team playoff and a first-round game on December 20 or 21.
“I don’t know if I have the answer to that right now, but I’m going to go and get with my family and regroup,” he said. “I still love this team. I still love this university. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to be with my guys. So sorry I couldn’t get this one done.”
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Perhaps no one feels lower than Day. He’s said the past Michigan losses are some of the most disappointing events in his life. The Buckeyes were huge favorites and lost a chance to play next week for the Big Ten championship. Penn State took their spot against No. 1 Oregon.
Day was asked how he picks up the pieces. That’s a difficult question to answer with all that was lost and all that could be lost in his future.
Defensive line coach Larry Johnson reacts to the reality of losing to Michigan…again.
“Just fresh off the game right now, and obviously extremely disappointed, angry that we didn’t execute well enough,” he said. “But as you guys know, it’s not easy to accept, and obviously have to take the ownership. I’m the one ultimately that makes the final decision on things.”
Michigan players, told all season that they couldn’t win this game, celebrated with an extra dose of zeal. While the Ohio State players stood in the south end zone and sang “Carmen Ohio” with the band, Michigan players planted a large blue “M” flag in the block “O” in the middle of the field.
Ohio State players ran to midfield to remove the flag and fights broke out. Eventually Sawyer got ahold of the flag and ripped it off the pole. OSU Police eventually broke up the melee with pepper spray and will continue to investigate.
“I don’t know all the details of it, but I know that these guys are looking to put a flag on our field, and our guys weren’t gonna let that happen,” Day said. “I’ll find out exactly what happened. But this is our field. Certainly we’re embarrassed of the fact that we lost the game, but there’s prideful guys on this team that weren’t just gonna let that happen.”
Michigan running back Kalel Mullings was interviewed on Fox after the game. He blamed Ohio State.
“It’s bad for the sport, bad for college football,” he began. “But at the end of the day, they gotta learn how to lose. You can’t be fighting and stuff just because you lost a game. We had 60 minutes, we had four quarters to do all that fighting, and now people want to talk and fight. That’s wrong. It’s bad for the game. Classless in my opinion. People gotta be better.”
And when it comes to playing Michigan anywhere, anytime, Day, given the chance, has to figure out how to make the Buckeyes better. At running the football and everything else.
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