ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In the latest installment of The Game, Ohio State and Michigan not only added another chapter, the two century-old rivals played perhaps their best game. The back-and-forth affair played out far different than many believe it would.
The Buckeyes entered Saturday’s clash as an overwhelming 16-pooint favorite after the Wolverines’ season derailed in the month of November. But playing for pride against a hated rival has a funny affect.
A touchdown with 32 seconds left cut Ohio State’s lead to one point. Brady Hoke did the right thing in going for two and the win. What could be questioned is the play call, especially when the Buckeyes revealed they knew what play was coming.
Regardless, the 42-41 heart-stopper is a game that will be discussed for decades to come.
“I would have done the same thing,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. “You go win the game, no question. Both offenses were kind of in unstoppable mode.”
Meyer’s been a part of countless games as a coach and 12 years worth of contests as a head coach. But it’s hard to be involved in a better game with those high of stakes.
“That’s an instant classic,” Meyer said.
When Michigan scored its final touchdown, Hoke gathered his seniors on the sideline and asked them if they wanted to go for two.
“I don’t think there was one guy that said no,” left tackle Taylor Lewan said.
On the opposite sideline, cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs was telling Ohio State what play would be coming.
“Coach Coombs looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Tyvis, they’re running the anchor route in triple stack,’” Powell said. “I went out there and they ran it. I said, ‘Wow, Coach Coombs is a genius.’ Boom, there it was.”
“They asked for the ball on the left hash, so [Devin Gardner] being a right-handed quarterback, we knew he was going to sprint out a little bit,” safety C.J. Barnett said. “They had [Drew Dileo] motion over, so we knew that the angle route was coming. Tyvis stepped up in front of him and made a great play.”
While everything was transpiring, running back Carlos Hyde had a different thought entirely.
“I think they went for two because they didn’t want to go overtime. They knew what would happen,” Hyde said.
Hyde finished with 226 yards, the most ever by a Buckeye against Michigan. He also had a fourth-quarter fumble that got the Wolverines back in the game before he scored the game-winning touchdown.
“I have the best offensive line in the country,” Hyde said. “I’m thankful. That helps me showcase my talents.”
Ohio State’s defense gave up more than 600 yards for just the second time in school history. A Michigan offense that was shut down the entire month of November suddenly turned into a prolific unit that couldn’t be stopped.
“Our pass defense is rearing its head again,” Meyer said.
“We’re pretty disappointed because we’re a lot better than that,” linebacker Ryan Shazier said. “We had a bad game today. We had too much emotion at the beginning of the game.”
The emotion was most evident less than a minute into the second quarter when a fight broke out, resulting in the ejection of three players – two Buckeyes and one Wolverine. Players from both teams admitted that the fight was nothing to be proud of and left black cloud over the time.
“I’m disappointed with that,” Meyer said. “I don’t know where that came from. We had a little chat about that. That’s unacceptable.”
The ejection of Marcus Hall thrust backup offensive lineman Pat Elfein into the game. He’s a player Meyer and Ed Warinner have spoken highly of dating to spring practice and Elflein showed why.
“It was pretty overwhelming,” Elflein said, “but we prepare so well during practice. I was ready for the moment. I’m always ready. Every game, I’m always on the sideline, helmet strapped up, mouth guard in, because you never know when your number is going to be called. Today was my day.”
