ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State fans had been waiting all season for a performance like that one.
A week after a disappointing and inexcusable offensive performance in a loss to Michigan State, the Buckeyes dominated arch-rival Michigan on Saturday, 42-13, in front of 111,829 fans at Michigan Stadium.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| MICHIGAN | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
Ohio State's running game was unstoppable as the Buckeyes gained 369 of their 482 total yards on the ground. Ezekiel Elliott got what he asked for after last week's postgame comments, as the junior running back was unstoppable all day, gaining 214 yards on 30 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback J.T. Barrett also did his part, carrying the ball 19 times for 139 yards and three scores. Barrett was also 9-for-15 passing through the air for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps nothing showed Ohio State's dominance more than its second drive of the second half, where the Buckeyes marched 84 yards on 16 plays — 11 of which were runs — in 7 minutes, 5 seconds and capped things off with a 13-yard touchdown run by Barrett. Ohio State also scored fourth-quarter touchdowns on touchdown runs of 10 and 17 yards by Elliott and Barrett, respectively.
The Buckeyes’ opening drive of the second half was quite efficient, covering 82 yards in eight plays. Elliott had 45 yards on three carries and it was a 25-yard touchdown pass from J.T. Barrett to Jalin Marshall that got Ohio State into the end zone.
Ohio State held a 14-3 lead in the second quarter before Michigan’s 11-play, 92-yard drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jake Rudock to Jehu Chesson with one minute remaining brought the Wolverines within 14-10 at halftime.
Michigan outgained the Buckeyes in the first half, 226 to 189. Rudock was 14-for-24 passing for 174 yards and the touchdown. Elliott carried the ball 10 times for 99 yards and a score as Ohio State gained 171 of its first-half yards on the ground. Barrett also carried the ball eight times for 64 yards and a touchdown while completing just 3-of-6 passes through the air for 18 yards.
Barrett opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:05 remaining in the first quarter after Elliott set up the score with a 66-yard run down the sideline. After a Michigan field goal cut it to 7-3, the Buckeyes went on a nine-play, 75-yard drive in 4:24 which was capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Elliott.
Ohio State moves to 11-1 on the year and awaits its fate during the Michigan State-Penn State game at 3:30 p.m. With the loss, Michigan finishes the regular-season 9-3.
| Ohio State | Stat | MICHIGAN |
|---|---|---|
| 482 | NET TOTAL YARDS | 364 |
| 369 | RUSHING YARDS | 57 |
| 54 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 25 |
| 6.8 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 2.3 |
| 5 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 113 | PASSING YARDS | 307 |
| 9-15 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 25-47 |
| 12.6 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 12.3 |
| 1 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 1 |
| 25 | 1st DOWNS | 20 |
| 18 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 3 |
| 4 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 16 |
| 3 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 1 |
| 69 | TOTAL PLAYS | 72 |
| 7.0 | YARDS PER PLAY | 5.1 |
| 5-6 | RED ZONE | 3-3 |
| 7-13 | 3rd DOWNS | 9-18 |
| 1-2 | 4th DOWNS | 1-3 |
| 5-39 | PENALTIES | 7-72 |
| 30:06 | POSSESSION | 29:54 |
Game Notes
- Saturday was the 112th edition of “The Game” between Ohio State and Michigan. Ohio State has now won the last four and officially 12 of the past 14 meetings overall.
- The 29-point differential was the largest margin of victory for Ohio State in Ann Arbor since a 50-20 win in 1961.
- Head coach Urban Meyer is 4-0 in his Ohio State career vs. Michigan.
- Meyer is now 15-6 in his head coaching career against Top 10 teams and 32-13 against the Top 25.
- Ohio State has won 18 consecutive true road games (games on an opponent’s home field), the longest such streak in the nation and extending the school record. The Buckeyes are undefeated, a perfect 18-0, in road games under Meyer, or since the start of the 2012 season.
- As a team, Ohio State rushed for a season-high 369 yards and five touchdowns, the fourth-most yards by an Ohio State team in the Michigan rivalry. The 482 total yards were 219 yards more than Michigan came in allowing per game.
- Ohio State’s 16-play, 84-yard drive in the third quarter was its longest scoring drive in terms of plays (16) in Big Ten play this season, giving the Buckeyes a 28-10 lead. Ohio State had a 17-play scoring drive vs. Hawai’i.
- Running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed 30 times for 214 yards and two TDs. Elliott’s 66-yard rush in the first quarter was the 12th of his career of at least 50 yards.
- Elliott passed Eddie George (3,768 yards) for second on Ohio State’s all-time rushing list. Elliott now has 3,812 rushing yards in his career. The Ohio State record is 5,589 yards by Archie Griffin from 1972-75.
- Elliott’s 214 yards also represents his second 200-yard game of the season and the fifth of his career, tying George for the most 200-yard games in school history.
- Quarterback J.T. Barrett rushed for 139 yards and three TDs and threw for 113 yards and a score. He has now accounted for 19 touchdowns in his last six games (11 rushing, 8 passing).
- Ohio State is now 4-0 vs. Michigan when two Buckeyes rush for at least 100 yards.
- Wide receiver Michael Thomas has now caught a pass in 28 consecutive games. He finished with 50 yards receiving, including a 38-yarder in the fourth quarter.
- Ohio State’s defense held Michigan to a mere 57 yards on the ground, more than 100 yards below its season average.
- Defensive end Joey Bosa recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter and returned it 28 yards. He also finished with 1.0 sack, a forced fumble and two QB hurries.
- Linebacker Joshua Perry led the Buckeyes with 10 tackles, including a half sack and a PBU.
- As a team, Ohio State recorded 3.0 TFL, two FF, four PBUs and 5 QBH.
