Apologies to those of you who read the original last night before it went to blog heaven.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
That Team | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Ohio State | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
BACKGROUND
The Buckeyes entered this game with a 9-2 record and were coming off of a 30-20 victory over Illinois in Champaign. The losses that season were the 3-35 drubbing at No. 1 USC and the 6-13 home loss to No. 3 Penn State. 2008's biggest wins were a 20-17 win at No. 18 Wisconsin and a 45-7 runaway at No. 20 Michigan State.
Ohio State wanted to continue a four game winning streak against Michigan. This was Beanie Wells' last home game as a Buckeye.
Our Rivals were in the first year of the Rich Rodriguez regime. His inaugural season was not the greatest. The Wolverines came to Columbus with a 3-8 record that included a five game losing streak. Michigan came into this game fresh off of a 14-21 loss to Northwestern in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines finished 2008 2-5 at home. Rodriguez and company desperately needed a win in The Game to salvage any hope for the future.
OHIO STATE PLAYERS
- Beanie Wells ran for a game-high 134 yards (8.9 ypc) and a touchdown. Beanie had another 50+ yard touchdown in The Game. The Wolverine slayer had at least one 50+ yard touchdown in three straight games against Our Rival.
- Terrelle Pryor completed 5/13 passes for 120 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Not bad for a freshman.
- Boom Herron had 80 yards on the ground (10.0 ypc) and 2 touchdowns.
- Brian Hartline led the Buckeyes with 2 receptions and a game-high 71 yards and 2 touchdowns.
THAT TEAM'S PLAYERS
- Nick Sheridan completed 8/24 passes for 87 yards. Sheridan was sacked twice in the game.
- Martavious Odoms led the Wolverines with 5 receptions for 37 yards.
- Brandon Minor had a team-high 67 yards rushing and scored That Team's only touchdown.
KEY DRIVE
Jim Tressel said this after the game:
The turning point was when they punted us down to the 9 and then two plays later we scored. That was huge. A big run by Beanie, and then a big run by 'Boom' Herron. That really made a difference. espn.com
THE REST OF THE STORY
The win over That Team was the fifth straight in the series for Ohio State. The Buckeyes would go on to win a total of seven in a row against their rivals. Since 2004 Ohio State has won 9 out of 10 against That Team.
The 10th ranked Buckeyes lost to No. 3 Texas 21-24 on a last second touchdown in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.
Michigan's season ended with their worst loss to Ohio State since 1968 (50-14). Rodriguez led teams would go 0-3 against Ohio State being outscored 100-24 (33-8).
QUOTABLE
After the game Rich Rodriguez said:
“Hopefully [we will] remember it as a blip on the screen, a one-time happening.” espn.com
James Laurinaitis:
“As we get older, we'll look back on our career and realize to be a part of the first team to win five times in a row is something that is very special. To be able to say that you're a part of this team is something that I'll remember for the rest of my life.” espn.com
THIS WEEK'S ARTICLES
The Rundown
The Series History
NEXT ARTICLES
Ohio State on 11-22 (Fri)
The Ohio State Effect (Sun)