Michigan football tops Ohio State for third straight year 30-24 to make Big Ten title game
The cart that carried Zak Zinter, Michigan football's senior, potential All-American offensive lineman hadn't yet cleared the field before he raised his left hand in the air; first as a thumb, then as a fist, to signal he was okay.
A captain, the face of U-M's group and a starter from the past two Joe Moore Award winning units was out (likely avoiding career-ending peril), but the show had to go on. Karsen Barnhart bumped from right tackle to right guard, Trente Jones slid in at tackle and Michigan ran a delayed handoff to its star tailback.
Blake Corum, who had run 12 times for 28 yards prior to that moment, took the ball 22 yards and high-stepped over a defender as he jumped into the end zone Saturday, his birthday and final game in Ann Arbor, to send the sold-out crowd of 110,615 in Ann Arbor into a frenzy.
Two more field goals from James Turner, the second a 37-yarder with 1:05 left, put U-M up by six, but gave Ohio State the chance for one last drive. A pair of long completions helped the Buckeyes cross midfield, but Rod Moore intercepted a pass with 25 seconds to play. Pandemonium ensued at Michigan Stadium.
Michigan, without its head coach Jim Harbaugh due to suspension, defeated Ohio State for a third consecutive season on Saturday, 30-24, to advance to the Big Ten championship game.
"I really can't put into words how I'm feeling," Moore said after the game. "A three-peat, being from Ohio, it feels great. Especially them not recruiting me when I came out of high school, just being able to beat them and get the get-back on them feels so good."
SHAWN WINDSOR: Every time Ohio State found something, Michigan found more. It owns this rivalry now.
Michigan will play Iowa with a shot to win its third consecutive Big Ten title next Saturday (Fox, 8:17 p.m.) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Harbaugh will be back on the sideline after serving his suspension for the past three games.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who hadn't scored a touchdown in more than a month, made just enough plays.
He had a somewhat controversial touchdown pass to Roman Wilson in the second quarter, a critical 15-yard run two plays before the go-ahead score, and only threw one incompletion in the second half as he completed 16 of 20 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown.
"It's been a lot, but the way we handled it, I'm so proud of coach Moore, I'm so proud of every person," McCarthy said. "From coach Harbaugh down to the nutrition staff, everybody. It's just been amazing to see the way they handled it, adapted and just continue to keep the main thing the main thing."
Meanwhile Corum, who had never been healthy for a game against the Buckeyes, got to make up for it in a big way. His score to open the contest was the 21st of the season which set a new U-M record, as he finished with 22 carries for 88 yards and a pair of scores.
"My last four years, I look back and pray I left a legacy," Corum said. "I stamped my mark here, I made a difference, on and off the field. You know, looking back at this game, I feel like this is why I came back.
"I couldn't go out at the big house like I did last year hurt. I came back for a game like this."
Buckeyes continue to push
U-M's lead ballooned to 17-10 when Kyle McCord found Marvin Harrison Jr. on a 14-yard pass, much of which happened after Will Johnson — who left the game with a "lower body injury" according to Moore but is believed to be OK — whiffed on a tackle.
The duo was trouble for U-M's defense all afternoon.
McCord completed 18-of-30 passes and though he turned it over twice, threw for two touchdowns and a season-high 271 yards. Harrison, believed to be a top three pick in April's NFL draft, caught five passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.
After the first down, OSU pounded the ball on the ground on nine out of the next 10 plays, which included the final eight as TreVeyon Henderson plowed into the end zone to knot the score at 17.
U-M responded with a Corum score of its own, but not before Zinter was lost for good.
"Best guard in the nation," Corum said of Zinter who also returned as part of the "one more year" fund along with Corum. "He'll be back (in the future), better than ever."
From there, the defense forced its first three-and-out since the opening drive of the game. On the first play of the fourth quarter, McCarthy tossed it to Edwards, who lofted a 34-yard pass to Colston Loveland on a trick play to get U-M within field goal range and put the Wolverines up 10.
"Wish he'd led me a little more," joked Loveland afterwards about why the throw didn't go for a score. "But he got it to me and that's all we needed. But yeah, being cool to get the opportunity to be in that position."
Michigan's lead was 27-17, when Ohio State went 65 yards on eight plays and McCord hit Harrison Jr. on a 13-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to three. The Wolverines got the ball back with 8:05 to play and milked seven minutes to make it 30-24 before the game-sealing interception.
Survive the slog early
The Wolverines' attack, slowed in recent weeks, was once again largely bottled in the first half. Michigan managed just 119 total yards on 29 plays (4.1 yards per attempt) and ran 18 times for 34 yards (1.9 per attempt) as it accumulated a season-low six first downs before the break.
Not one carry went for more than 5 yards as U-M's offense began with consecutive three-and-outs.
However, as it has so many times, the defense sparked the day with an interception on the next snap.
The junior's gaze locked onto Harrison Jr. on a slant route and McCord forced the throw. Johnson jumped the route, picked it off and returned the ball to the OSU 7 for the first scoring opportunity of the game.
"Excited for the defense, what they did and how they adjusted," U-M acting head coach Sherrone Moore said. "Great team defense."
Michigan didn't get cute from there. The Wolverines handed the ball to Corum on four consecutive plays, the last of which he pounded home for the game-opening touchdown on fourth-and-goal to give U-M a 7-0 lead with 5:36 to go in the first quarter.
The Buckeyes cut the lead to 7-3 when Jayden Fielding booted a 43-yard kick, a drive aided by a Derrick Moore penalty, with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
READ MORE: J.J. McCarthy's step up elevates Wolverines to one of the program's biggest victories
Though the Wolverines led, their third-down struggles mounted. Michigan went 0-for-2 on its first two attempts in the first quarter and its first attempt in the second had the same result, when McCarthy found AJ Barner for a gain of 7 yards when U-M needed eight.
This time U-M went for it and Corum leapt up and-over the pile for a first down. Three plays later, McCarthy's scramble on third down was stopped a yard short of the sticks. Again U-M went for it on fourth-and-1 and McCarthy found Colston Loveland for a 7-yard gain.
The Wolverines finished the game 3-for-3 on fourth down.
"Coach Moore said from the get-go that he's going to call the most aggressive game he's evere called," McCarthy said. "That's music to our ears."
It wasn't until U-M's sixth third-down attempt — a difficult one when McCarthy backpedaled in the pocket under duress — when he connected with Wilson in double coverage for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Wolverines up 14-3 midway through the second quarter. The play was reviewed after an OSU defensive back came away with the football, but the call on the field was ruled to stand.
The Buckeyes then responded and marched on a seven-play, 73-yard drive and never even faced a third down before Emeka Egbuka waltzed into the end zone for a 3-yard score. The big play came when McCord found Cade Stover on 32-yard seam route — linebacker Jimmy Rolder, who is being redshirted this season, was in coverage — before a penalty on Mason Graham set up a first-and-goal.
Two plays later, OSU made it 14-10.
But Michigan never trailed and now is one win away from another College Football Playoff semifinal appearance.
"Just like Kobe Bryant said, the job's not finished," Corum began. "We have a lot of work to do, you know? We have to go back tomorrow, we're gonna enjoy the day but we have to lock into Iowa right away."
Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football survives Ohio State 30-24 to make Big Ten title game
