Michigan Dominates Ohio State 45-23

The No. 3 Michigan Wolverines traveled to Columbus Saturday and defeated the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 45-23 to move to the Big Ten Championship.

Michigan

The Wolverines struggled in the first quarter, scoring just three points and the team had only 10 rushing yards in the first half. Michigan’s star running back Blake Corum had only two carries in the game. However, the team recorded a 14-point second quarter which cut their deficit to 20-17 going into halftime.

Ohio State was devoted to stopping the Wolverines run game and forced young quarterback JJ McCarthy to beat them in the air. McCarthy responded to the task, throwing three touchdowns passes over 45 yards.

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The Michigan ground game in the fourth quarter broke the game open. Donovan Edwards had 22 carries for 216 yards overall and recorded rushing touchdowns of 75 and 85 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

1 play
75 yards
Touchdown pic.twitter.com/KvkwVJb2KT

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 26, 2022

The victory sealed Michigan’s second straight Big Ten East title. They will face Purdue in the Big Ten Championship game. Even if the Wolverines fall to the Boilermakers, Michigan would most likely still get in to the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State

Multiple storylines were impacted by the Buckeyes loss. With a win, Ohio State would have solidified their spot in the CFP, CJ Stroud would have most likely locked up the Heisman Trophy and they would’ve avenged their loss last year in Ann Arbor.

The defense had multiple secondary issues as they relied on stopping the run. Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles took responsibility, saying that the team failed execution on smaller things which let Michigan run away with the game.

The defense gave up 530 yards of offense, in the loss.

Stroud did what he could on the offensive side. He threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns including a 42-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr.

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Possible Play Outs

Consequently, the Buckeyes will have to rely on major upsets in Conference Championship games. The AP poll moved Ohio State back to No. 5, and if the trend continues for the CFP rankings, they will likely need a USC loss in order to make it into the top-four.

If not, CBS Sports predicts that Ohio State will play in the Rose Bowl against Washington.

History

This was the first time the Wolverines won in Columbus in 22 years and it was the first time since 1999 the Buckeyes have back-to-back losses against Michigan.

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Ryan Day is the first Ohio State head coach since John Cooper to lose twice against Michigan in their tenure and Jim Harbaugh earned his second win against the Buckeyes after losing his first five.