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Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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FOUR MICHIGAN 13 | OHIO STATE 10
Michigan beats No. 2 Ohio State for fourth straight year, stunning Buckeyes in Columbus NOAH KINGSLEY
Managing Sports Editor
C
OLUMBUS — With 45 seconds left in the game, it finally began to settle in. Gone was the pregame expectation that No. 2 Ohio State would finally break its losing streak to the Michigan football team. Gone was the threetouchdown spread favoring the Buckeyes. Gone were the thoughts that the five-loss Wolverines had no chance, particularly with star cornerback Will Johnson and tight end Colston Loveland sidelined. Instead, all that was left was a distraught hush over the Ohio Stadium crowd, a three-point Michigan lead and a swarming Wolverines defense. With a final four-play, 1-yard drive, Michigan’s defense completed its second-half shutout of Ohio State’s high-powered offense. And with some help from graduate running back
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Kalel Mullings, the Wolverines (7-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) pulled off the miraculous upset, beating rival Ohio State (10-2, 7-2) for the fourth–straight year, 13-10. “It’s hard to really put into words how much it means to this group,” senior quarterback Davis Warren said. “We talk about it 365 days a year. … This game means everything to us. Things haven’t gone exactly as we wanted them to over the course of the year, but man, just so proud of this group.” From the moment Michigan’s defense took the field, it showed it could hang with the Buckeyes. Ohio State demonstrated its inability to run the ball from the opening drive. Its air attack, though significantly better, only earned it a field goal. And while the Buckeyes stuffed Mullings on fourth-and-1 to take back over on their own 3-yard line, the Wolverines showed an early ability to move the ball down the field. Graduate cornerback Aamir Hall wasn’t satisfied with the Wolverines’ failed goal-line
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chance, however. On Ohio State’s third play of the drive, Hall jumped a route on the sideline to pick Howard off, before he took the ball all the way back to the 2-yard line. There, Mullings punched it in two rushes later to give Michigan a 7-3 lead, refusing to be denied again. With some help from special teams in the form of a missed Buckeyes field goal and a 54-yard make by junior kicker Dominic Zvada, Michigan took a touchdown lead up to the twominute mark of the first half. But once Ohio State upped the tempo during its ensuing two-minute drill, it found its only real success in the game. Quarterback Will Howard piloted a smooth nineplay, 75-yard drive, capping it off with a wide-open touchdown pass to wideout Jeremiah Smith to tie the game at 10-10. As the teams entered their respective tunnels, momentum swung in the Buckeyes’ favor. A once-booing crowd began erupting in cheers. But Michigan’s defense refused to let
a little momentum take it out of the game. Even as Ohio State drove down the field on its second drive of the second half, the Wolverines never broke. Threatening in the red zone with five minutes left in the third quarter, Howard attempted to pick up a first down over the middle of the field, but graduate safety Makari Paige didn’t let him. He lunged forward, intercepted Howard’s pass and handed the ball right back to his offense, the game still tied. For much of the second half, though, Michigan’s offense did little with the lifelines its defense gave it. Three plays after Paige’s interception, senior quarterback Davis Warren gave the ball, and an instant red zone opportunity, right back to the Buckeyes. When the defense forced Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding to miss a second field goal, this time from just 34 yards out, the offense still couldn’t break through. While Warren led a 15-play, 77-yard drive to the 3-yard line, he made one more error. With
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freshman tight end Hogan Hansen open in the end zone, he threw the ball too low, allowing defensive end Jack Sawyer to pick it off. Despite their defense’s performance to that point, the Wolverines left the red zone empty-handed again. “Makari and that whole group, they won us this football game no doubt,” Warren said. “The way that they played against that offense, they did an incredible job. All credit goes to them.” Again Michigan’s defense forced a three-and-out. And then, Mullings took matters into his own hands, defying gravity to give the Wolverines a first down they so desperately needed. Tripped up in the backfield at the Buckeyes’ 44-yard line on thirdand-6 with 3:26 left, Mullings somehow managed to stay on his feet and keep his legs churning. He turned a surefire punting situation into a game-breaking 27-yard run, driving Michigan well into Zvada’s range. “Really just unbelievable, superhuman from Kalel,” Warren
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said. “Especially on that third down, being able to shake a guy off and really just want it more. That’s what it came down to.” Zvada then drilled his kick from 21 yards out, leaving Ohio State with just 45 seconds to mount a response. Forty-five seconds of agony among the Buckeyes, 45 seconds of joy about to explode on the Wolverines’ sideline and 45 seconds with all the pregame narratives completely dispelled. One narrative held up in those final moments, though: Michigan’s defense can wreak havoc. So with a little more pressure and a final hurried Howard incompletion on fourth down, the Wolverines sealed the game. And between that dominant defensive performance and a little magic from Mullings, Michigan went down to Columbus, disproved the expectations and pulled off the biggest upset in the history of The Game.
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