After 728 days, The Game finally returned — but with a new victor.
No. 2 Ohio State (10-2, 8-1 Big Ten) struggled to settle into an offensive rhythm while its defense could not contain No. 5 Michigan’s (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) rushing offense, falling to its bitter rival 42-27 for the first time since 2011. As snow fell upon Michigan Stadium, The Buckeyes were knocked out of the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 2016, and likely saw their College Football Playoff aspirations disappear.
The Buckeyes defense struggled to limit Michigan senior running back Hassan Haskins, who terrorized the Buckeyes all day, rushing for 169 yards on 28 carries and finding the end zone a career-high five times.
Haskins added touchdown runs of 13-, 4-, 2- and 1-yard in the second half to help the Wolverines’ lead balloon to as much as 15.
The St. Louis native, alongside sophomore running back Blake Corum, paced the Michigan rushing attack to 297 yards.
While the Michigan rushing offense gashed the Buckeyes defense, Wolverines senior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson carried his team on defense. Hutchinson made redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud’s day a living nightmare, though, collecting three sacks on the Empire, California, native.
Ohio State freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson did his best to keep pace with Haskins. The Hopewell, Virginia, native racked up 17 yards on 74 carries and two touchdowns — one through the air and one on the ground.
While Henderson tried to carry the Buckeyes through the ground, redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud battled constant pressure from Michigan’s star edge rush duo of junior David Ojabo and Hutchinson.
Stroud held tough, completing 69 percent of his passes for 394 yards and two touchdowns.
Sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba provided Stroud with 11 receptions for 127 yards, including multiple major third- and fourth-down conversions. Junior wideout Garrett Wilson added 10 receptions for 119 yards and an acrobatic touchdown reception in the second quarter.
Despite another solid performance from Stroud, Ohio State’s offense was knocked off track by uncharacteristic penalties. The Buckeyes offensive line committed five false starts, as junior offensive tackle Dawand Jones picked up three on his own.
While Haskins’ second-half scores lifted Michigan past Ohio State, the Wolverines kicked off the scoring on a 14-yard sweep from sophomore wide receiver A.J. Henning, capping off their opening drive in which they collected 60 yards on the ground.
Michigan’s defense set the tone on Ohio State’s opening drive, forcing an early three-and-out and gaining valuable field position from the Buckeyes’ 40.
Although Michigan benefitted from solid field position on its second drive of the day, junior quarterback Cade McNamara tried to fit a ball into double coverage but instead found Buckeyes’ sophomore safety Bryson Shaw for a key interception.
The Buckeyes ripped off 10 unanswered points before the Wolverines answered back on a two-yard plunge from Haskins with 3:51 remaining in the first half.
Haskins’ three second half touchdowns ultimately proved to be the difference, helping Michigan stake out an 28-14 advantage in the second half.
As the Wolverines head to Indianapolis for their first Big Ten Championship appearance, Ohio State will find out which bowl game it will play Dec. 5.
