Down four with six minutes left in the second quarter, former Ohio State linebacker Zach Boren (44) blitzed up the middle and sacked then-Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner (12) in 2012. Credit: Cody Cousino | Lantern File Photo
Nearly six minutes remained in the second quarter when Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner rolled to his left in play action.
Ohio State trailed then-No. 19 Michigan 14-10 during the matchup Nov. 24, 2012, and the Wolverines offense took the field for the first time since taking the lead on their previous possession.
On first down and 10 yards to go, Buckeyes linebacker Zach Boren moved to his left where he saw an opening along the right side on the line of scrimmage. Gardner circled and trotted to his right, and Boren, who said “I shouldn’t have been blitzing,” sped forward through the gap.
“I remember there being a little bit of a run fake,” Boren said. “It’s one of those things where I took a chance, went and made a play. At that point in the game, I know it was a really tight game and something, honestly, I was just doing my job.”
Boren sacked Gardner for a loss of 9 yards, standing in the backfield with his arms flexed and becoming part of a photo epitomizing the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan.
“Undefeated” read the headline in the Nov. 26, 2012, print edition of The Lantern. It accompanied the photo of Boren taken by former Multimedia Editor Cody Cousino and led into the game story recapping the Buckeyes’ 26-20 win that completed their 12-0 season under then-first-year head coach Urban Meyer.
Cousino said covering the game and producing the Lantern edition was a “huge team effort,” noting that former Managing Editor for Content Michael Perriat and Managing Editor for Design Jackie Storer were among those who helped prepare the photo and newspaper for distribution.
Cousino said he remembered how cold it felt on the field, but as he sat cross-legged beyond the end zone, he realized he captured a moment that encapsulated the legacy of the Ohio State and Michigan rivalry.
“I just remember snapping that photo and knowing that I got it immediately and knowing it was just a fraction of a second that he was standing over the quarterback,” Cousino said. “But I knew that moment frozen looked as overpowering as it did.”
Boren comes from a family with a football background. His father, Mike Boren, played linebacker at Michigan in the 1980s and ranks No. 9 in program history with 369 career tackles.
Zach Boren’s older brother Justin Boren spent two seasons at Michigan from 2006-07 before completing his college career at Ohio State from 2009-10. Jacoby Boren played along the offensive line at Ohio State in the 2010s.
Zach Boren said he learned the importance of “The Game” when he was young, watching his father compete at Michigan and attending events leading up to kickoff on Saturdays. When he was offered to play at Ohio State, Zach Boren said “it was a dream come true.”
“It was my favorite game to play in every single year,” Zach Boren said. “People come to Ohio State to play in that game and to win Big Ten championships and national championships, but that game just meant so much to me.”
The path toward Zach Boren’s sack in 2012 began with a position change midseason.
Zach Boren played running back at the beginning of his Buckeye career and entered the 2012 season as one of Ohio State’s captains and starters on offense. He said Meyer approached him after Week 6 about a potential switch across sides of the ball to linebacker. Zach Boren, who played the position growing up, said he was “all for it” because it gave him a chance to do something similar to his father.
“It was like one of those things where I always idolized him and wanted to be just like him, and so having the opportunity to go to the defensive side of the ball, I was all in,” Zach Boren said.
Having become part of a number of photos that capture the intensity behind the Ohio State and Michigan rivalry, Zach Boren said people still ask him about the play, but he can’t wait to share moments about his football career — and rivalry photo — with his children in the future.
“It’s one of the things that I still don’t quite understand the magnitude of,” Zach Boren said. “For them to look back and be like, ‘Man that’s dad making that play,’ I’m sure that I will understand it a little bit more, but right now, I look at it, and I’m like, ‘Man, it was just me making a play.’”
After several years around the NFL following his career at Ohio State, Zach Boren said he now helps oversee Boren Brothers Waste Services, which offers resources such as dumpsters and trash and recycling assistance, according to its website.
Zach Boren said he’s “loving life” working around Columbus and living near his alma mater.
“I love it. Each and every day is a different day,” Zach Boren said. “It kind of reminds me of a football team again. You’ve got so many people doing different jobs, and it’s all about coming together, and everyone is accountable for what they do, so it’s kind of the same thing on the field.”
Zach Boren said he stills attends most home games at Ohio Stadium, and this season presents the first matchup between Ohio State and Michigan in Columbus since 2018.
Despite Ohio State coming off its first loss to the Wolverines in 10 years, Zach Boren said he knows the Buckeyes are “hungry to change that taste in their mouth.” He said he “can’t wait” for the two teams to meet again, where perhaps a play or moment may become as lasting as his sack from 2012.
“When ‘The Game’ got canceled in 2020, I just felt like the season wasn’t even a season,” Zach Boren said. “It’s not a real Ohio State football season without that game at the end of the year, so for that game to happen in Columbus for the first time in four years, I know it’s going to be wild.”
