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Mike Chiari is the featured Columnist IV.
Mike Mulholland is a photographer.
The Big Ten Championship Game will be played in Michigan on Saturday, with the winner earning a spot in the title game.
Jim Harbaugh won his first game against Ohio State as Michigan head coach, and the Wolverines ended the Buckeyes' win streak in The Game at eight.
In adverse weather conditions, Michigan leaned heavily on its running game and finished with
The Ohio State quarterback was sacked three times by the Michigan defense, which played well against him.
Michigan is 11-1 with the win and is a Big Ten Championship Game victory away from a spot in the College Football Playoff, while Ohio State fell to 10-2 and likely saw its CFP hopes go up in smoke.
Notable facts.
McNamara was 13-of-19 for 159 YDS, no touchdown, and 1 INT.
C.J. Stroud, quarterback, OSU, was 34 of 49 for 389 YDS and 2 touchdown.
The running back for Michigan had 28 car for 169 YDS, 5 touchdown.
Henderson had 17 carries for 74 yards, 1 touchdown and 5 carries for 54 yards.
Corum had 6 cars for 87 YDS.
Smith-Njigba had 11 catches for 127 yards.
The receiver for the OSU team was 10 for 118 YDS.
3 Sacks were taken by Aidan Hutchinson, DE, MICH.
The Michigan running game grinded down the OSU defense.
The Michigan offense was all about the running game against Ohio State, despite the nice throws by the quarterback.
Multiple players made plays on the ground, but the meat-and-potatoes guy was the one who scored five touchdown on the ground.
The first drive of the game was capped by a 14-yard touchdown run by wide receiver A.J. Henning.
Harbaugh had to be happy with the way the Michigan defense kept Ohio State off the field after the first quarter, as pointed out by WTKA's Sam Webb.
Sam Webb 77 wrote to Sam Webb.
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The time of possession was #Michigan 9:05. That's how you draw it up. Defense with your offense.
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Harbaugh didn't stray from the game plan despite Ohio State taking a 10-7 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to Wilson in the second quarter.
Michigan went right back to work and scored on a one-yard touchdown run by Haskins.
The touchdown run by Haskins entered the elite company of Michigan running backs in terms of single-season touchdown production.
There are statistics and information from the ESPN Stats andInfo.
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The Ohio State player has 14 Rush touchdown this season.
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Mike Hart had 14 in 2007, which is the most by a UMich football running back.
The Michigan rushing attack was not deterred by the late field goal by Ohio State.
After forcing an Ohio State three-and-out, Michigan orchestrated a three-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that included a 55-yard dash by Corum and a 13-yard touchdown run by Haskins.
That extended the Michigan lead to 21-13, and the Wolverines poured it on even more later in the third quarter when Haskins scored from one yard out, marking his third touchdown of the day:
Ohio State made it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter, giving Michigan another chance to lose.
The Buckeyes were unable to stop the Michigan running game, which was able to march 66 yards on nine plays and regain the 15-point lead with a fourth rushing touchdown of the day:
Another Ohio State touchdown made it an eight-point game again, but Haskins made it a five-pack of touchdown and essentially iced the game for Michigan:
Winning against Ohio State is important for Michigan, but Saturday's victory was even more important.
The Big Ten Championship Game berth was secured by the win over the Buckeyes, and Harbaugh got a win.
The OSU offense is high powered.
It was clear that he was uncomfortable at certain points during the game because of the pursuit of Hutchinson, but he ended the game with solid numbers and may have kept his Heisman Trophy hopes alive.
Michigan scored a touchdown on the first drive and then forced an Ohio State three-and-out, making for a different feel to The Game on Saturday.
The Michigan defense seemed to be out of the gate.
Matt Miller is a draftnik.
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The Michigan defense is on fire. There were two misses from Stroud on the first drive.
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Ohio State took the lead in the second quarter when he connected with Wilson for a 25-yard touchdown.
The Buckeyes were in a one-point deficit at halftime after Michigan took the lead back.
Michigan has had a history of blowing halftime leads against the Ohio State over the past decade, so there was some concern among the fans.
There are statistics and information from the ESPN Stats andInfo.
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Michigan leads Ohio State at the half. The Buckeyes have lost two games in a row, the first being a halftime lead.
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This is the first time since the Oregon game that Ohio State has trailed at halftime.
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The Michigan team was very much engaged in the halftime confrontation with the Michigan team in the Big House tunnel.
The Ohio State offense was out of sync in the third quarter, which allowed Michigan to extend their lead.
The play of Hutchinson was the main reason for the offensive struggles in the third.
Hutchinson set an all-time Michigan single-season record with 13 sacks.
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic pointed out that the protection from his offensive line was like night and day between the Michigan and Michigan State games, and that it was the best game of the season for Stroud.
Stewart Mandel is on the phone with Slmandel.
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Last week, he was not touched.
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This week: Meet Aidan Hutchinson.
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Booger McFarland and Brad Galli were among those who were impressed by Hutchinson's performance.
Booger is on the air.
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A grown up is Aidan Hutchinson.
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Brad Galli is associated with Brad Galli.
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The person is an absolute machine. Not a person. That is a machine.
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Miller wondered if Hutchinson could have done enough to beat Stroud in the Heisman race.
Matt Miller is a draftnik.
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Maybe this game is the best one yet.
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The OSU defense couldn't stop Michigan's running game, so it wasn't enough for the game to be decided in the fourth quarter.
With Michigan running wild and Hutchinson being the most dominant defensive player in college football, a national title may not be out of reach.
What's next?
Ohio State will wait and see which bowl game it is placed in, but Michigan will face either Iowa or Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game next Saturday.
