Stunning, shocking, indescribable, all of those words played out on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Wolverines and coach Jim Harbaugh finally administered that day of reckoning that was surely do, but few believed would happen this year.
Michigan 42, Ohio State 27.
And to be honest, it should have, and very easily could have been worse.
Were it not for Bryson Shaw’s first-quarter interception in the end zone, the second-ranked Buckeyes (10-2 overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten) would’ve been down 14-0 and who knows what kind of carnage would’ve followed.
It became bad enough anyway.
Someone named Hassan Haskins scored five touchdowns, more than anyone in the history of this series. Not Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson, Archie Griffin, Vic Janowicz, Eddie George, Hopalong Cassady or Chic Harley — all legends of college football who have played in this game.
But Hassan Haskins, five touchdowns. Haskins is a solid back, who earned his 169 yards, but he’s nowhere near the wrecking ball the Buckeyes made him out to be.
Haskins, and more precisely his offensive line, exorcised 10 years of frustration with a brutal performance that delivered the first win over OSU since 2011 and UM’s initial visit to the Big Ten Championship Game.
There are no whiny officiating questions. There was no key turnover that changed the game. No one can point to a blocked punt or kick, and no 50-50 ball that went the wrong way. Indeed there is no alibi for Ryan Day’s crew, none.
For all the pretty passing stats Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud posted, the Buckeyes were challenged exactly twice this year, and folded both times. Oregon rolled to a 35-28 win in Ohio Stadium, and Michigan (11-1, 8-1) was even more overpowering here.
This marked Day’s first Big Ten loss, and didn’t arrive until Year 3 of his tenure. That’s an incredible feat, that is now part of the past. Obviously it was going to happen at some point. But OSU fans would prefer it come to any of the other 12 Big Ten foes, and in any fashion, rather than this dumpster-fire experience.
The Buckeyes did show one brief moment of fight, in the second quarter when Garrett Wilson caught a 25-yard TD pass from Stroud for a 10-7 lead. But the fifth-ranked Wolverines promptly responded with an 82-yard march that Haskins (who else?) finished for a 14-10 advantage they would never relinquish.
Incredibly, Michigan scored on drives of 75, 82, 81, 78, 66, and 63 yards. There were no short fields, no blocked kicks and no turnovers aiding Harbaugh’s squad. The Wolverines simply kicked the Thanksgiving stuffing out of Ohio State on both lines with pure physical dominance.
As was the case against Oregon in their other regular-season loss, the Buckeyes put up big passing numbers (394 yards on 49 passing attempts), but settled for a pair of field goals in the red zone. They were also flagged 10 times for 66 yards, constantly working from behind the chains and on the scoreboard — placing them in stress.
The fallout is massive. Perhaps not since 1969, when Bo Schembechler’s first team ruined a national championship season for Woody Hayes, has such a sea change taken place on Michigan’s side of the equation.
The rivalry has finally been reset. Jim Tressel’s 9-1 record and “most especially in 310 days” speech started the century in one direction, and Urban Meyer’s 7-0 dominance took it to the point of some questioning if the rivalry could ever regain its juice.
Meyer’s recruiting prowess had OSU fans popping off about an enormous talent gap that Day inherited. If there was such a gap Saturday, it certainly didn’t favor Ohio State.
Michigan won every meaningful metric, total yards, first downs, mental and physical toughness, and oh yes, the final score.
What are the Buckeyes and Day going to do about it?
That’s the crushing part of losing this game. They have 364 days to think about it.
It’s been a blissful honeymoon for Day in Columbus, cruising along with Meyer’s recruiting base and the fortuitous transfer of quarterback Justin Fields.
This is fully his program now, and all the glory and criticism that comes with it. For better and worse, it’s one of the most high-profile jobs in college football.
“When you live this 365 days of the year and to come up short, it really hurts,” Day said. “It’s going to leave a mark for awhile.”
Welcome to Columbus, Ryan. It’s all yours now. Good luck.
