Michigan football beats Ohio State 13-10, then it comes to a fight

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Michigan football has put itself in a position to come out on top against rival No. 2 Ohio State.

And with plenty of help from the self-harming Buckeyes, the Wolverines did it.

Dominic Zvada converted a 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left to break the tie, and the Wolverines’ defense held firm, giving Michigan a 13-10 win at Ohio Stadium and its fourth straight win over its rival . Michigan (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten) was a 19½-point underdog against OSU (10-2, 7-2), missing a chance to play Oregon for the Big Ten championship game.

A skirmish broke out at midfield as Michigan players gathered at the OSU logo and waved a Michigan flag in the faces of Ohio State players. The fight lasted several minutes.

Fox TV play-by-play man Gus Johnson said the flag display was inappropriate, unnecessary and ruined the aftermath of a great rivalry game.

Michigan senior running back Kalel Mullings ran for 116 yards on 32 carries and said after the game, “When you have a great game like that, you hate to see something like that after the game. This is bad for sports, bad for college football. But in the end.” Some people have to learn how to lose, man. You can’t fight and stuff just because you lost the game. We had 60 minutes, we had four quarters to fight all this and now people want to talk and fighting is wrong, it’s just bad for the game, classless, in my opinion people need to be better.

The game was full of mistakes from both offenses. Jayden Fielding missed two short field goals for OSU and Will Howard threw two interceptions, one to Aamir Hall in the second quarter, allowing the Wolverines’ only touchdown. UM’s Davis Warren threw two interceptions, including one into the end zone as the game ended tied midway through the fourth quarter.

A week from Sunday, the Wolverines will find out their fate for the 2024 bowl season.

Michigan’s defense remains strong

Michigan was only able to win the game because the defense made one stop after another.

OSU reached UM territory three times in the third quarter and came away empty-handed each time. First, OSU had to punt from the 37 after Howard’s pass fell behind Emeka Egbuka. Next, Makari Paige picked off Howard inside the red zone. Finally, a missed 35-yard field goal (OSU’s second of the game) following an interception by Caleb Downs put the Buckeyes inside the UM 20 and opened the series.

All of those stops gave Michigan enough life to hang on and make key plays in the fourth quarter.

The Wolverines were without two projected 2025 first-round draft picks in tight end Colston Loveland and cornerback Will Johnson, but gave the No. 2 Buckeyes all they could handle.

UM’s passing offense was limited but somehow enough, as quarterback Davis Warren completed 9 of 16 passes for 62 yards and overcame two costly turnovers. U-M’s secondary and pass rush combined to make life difficult against an elite OSU attack, holding Howard to 19 of 33 completions for 175 yards, with a score and two picks.

The stormy battle tells the story

The winner of the whirlwind battle had won every contest in this rivalry since Drew Henson led UM to a victory in Columbus in 2000, and that streak continued Saturday as UM won on the floor by a 172-77 margin.

Michigan ran 18 times for 82 yards in the first half, including a key 29-yard dash by Alex Orji on third-and-3 on a long UM drive. The Wolverines were stuffed later in that drive on fourth-and-1 from the Buckeyes 3; But the defense got another chance for the offense three plays later when Aamir Hall intercepted Will Howard’s pass and redirected it to the OSU 2.

Kalel Mullings, who finished with xx carries for xx yards, threw a touchdown to give UM a 7-3 lead. Donovan Edwards, who played a historic game last time out in Columbus, ran four times for 11 yards but left the game with an injury when he was tackled on third-and-7 late in the first half.

Michigan came under pressure in the third quarter, rushing five times for 13 yards, but broke free in the final quarter with 19 runs for 77 yards on the ground.

Special teams give Michigan a chance

One of the main reasons UM was able to win most of the game was special teams. The wind was swirling Saturday and the direction made a big difference — the wind was blowing behind the kickers pointing north — when OSU missed a 37-yard kick wide right in the second quarter.

Although Michigan went three-and-out after that, punter Tommy Doman had the wind at his back and threw a season-long 68-yard punt that pinned OSU at the 7 31 yards. That created a short field for Michigan before kicker Dominic Zvada, with the gusts behind him, fired a 54-yard kick into the goal (to improve to 7-for-7 from 50 yards this season).

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Michigan football beats Ohio State 13-10, then it comes to a fight

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