Michigan football tops Ohio State for third straight year 30-24 to make Big Ten title game
The cart that carried Zak Zinter, Michigan football's senior, potential All-American offensive lineman hadn't yet cleared the field before he raised his left hand in the air; first as a thumb, then as a fist, to signal he was okay.
The face of U-M's group and a starter from the past two Joe Moore Award winning units was out, but the show had to go on. Karsen Barnhart bumped from right tackle to right guard, Trente Jones slid in at tackle and Michigan ran a delayed handoff to its star tailback.
Blake Corum, who had run 12 times for 28 yards prior to that moment, took the ball 22 yards and high-stepped over a defender as he lept into the end zone to send the sold-out crowd of 110,615 into a frenzy.
A 38-yard James Turner field goal with 1:05 left put U-M up by six, but gave Ohio State one last life.
Two long completion helped the Buckeyes cross midfield, but Rod Moore intercepted a pass with 25 seconds to play and without Jim Harbaugh on hand, Michigan defeated Ohio State for a third consecutive season, 30-24, to advance to the Big Ten championship game.
Michigan will play Iowa with a shot to win its third consecutive Big Ten title next Saturday (Fox, 8:17 p.m.) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
J.J. McCarthy, who hadn't scored a touchdown in more than a month, made just enough plays. He had a tough touchdown pass to Roman Wilson in the first half, a critical 15-yard run two plays before the go-ahead score and only threw one incompletion in the second half as he completed 16-of-20 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile Corum, who'd never been healthy for a game against the Buckeyes, got to make up for it in a big way. His score to open the contest was the 21st of the season which set a new U-M record, as he finished with 22 carries for 88 yards and a pair of scores.
Michigan's lead was 27-17, when Ohio State went 65 yards on eight plays and Kyle McCord found Marvin Harrison Jr. on a 13-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to three. The Wolverines got the ball back with 8:05 to play and milked seven minutes of it off the clock to make it 30-24 and set up OSU's final drive.
HISTORY: Blake Corum sets Michigan football single-season touchdown record vs. Ohio State
Survive the slog early
The Wolverines' attack, slowed in recent weeks, was once again largely bottled in the first half. Michigan managed just 119 total yards on 29 plays (4.1 yards per attempt) and ran just 18 times for 34 yards (1.9 per attempt) as it accumulated a season-low six first downs before the break.
Not one carry went for more than five yards as U-M's offense began with consecutive three-and-outs.
However, as it has so many times, the defense sparked the day with a Kyle McCord interception on the next snap.
The junior's gaze locked onto star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on a slant route and he forced the throw his way; however U-M's star defensive back Will Johnson jumped the route, picked it off and returned the ball to the OSU 7 for the first scoring opportunity of the game.
Michigan didn't get cute from there. The Wolverines handed the ball to running back Blake Corum on four consecutive plays, the last of which he pounded home the game-opening touchdown on fourth-and-goal to give U-M a 7-0 lead with 5:36 to go in the first.
The Buckeyes cut the lead to 7-3 after McCord found Harrison Jr. on an out-and-up route down the right sideline for a gain of 24 to cross midfield. A few plays later, Derrick Moore was flagged for hands to the face, which got OSU into scoring range for Jake Fielding who knocked home the 43-yard kick with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
Though the Wolverines led, their third down struggles mounted. Michigan went 0-for-2 on its first two attempts in the first quarter and its first attempt in the second had the same result, when McCarthy found AJ Barner for a gain of seven when U-M needed eight.
This time U-M went for it and Corum lept up and-over the pile for a first down. Three plays later, McCarthy's scramble on third down was stopped a yard short of the sticks. Again U-M went for it on fourth-and-1 and McCarthy found Colston Loveland for a gain of 7.
It wasn't until U-M's sixth third-down attempt − a difficult one when McCarthy backpedaled in the pocket under duress − when he connected with Roman Wilson in double coverage for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Wolverines up 14-3 midway through the second quarter.
The drive was 14 plays, covered 75 yards and had three conversions on third or fourth down as it took nearly seven minutes off the clock as U-M hd a chance to take control.
The Buckeyes wouldn't let that happen. OSU marched on a 7-play, 73-yard drive and never even faced a third down before Emeka Egbuka waltzed into the end zone for a three-yard score. The big play when McCord found Cade Stover on 32-yard seam route − linebacker Jimmy Rolder, who's being redshirted this season, was in coverage − before a penalty on Mason Graham set up a first-and-goal.
Two plays later, OSU made it 14-10.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football survives Ohio State 30-24 to make Big Ten title game
