ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the second time in four years, J.T. Barrett was unable to finish what he started against Michigan in The Game.
And just like in 2014, Ohio State still found a way to win.
After Barrett exited with a knee injury, redshirt freshman quarterback Dwayne Haskins led a pair of scoring drives to help Ohio State past rival Michigan, 31-20.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 OHIO STATE | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| MICHIGAN | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
On his first drive of the game, trailing 20-14, Haskins led the Buckeyes on the final nine plays of an 11-play, 78-yard touchdown drive. The drive was highlighted by a 3rd-and-13 conversion in which Haskins connected with Austin Mack for a gain of 27. Two plays later, Haskins scrambled for a gain of 22 inside the Michigan 1-yard line. J.K. Dobbins plunged in on the ensuing play to give the Buckeyes a 21-20 lead. Ohio State would add a 44-yard field goal from Sean Nuernberger on its following drive to extend its lead to 24-20 with 10:21 to play in the game.
On its ensuing possession, Michigan failed to convert a 4th-and-4 inside Ohio State territory, handing the ball back to the Buckeyes with 6:53 to play. Facing a 3rd-and-7 from his own 42, Haskins found receiver K.J. Hill underneath for a catch and run of 24-yards. However, the drive stalled as Nuernberger missed a second field goal attempt of 44-yards with 2:47 giving the ball back to the Wolverines.
| OHIO STATE | MICHIGAN | |
|---|---|---|
| 350 | NET TOTAL YARDS | 295 |
| 226 | RUSHING YARDS | 100 |
| 48 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 36 |
| 4.7 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 2.8 |
| 3 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 2 |
| 124 | PASSING YARDS | 195 |
| 9-15 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 17-32 |
| 13.8 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 11.5 |
| 1 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 1 |
| 17 | 1st DOWNS | 16 |
| 11 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 7 |
| 4 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 8 |
| 2 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 1 |
| 63 | TOTAL PLAYS | 68 |
| 5.6 | YARDS PER PLAY | 4.3 |
| 2-2 | RED ZONE | 3-3 |
| 8-16 | 3rd DOWNS | 9-17 |
| 0-0 | 4th DOWNS | 0-1 |
| 9-75 | PENALTIES | 6-50 |
| 31:17 | POSSESSION | 28:43 |
On the first play of the drive, Michigan quarterback John O'Korn misfired on a deep pass, which was picked off by Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller to ice the game. Michigan native Mike Weber added the punctuation mark on the Buckeye victory with a 25-yard touchdown run with 1:44 to play.
Haskins finished the game 6-of-7 passing for 94 yards in relief of Barrett, adding 24 yards on the ground. Dobbins finished the game with 15 carries for 101 yards, while Weber finished with 57 yards on 12 carries.
Barrett, who was injured following a 10-yard gain on a scramble with just under seven minutes to play in the third, carried 15 times for 67 yards and a score before heading to the locker room. He completed just three of eight passes for 30 yards through the air before exiting.
After trading punts to start the second half with the game locked at 14, the Wolverines re-gained the advantage on a two yard touchdown run from running back Karan Higdon. The ensuing extra point attempt was blocked however, leaving Michigan with a six point lead prior to Barrett's injury.
After a slow start in the first half, Ohio State fought back into the game with the play of Barrett.
Trailing 14-0, Barrett led an 11-play, 75-yard drive that he capped with a 21-yard scamper up the Ohio State sideline to cut the Wolverine lead in half.
After Ohio State's defense forced a punt, Barrett and the Buckeye offense went 53 yards on just three plays to tie the game, as Barrett found tight end Marcus Baugh wide open in the seam for a 25-yard score off of a play action fake.
Ohio State got off to a nightmarish start to the game, as the Buckeye offense failed to pick up a first down and totaled minus-6 yards of offense in the opening frame. Meanwhile, the Ohio State defense struggled to get its feet under it as well.
O'Korn missed multiple open receivers early in the game, yet led the Wolverines on a 13-play, 77-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run from fullback Khalid Hill. O'Korn threw just his second touchdown pass of the season on the first play of the second quarter, finding tight end Sean McKeon wide open in the back of the end zone to give Michigan a 14-0 lead with 14:57 to play in the first half.
O'Korn completed 16-of-31 passes for 185 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
Game Notes
- With his first half rushing touchdown, J.T. Barrett joined former Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour as the only players in college football history with 40 rushing touchdowns and 100 passing scores.
- Ohio State had never come back from a 14-point deficit to Michigan before Saturday.
- Barrett is the first Ohio State quarterback to go 4-0 as a starter against Michigan, though he did not finish the game.
- Head coach Urban Meyer is 27-2 in road games at Ohio State and 54-9 in games played in the month of November. Meyer is also 25-3 in rivalry games during his career, including a 6-0 record against Michigan.
- Barrett also tied Art Schlichter with 36 career victories, the most of any starting quarterback in program history. He’s 36-6 as a starter.
- Freshman RB J.K. Dobbins eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this season. He had 57 of his 101 yards in the second half.
- Ohio State now owns the most wins in Big Ten Conference history with 504.
- Ohio State’s defense finished with five sacks and seven tackles for loss. The five sacks are just one shy of the Buckeyes’ season high of six vs. Michigan State on Nov. 11.
