ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Through one quarter of football in a hostile environment, Ohio State looked as though it could be in some trouble.
Michigan limited Ohio State's offense to minus-6 yards of offense and the Wolverines scored on the first play of the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead over the Buckeyes.
While fans might have been anxious, the Ohio State veterans, especially those on defense remained calm as the Buckeyes pulled off their largest comeback victory in the 114 years of The Game. OSU outscored Michigan 31-6 after trailing by two touchdowns early to come away with a 31-20 victory in the Big House.
The previous record came in 1987, when Ohio State overcame a 13-point deficit to win 23-20 over Michigan in Earle Bruce's final game as Buckeye head coach.
"We came out and played extremely hard," senior defensive end Tyquan Lewis said. "We knew in the first quarter – we started making adjustments after that to stop the run."
The Wolverines rushed 13 times for 51 yards in the first quarter, but the adjustments seemed to work as Michigan rushed for just 49 yards on 23 carries in the remainder of the game.
Offensively, Ohio State was able to turn its fortunes around as well.
After failing to pick up a first down in the first quarter, the Buckeyes put together back-to-back touchdown drives in the second to knot the game at 14 apiece. Urban Meyer, who was visibly frustrated after the game following an injury to J.T. Barrett, said it was Ohio State's offensive line that helped turn the game in the Buckeyes' favor.
"The offensive line started blocking them and our tailbacks ran really, really hard," Meyer said. "Ryan Day has been studying this team really all year. He called a very nice game as far as some of (the passes)."
Ohio State's offensive line led the way for 226 yards on the ground against Michigan on Saturday.
The Buckeyes completed just nine passes, however Dwayne Haskins missed just one throw, and converted on 3-of-4 passes in third down situations. On the ground, Ohio State rushed for 226 yards for the game, despite rushing for minus-12 yards in the first quarter.
Meyer said he was pleased with the way Haskins played in relief of his veteran signal caller.
"We had two or three first downs and then he hit that one play, which was phenomenal, to Austin Mack," Meyer said. "He did a heck of a job. He scrambled for a big hit and he took care of the ball."
Following a question from a reporter that suggested Ohio State was in a "slumber" early on, Meyer became visibly disgruntled. Meyer, who moved to a perfect 6-0 against Michigan with the win, gave credit to the Wolverines for their play and praised his own team for not hanging their heads early down by two scores.
"The amount of respect that we have for this rivalry and that team that we play, a slumber? Absolutely not," Meyer said. "They are a good football team. One of the best defenses in America on their home turf. They gave everything they got. We (were) playing our balls off against a very good team. We hung in there for four quarters. Name a rivalry that's not like that.
"It was a street fight, but we hung in there and found a way to win."
