With Jim Harbaugh nowhere to be found and a scandal hanging over their heads, JJ McCarthy and No. 3 Michigan faced No. 2 Ohio State and extended the school’s win streak against the Buckeyes to three games with a 30-24 victory Saturday in perhaps the most games. sequel game in the history of the legendary rivalry.
Michigan’s Rod Moore intercepted Kyle McCord’s shaky pass, intended for All-American Marvin Harrison Jr., at the Wolverines’ 21-yard line with 25 seconds left, sparking a wild celebration on the home sideline.
McCarthy took a knee, Michigan fans poured over the brick walls of the Big House onto the field and the Wolverines (12-0, 9-0) headed to their third straight Big Ten title game.
In a season of high expectations that now has a championship-or-bust feel, Michigan is one win away from a third consecutive College Football Playoff appearance.
For coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes (11-1, 8-1), it’s another year of lamenting a loss in the biggest game on the schedule for Ohio State and wondering what happened to the program that lasted a decade and a half . dominates Michigan.
The day is now 1-3 against the Wolverines. Before taking over for Urban Meyer, Ohio State had won seven straight meetings and won fourteen of fifteen.
McCarthy went 16 for 20 for 148 yards and a touchdown. If this was the third-year player’s final appearance in The Game, he finishes 3-0.
The 119th Ohio State-Michigan game was guaranteed to be memorable even before it started. With Michigan under investigation by the NCAA for allegations of personal scouting and sign stealing and Harbaugh serving the final game of a Big Ten-imposed suspension, the circumstances surrounding The Game were historically unprecedented.
The only sign of Harbaugh was on the pre-game video board montage. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore once again stepped in for his boss and seemed to be making all the right moves.
Michigan went 3 for 3 on fourth downs, deployed its backup quarterback for a few plays to gain 22 yards on the ground and ran a halfback pass to set up a fourth-quarter field goal that put Michigan up 10 .
After Ohio State cut the lead to 27-24 with 8:05 left on a 14-yard touchdown pass from McCord to Harrison, Michigan ran out seven minutes of the clock and kicked a 37-yard field goal by James Turner to make it 30 to make. -24 with 1:05 left.
McCord, Harrison and the Buckeyes had 1 minute to travel 81 yards without timeouts. They reached the Michigan 37 before McCord’s second interception of the day closed it out.