Fun is kicking ass — and nothing beats doing it in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Tuesday is usually Moving Day for me — the point in the week when I move on from Ohio State’s last win and look ahead to the next opponent. But even with the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday,. The Buckeyes just beat the Wolverines for the first time in six years, and there’s still so much to discuss.
Let’s unpack all of it with this in mind: Fun is kicking ass, the line Ryan Day dropped before his team traveled to Ann Arbor last week. “Fun is kicking ass,” Day said. “We’re preparing to do that, and that’s it. The fun part is winning. We’ll save the fun for being in the locker room and celebrating after the game.”Ohio State ran the ball 47 times for 186 yards in the Big House. Bo Jackson led the team with 22 carries for 117 yards — that’s 46% of the carries and 63% of the yardage from a freshman! — while CJ Donaldson, Isaiah West and Julian Sayin combined for the remaining 25 carries and 69 yards. While some of that success belongs to Jackson, the heroic efforts of Ohio State’s offensive line deserve the most praise. Austin Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman, Tegra Tshabola and Phillip Daniels didn’t allow a single pressure , and the offensive line bullied Michigan’s defensive front. The Slobs “You watch our film, the O-line in this past game was as good as I’ve seen,” Day said on Sunday. “The physicality, the way that they played, you know, it was pretty amazing. I think there was 43 knockdowns between all five of them, which I’ve never heard of before. They just played their tail off. And I’m just proud of the physicality, the mindset, and the confidence they played with in this past game.”With enough snow on the field for Brutus to cross out the M in the south end zone and sketch a Script Ohio at the goal line, Ohio State beat Michigan at its own game. In 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, the Wolverines wore the Buckeyes down after halftime. Hassan Haskins, Donovan Edwards, Blake Corum and Kalel Mullings are names I’ll remember forever because Ohio State could never stop them in the final 30 minutes. But in 2025? Jackson will live in Michigan’s head rent-free due in large part to this:Would a touchdown have been sweeter? Of course. But it didn’t matter. Fielding’s kick made it a three-score game with 8:10 left. Bryce Underwood and Michigan’s offense against that Ohio State defense?The Silver Bullets have been historically good all season. That continued on Saturday, as Ohio State held Michigan to nine points, becoming the first team in 50 years to hold its first 12 opponents to under 17 points . Oh, and the Buckeyes also limited the Wolverines to 163 total yards, 100 rushing yards, 63 passing yards, nine first downs, 1-of-9 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.Leading 17-9 at halftime, Ohio State received the kickoff, but its drive stalled near midfield. Following a Joe McGuire punt that bounced into the end zone for a touchdown, Michigan took the ball at its own 20, and Bryce Underwood opened the drive with a 26-yard strike to Donaven McCulley. However, the defense never flinched. Instead, the Buckeyes stuffed back-to-back plays and forced an Underwood incompletion, leading to a Michigan punt. On the ensuing drive, Julian Sayin delivered a 50-yard bomb to Carnell Tate to give Ohio State a 24-9 lead. From that moment forward, Ohio State’s defense was as good as it's been this season. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. looked like a man possessed, Sonny Styles like a freight train and Caleb Downs like a heat-seeking missile, leading to“Before this game, we talked about not caring what happened in the past, saying this team’s different, and going out there to play for the love of your brother, not for the hate of the other team. And I thought we did that today — just a bunch of band of brothers playing for each other,” Styles said. “And we talked about it before the game, we got to win the second half. We had a few games the past few years, we lost the second half. That was a big thing. We came out in the second half and whooped ‘em.”“I think a lot has to do with Coach Patricia,” Styles said. “I think he’s a great coach, great teacher. He’s making us a smarter defense. He does a good job teaching fundamentals. … He’s done an amazing job.”“It’s pretty clear to anyone close to the program that he’s done a great job,” Day said. “He’s a very likable guy who just has a great personality, cares about his players. He’s very intentional, meshes well with the staff. … We had a defensive staff already intact, and these guys just came off a national championship, and I felt like they were the best defensive coaching staff in the country. But we needed to bring in someone to work with them and work with our players. And Matt turned out to be a great fit.”Ohio State’s defense dominated in its biggest game of the year — and it will be just as critical against Indiana and in the College Football Playoff. Defense wins championships, and the Silver Bullets could be the difference as the Buckeyes chase a second straight national title.Those things were certainly true enough, but Saturday in Michigan, in the face of increasingly Michigan weather, Ohio State was relaxed, sound and just as good as it has been all season.The Wolverines were never going to be able to keep up, and unlike last year, the Buckeyes were never going to panic. Instead, they treated Michigan like any other opponent in this machine-like run to 12-0. Mmm, that line about panic is so true. Down 3-0, a Julian Sayin interception, down 6-0, a drive that ends in three points despite several goal-line attempts, a narrow lead into the third quarter — the Buckeyes never panicked. Ryan Day said as much on Saturday. “We knew there was gonna be adversity and we weren’t gonna let it phase us. Adversity came on the second play of the game , so we have to keep battling. As an offense, that is our whole mindset, just keep battling.”“We always come out knowing that we can be the best defense in college football and we want to play the right way and play our game,” Curry said. “We knew our offense would come out swinging, so we knew whatever brought us, we would have to stop it. I feel like we came out there and played as hard and as fast as we could. We were just on top of it all day.” Curry added,” We know what we have done and know what we can continue to do. We have to keep having that mentality, keep fighting every day and just get better every day.”Today's Eleven Dubcast welcomes back Kyle Jones to preview the upcoming episode of Film Study that will review how Ohio State dominated Michigan on both sides of the ball after the Buckeyes overcame a slow start to The Game.Five Things to Know: Indiana Presents True Matchup Test for Ohio State With Excellent Offense and Defense 20 Plays and 11:56 Through the Heart of Ann Arbor: An Anatomy of Ohio State’s Back-Breaking Drive vs. Michigan
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Indiana lawmakers in state House to convene session with redistricting top of mindIndiana House members are expected to push forward Monday with redrawing the state’s congressional districts in Republicans’ favor, increasing pressure on
Read more »
Indiana lawmakers in state House to convene session with redistricting top of mindIndiana lawmakers in the state House of Representatives are gathering Monday with the possibility of advancing redistricting legislation, increasing pressure on their Senate colleagues to get on board with redrawing the state's congressional map.
Read more »
Indiana House lawmakers to start session with redistricting on the tableIndiana lawmakers in the state House of Representatives are gathering Monday with the possibility of advancing redistricting legislation, increasing pressure on their Senate colleagues to get on board with redrawing the state's congressional map.
Read more »
Indiana lawmakers in state House to convene session with redistricting top of mindIndiana lawmakers have been under mounting pressure from the White House to redistrict like Republicans in Texas, Ohio and North Carolina have.
Read more »
Skull Session: Welcome to The Day DynastyWith a national championship in his back pocket, Ryan Day's win over Michigan puts him on a path toward building a dynasty as college football's best coach.
Read more »
In Japan, Streetwear Is Alive and KickingAs Nigo’s Human Made soars on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, what does it say about how streetwear brands can succeed now?
Read more »