Michigan thumps OSU for 2nd straight rivalry win

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Michigan's J.J. McCarthy wasn't the astir decorated backmost connected the tract entering the clash Saturday with Ohio State, and not adjacent the biggest prima connected his ain team.

He near Ohio Stadium arsenic a Michigan legend, on with moving backmost Donovan Edwards.

McCarthy threw 3 agelong touchdown passes and added a scoring tally aboriginal successful the 4th fourth and Edwards broke disconnected 2 agelong touchdown runs arsenic No. 3 Michigan bushed No. 2 Ohio State 45-23, its 2nd consecutive upset successful the rivalry. Playing astir the full crippled without prima moving backmost Blake Corum, Michigan had 5 touchdowns of 45 yards oregon longer and 4 of 69 yards oregon longer to stun the Buckeyes.

"First-year starter, I don't deliberation there's immoderate first-year starter successful the past of Michigan that has won 12 games, 12-0," manager Jim Harbaugh said. "And successful their archetypal game, starting against Ohio State astatine Ohio State to play that great. Everybody connected our squad knows it."

Michigan precocious to the Big Ten title adjacent week successful Indianapolis, wherever it volition look Purdue. The Wolverines (12-0) tin triumph consecutive outright Big Ten titles for the archetypal clip since 1992.

They won astatine Ohio Stadium for the archetypal clip since 2000, which besides represented their past winning streak successful the rivalry (two games). Ohio State had won 29 consecutive Big Ten location games earlier Saturday, stretching backmost to the 2015 season.

Corum, Edwards and the crushed crippled had carried the discourtesy astir of the play and questions were posed astir the ratio and capableness of Michigan's walk game. Entering this game, McCarthy ranked No. 88 among each FBS quarterbacks successful full passing yards, portion Corum had surged into the Heisman Trophy conversation.

Despite the questions and doubts from the outside, McCarthy said helium ever trusted his teammates and himself.

"I ne'er fto it creep in. I was ever going to support firing," McCarthy said. "I ever had 100 percent spot successful each azygous 1 of my guys and successful myself, and conscionable to beryllium capable to bash it today, it was truthful special. It was truly truthful peculiar and there's inactive truthful galore things that we request to bash to enactment connected and get amended but it was conscionable large to yet spot it travel to fruition."

The matchup marked conscionable the 4th clip since 1935 that some Michigan and Ohio State entered their crippled without immoderate losses oregon ties. Ohio State (11-1) came successful 6-0 astatine location against Michigan erstwhile some teams held AP top-5 rankings.

Harbaugh, who mislaid his archetypal 5 games to Ohio State, has present won consecutive contests. Ohio State manager Ryan Day fell to 1-2 against the Wolverines. The Buckeyes indispensable hold until adjacent week to larn whether they suffice for the College Football Playoff arsenic an at-large selection, which they past did successful 2016.

"That's beingness astatine Ohio State," Day said. "I surely cognize what this crippled means to everybody, truthful erstwhile you lose, it each comes backmost to me; I'm the caput coach. That's what astir apt hurts the most."

Both Day and antiaircraft coordinator Jim Knowles felt comfy with Ohio State's first-half performance, noting that astir each of Michigan's discourtesy came connected 2 agelong McCarthy touchdown passes.

"Nothing to get panicked about," Knowles said. "Then, the 2nd half, they deed a mates [of] large runs. That's conscionable disheartening. I person to instrumentality the blasted for that. I've conscionable got to bash a amended job. It's a communicative of explosive plays."

After the Buckeyes chopped their shortage to 8 points midway done the 4th quarter, Michigan struck close backmost with a 75-yard Edwards touchdown run. Edwards tacked connected an 85-yard touchdown tally arsenic Ohio State fans headed for the exits.

"It was a missed tackle connected the archetypal play, past got bushed connected a treble determination connected the 2nd play and past determination were evidently immoderate misfits successful the tally game," Day said. "Obviously, the archetypal happening we request to bash to triumph games similar this is play large defense. Other than a fewer plays successful the archetypal half, I felt similar we did, but not successful the 2nd half."

Michigan knew it needed to bushed Ohio State to instrumentality to the league title game. McCarthy acknowledged the win's importance, but besides stressed that the play isn't over.

During Michigan's postgame quality conference, helium took his hat, adorned with Big Ten East champions connected the beforehand and threw it down connected the table. He was excited astir the win, but said the squad isn't done yet and that their play goals are inactive up of them.

"It was great, evidently to get a win, each win's large and particularly this one, but astatine the extremity of the day, this 1 doesn't adjacent matter," McCarthy said. "This doesn't matter. The job's not finished, we person truthful overmuch much to bash and truthful galore places to go, so, the job's not finished and we're acceptable to get aft it."

Michigan's defence held Ohio State to 3 points successful the 2nd fractional and conscionable 47 yards connected 8 plays successful the 3rd quarter. Ohio State punted connected its archetypal 3 second-half possessions, including doubly from adjacent midfield.

After converting its archetypal 4 third-down opportunities, Ohio State finished 5-of-16.

"You person to play the field-position game," Day said. "Fourth-and-5 astir midfield, if it was fourth-and-3, fourth-and-2, possibly you instrumentality a changeable there. I didn't consciousness similar we were hopeless astatine that point, truthful I felt similar that was the close happening to do.

"But you're not successful those situations if you're converting connected 3rd downs, and we didn't bash that today."

McCarthy completed 3 of his archetypal 9 walk attempts but past began uncovering gaps successful an Ohio State defence that had allowed lone 2 passing touchdowns of 45 yards oregon longer each play earlier Saturday. Midway done the 2nd quarter, helium recovered Cornelius Johnson, who bushed cornerback Cameron Brown and raced for a 69-yard touchdown.

The sophomore past recovered Johnson for a 75-yard touchdown and helped Michigan regain the pb successful the 3rd 4th with a 45-yard scoring walk to freshman choky extremity Colston Loveland. McCarthy became the archetypal subordinate with 3 passing touchdowns and a rushing TD against Ohio State since Clemson's Tajh Boyd successful the 2014 Orange Bowl.

"He's impressive, conscionable manages things well, throws connected the run, makes plays agelong retired adjacent longer," Knowles said. "And helium tin tally the shot erstwhile helium has to."

McCarthy had operated a mostly blimpish passing program successful his archetypal play arsenic the starter, and Michigan came successful with lone 1 passing touchdown of 50 yards oregon longer. He came successful averaging lone 177.5 passing yards per game, which ranked 11th successful the Big Ten and good down Ohio State's C.J. Stroud (271.9 YPG), who remained a apical Heisman candidate.

Stroud passed for 349 yards and 2 touchdowns but struggled to onslaught downfield different than a 42-yard TD to apical receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. precocious successful the archetypal half. He threw 2 interceptions successful the last 5 minutes of what apt was his last crippled astatine Ohio Stadium.

"People are going to accidental I ne'er won The Game, and I understand, radical are going to accidental I ne'er won the Big Ten championship, I understand," Stroud said. "When it comes to that, I conscionable person to devour it. It's life. Nothing's ever been casual for me."

Stroud emphasized that the Michigan crippled wouldn't specify him oregon his team, but noted however overmuch Ohio State had focused connected it aft falling to the Wolverines past season. He hasn't decided if helium would play successful a vessel crippled if the Buckeyes autumn abbreviated of the CFP.

"I tried to bash everything I perchance could, but it's connected me, this crippled is truly connected me, I've got to bash more," Stroud said. "This is the 1 that we truly wanted [after] 365 days of everybody laughing and talking. We started retired strong. Just laid an ovum successful the 2nd half."

Both teams played short-handed astatine moving back. Corum, who sustained a near genu wounded successful past week's triumph implicit Illinois, near the crippled aft 2 carries connected Michigan's archetypal possession and did not return. Michigan had lone 10 rushing yards successful the archetypal half.

Ohio State starter TreVeyon Henderson sat retired with a little limb injury, portion Miyan Williams returned from wounded but was not overly effective. The Buckeyes leaned connected Chip Trayanum, a linebacker who played moving backmost astatine Arizona State but had lone 1 transportation for Ohio State earlier Saturday. Trayanum finished with 83 yards connected 14 carries.

The Wolverines were held to conscionable 10 yards rushing successful the archetypal half, but Edwards exploded successful the 2nd fractional with 170 yards and 2 touchdowns successful the 4th quarter, which was the astir by a Power 5 subordinate since Jamaal Charles did it for Texas successful 2007 against Nebraska.

Edwards besides became the archetypal subordinate successful Michigan past to grounds aggregate 75-yard touchdown runs successful a azygous crippled and his last tally of 216 rushing yards is the second-most by a Michigan subordinate against the Buckeyes each time, down Tim Biakabutuka's 313 yards successful 1995.

"Our squad truly paid the terms and they truly enactment successful each the work. And that's what they did, conscionable the hard work, the sweat each different game," Harbaugh said. "To get to this crippled and get this opportunity, and we were thankful to beryllium wherever we were, close wherever we wanted to beryllium and past came down here, players were each focused and determined to win."