Michigan dominates second half to beat Ohio State in The Game

The second half got off to an inauspicious start for Ohio State as the Buckeyes went 3-and-out on their first drive then gave up a three-play, 81-yard touchdown drive. Hassan Haskins scored from 13 yards out after a 55-yard run by Blake Corum.

The Buckeyes got two first downs on their next possession before having to punt, then Michigan went to the air.

The Wolverines used passes for 31 and 34 yards to get to the red zone, then Haskins went around end for another touchdown to push its lead to 28-13.

The Buckeyes responded with a 17-play, 82-yard touchdown drive Henderson capped with a 1-yard run with 14:05 left.

It was a one-score came for less than five minutes as Michigan responded with another punishing drive that included eight runs, one pass and a pair of Ohio State penalties that led t first downs.

Haskins finished it with his fourth touchdown run, another 1-yarder that made it 35-20 with 9:14 left.

Ohio State took the ensuing possession and scored again, this time on a 10-yard screen pass to Henderson.

Again the Buckeye defense was not up to the task of stopping the Wolverines, though.

Haskins ripped off runs of 15, six, 11 and 27 yards to set up a 4-yard touchdown run, his fifth of the game.

He finished with 169 yards on 28 carries and set a Michigan record for The Game with five rushing touchdowns.

Michigan ran for 297 yards while Ohio State managed only 64.

FIRST HALF RECAP

Michigan scored touchdowns early and late in the first half to take a 14-13 lead after 30 minutes against Ohio State.

Michigan took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for a touchdown. On the 10th play, A.J. Henning took the handoff on a statue of liberty play and outran the Ohio State defense to the goal line from 14 yards out to cap it.

The Wolverines got four first downs, converted three third downs and averaged eight yards per play on their opening drive.

They also kept the ball away from the Buckeyes for almost five minutes.

Ohio State’s first possession could not have gone much worse.

It started at the 4-yard line because Julian Fleming mishandled the kickoff, then C.J. Stroud had to recover a premature snap on first down.

He was rushed into a bad throw on second down, then threw too high for Garrett Wilson on third down.

Henning returned the ensuing punt 17 yards to set up the Wolverines at the Ohio State 39, and they were at the 15 one play later when Cade McNamara hit Roman Wilson for a 24-yard gain.

But McNamara was intercepted on the next play by Bryson Shaw, who cut in front of a post pattern at the goal line.

The Buckeyes drove to the Wolverines 3-yard line, but they had to settle for a field goal after Stroud threw behind an open Chris Olave in the end zone, a false start penalty and a sack.

Noah Ruggles made a 31-yard field goal to get the Buckeyes on the board with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

The Buckeyes went on top early in the second quarter when Stroud tossed a fade to Garrett Wilson, who went up and made an incredible catch falling backwards into the corner of the end zone despite tight coverage.

The 25-yard touchdown gave Ohio State a 10-7 advantage with 9:12 on the clock.

Michigan responded with an 82-yard touchdown drive keyed by a fourth-and-1 conversion by Hassan Haskins and a 37-yard pass from McNamara to Cornelius Johnson, who got behind Ohio State’s Denzel Burke inside the 5.

The Buckeyes made a push to regain the lead on their last possession of the first half, but they had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Ruggles after failing to convert a third down inside the 20.

That made it 14-13 Michigan as the teams headed into the locker room.

Ohio State outgained the Wolverines 230-222 in the first half, but three false start penalties hurt the Buckeyes, as did the missed throw in the red zone by Stroud, who was 14-for-21 passing for 171 yards.

McNamara completed 10 of 16 passes for 113 yards while Haskins had 71 yards rushing for the Wolverines.