COLUMBUS — J.J. McCarthy tossed three touchdown passes and added a scoring run and Donovan Edwards broke off two long touchdown runs in the late stages of the fourth quarter as No. 3 Michigan beat No. 2 Ohio State 45-23 on Saturday, to upset the Buckeyes for the second straight season.
Both teams entered the game short-handed on running backs. Blake Corum, who sustained a left knee injury last week against Illinois, left the game after just two carries on Michigan's opening possession and did not return.
Ohio State was without TreVeyon Henderson, who sat out with a lower leg injury and despite Miyan Williams returning to the lineup from injury, he was not overly effective.
So the Buckeyes turned to Chip Trayanum, who did play running back at Arizona State but was converted to linebacker when he arrived in Columbus. Despite only having one carry before Saturday, Trayanum finished with 83 yards on 14 carries.
The Michigan defense held an potent Ohio State offense to just three points in the second half and allowing 47 yards on eight plays in the third quarter. The Buckeyes were also held to 5-of-16 on third down.
C.J. Stroud finished with 349 yards passing and two touchdowns. But despite a 42-yard strike to Harrison Jr. late in the first half. Stroud had trouble attacking the Michigan defense downfield. He threw two interceptions in the final five minutes of the game in what could be his final game at Ohio Stadium.
The Wolverines took the lead for good on their opening possession of the third quarter as McCarthy would hit a wide open Colston Loveland off a play-action pass for a 45-yard touchdown strike. Jake Moody would add the extra point to give Michigan a 24-20 lead.
McCarthy would increase Michigan's lead in the fourth, lowering his shoulder on a third and goal run for the touchdown. Edwards ran for 32 yards and caught a seven yard pass from McCarthy during the 15-play drive to give Michigan a 31-20 lead 13:10.
After a 27-yard field goal from Noah Ruggles, the Buckeyes cut the score to 31-23 with 7:23 left the fourth quarter.
But Michigan struck right back on their very first play of their following possession, as Edwards broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run. He tacked on an 85-yard touchdown run minutes later as Ohio State fans filed their way towards the exits.
Despite not having Corum, Michigan finished with five touchdowns of 45 yards or more and piled up 252 yards on the ground. Edwards exploded in the second half with 170 yards after the Wolverines were held to just 10 yards in the first half.
Edwards' performance made him first player in program history to record multiple 75-yard touchdown runs in a single game and his 216 yards is the second-most by a Michigan player against the Buckeyes. Only Tim Biakabutuka has more rushing yards, who ran for 313 yards in 1995.
The Buckeyes must now wait until next week to learn their fate with the College Football Playoff as an at-large selection. The Buckeyes are no stranger to the situation, as they made the playoffs in 2016 as an at-large.
Michigan advances to the Big Ten championship next week in Indianapolis, where they'll face the Purdue Boilermakers. The Wolverines will be seeking their first consecutive outright Big Ten titles since 1992.
Michigan 3 14 7 21 = 45
Ohio State 10 10 0 3 = 23
First Quarter OSU—Emeka Egbuka 4 pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles kick), 10:02. UM—Jake Moody 49 field goal, 6:07. OSU—Noah Ruggles 32 field goal, 1:19 Second Quarter UM—Cornelius Johnson 69 pass from J.J. McCarthy (Jake Moody kick), 7:26. OSU—Noah Ruggles 47 field goal, 5:36. UM—Cornelius Johnson 75 pass from J.J. McCarthy (Jake Moody kick), 5:24. OSU—Marvin Harrison Jr. 42 pass from C.J. Stroud (Noah Ruggles kick), 3:49. Third Quarter UM—Colston Loveland 45 pass from J.J. McCarthy (Jake Moody kick), 11:56.
Fourth Quarter UM-J.J. McCarthy 3 run (Jake Moody kick), 13:10. OSU—Noah Ruggles 27 field goal, 7:23. UM—Donovan Edwards 75 run (Jake Moody kick), 7:11. UM—Donovan Edwards 85 run (Jake Moody kick), 3:19.
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