NCAAF
Some games are shootouts. Others are chaos. Saturday in Ann Arbor was neither. It was a strangulation — the slow, suffocating variety usually reserved for horror movies and Nick Saban defenses. No. 1 Ohio State marched into Michigan Stadium, muted the No. 15 Wolverines like a broken Bluetooth speaker, and walked out with a cold-blooded 27–9 win that felt even less competitive than the score suggests.
Now the undefeated Buckeyes get Indiana. No. 1 vs. No. 2. A 12–0 vs. 12–0 heavyweight title fight. Lucas Oil. Saturday. Primetime. Buckle up.
But first — the latest chapter of The Game was written not by high-octane fireworks, but by Ohio State strangling Michigan’s offense until it tapped out.
J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, and that go-blue death machine aren’t walking through that tunnel anymore — Saturday was the Bryce Underwood & Jordan Marshall show, and for about five minutes, it looked dangerous.
Marshall gashed Ohio State’s defense on the opening snap, ripping off a 36-yard sprint like he had turbo boosters strapped to his calves. Michigan got chunk plays, moved inside the 30, and punched in a field goal. Sayin answered by gifting the Wolverines an interception off a jump-ball to Jeremiah Smith, and Michigan converted that into another short Zvada field goal. Suddenly it was 6–0, The Big House was alive, and every Ohio State hater began warming up their “overrated” tweets.
Then the momentum died.
Because while Michigan settled for threes, Ohio State was gearing up for sevens.
Bo Jackson — yes, named like a prophecy — sparked life into the offense. Ground and air, off-tackle and screen game, whatever Ryan Day asked for, Jackson delivered. But an overturned TD sneak and a costly false start forced OSU to settle for a field goal. Michigan’s early surge? Cute. Temporary. Unsustainable.
The quarter ended with Ohio State waking up — and Michigan realizing it was about to be dragged into 60 minutes of trench warfare.
The second quarter belonged to Julian Sayin — not just the stats (233 yards, 3 TDs, 19-for-26), but the poise. Fourth-and-five, man coverage, season’s biggest rivalry on the road? No problem. Sayin dropped a moon-drop down the sideline to Jeremiah Smith for a 35-yard strike and Ohio State’s first lead, 10–6.
This was the moment the Buckeye offense exhaled.
Michigan punched back with their third field goal — a 49-yard bomb from Zvada — but it felt more like stalling than scoring. Ohio State’s defense kept tightening, edges crashing like guillotines, linebackers reading Underwood like a free trial password. Michigan wasn’t moving anyone off the ball, and it showed.
Then came the drive that cracked the game open — 87 yards, methodical, ruthless.
Sayin spread the ball across formations. Tate chipped away with chain-moving short routes. Kacmarek popped loose for 25. Jackson ran like he was personally allergic to second-and-long. Clock bleeding. Body blows. Every play felt like a win. With 19 seconds left in the half, Sayin zipped a strike over the middle to Brandon Inniss to go up 17–9.
No turnovers. No hero ball. Just execution. The kind of drive that makes championship teams look inevitable.
If the first half was tectonic pressure, the third quarter was eruption.
Michigan came out of halftime needing life support. Ohio State came out with gasoline and a lighter. Bo Jackson continued playing Madden on rookie difficulty — patient vision, glide cuts, chain-eating ruthlessness. The drive stalled, but momentum never left scarlet.
Michigan got the ball back… for about 45 seconds. The Buckeyes forced a punt, snagged good field position at the 43, and then boom — the dagger.
Carnell Tate, five catches for 82 yards, but none bigger than this one: a seam route split like a wishbone, Tate streaking between safeties like a cheat code, Sayin launching a 50-yard laser that dropped into his lap like a birthday gift. 24–9. The stadium did not go silent — it exhaled. Loudly. Like everyone suddenly understood what was happening.
This wasn’t ending in a comeback. It was ending in a countdown.
In the fourth, Ohio State didn’t need flash. They needed the clock. And they devoured it.
Twenty plays. Eleven minutes and fifty-six seconds of soul-draining possession. A field goal to stretch the lead to 27–9. Michigan fans were already filing toward the exits like early credits. Snow falling, scarlet gloves raised in the visitors’ section — cinematic domination.
Kenyatta Jackson blew up Underwood for a sack. Davison Igbinosun snagged the game-sealing interception. No late drama. No chaos. Just Michigan drowning in short gains and long faces.
When Ohio State kneeled it out, it wasn’t a celebration — it was confirmation.
The Buckeyes are built for December.
Julian Sayin — cool, clean, clinical
233 yards, 3 TDs, one early INT that aged like spoiled milk but ultimately meant nothing. His command tightened with every drive. He didn’t force throws — he dissected. Just enough venom, zero panic.
Bo Jackson — the gravitational center of the offense
117 rushing yards on 22 carries, 4 receptions for 49 yards. Michigan needed three hats to stop him, and still couldn’t. His vision turned 3-yard holes into 10-yard runs.
Carnell Tate — the lightning bolt
50-yard knockout TD, clutch third-downs, YAC like he had unpaid debts to collect. WR1 energy all afternoon.
Ohio State Defense — the real headline
163 total yards allowed. Nine points. Zero touchdowns. Michigan’s run game — historically its swagger — mutated into a rumor (just 63 rushing yards). Sonny Styles led with six tackles, but it was suffocating team football at every level.
This wasn’t bend-don’t-break. This was bend-and-snap.
You can’t ask for better scriptwriting:
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana. 12–0 vs. 12–0. Big Ten Championship. National stakes yelling into the void.
This win wasn’t just about beating Michigan. It was about identity — a defense that doesn’t flinch, an offense that can win with power or precision, a team built for winter football and championship lights.
Next Saturday isn’t another game — it’s a final boss battle.
Ann Arbor was a test. Indianapolis is an answer.
Final Thought
Michigan kicked three field goals. Ohio State scored three touchdowns.
That’s the difference between a good team and a championship team.
Kickoff vs. Indiana: 6:30 p.m., Lucas Oil. The nation will be watching.
And Ohio State looks ready to make a statement loud enough to shake college football’s spine.
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