Ohio State's hopes of returning to the national championship game ended at
the hands of the Michigan Wolverines today as the Wolverines put the Buckeyes
away 35-21. Ohio State's defense gave up 448 total yards to Michigan (170 on the ground on 40 carries and TD drives 89, 74, 80, 62, and 88 yards) and
had difficulty stopping the Wolverines on the ground and through the air.
Chris Perry rushed for 154 yards and two TDs, while John Navarre threw for 278
yards on 21 of 32 passing with two TDs and one interception. The Buckeye offense
had one of their best outputs of the year yardage-wise, but it was not enough to
pull ahead of Michigan.
Much of the first half was close to a nightmare for Ohio State. The Buckeyes
opened the game on offense and punted after a three-and-out, but they were able
to hold Michigan to a punt on the following possession (during which UM WR Jason Avant left the game with an injury). OSU took over on offense but was forced to
punt once again after a few plays.
Michigan took over in poor field position at their own 11-yard line, but the
Wolverines proceeded to execute a statement-making drive of 89 yards on 18
plays, capped by a Steve Breaston TD run after he lined up under center. The
drive lasted 7:04 and put Michigan on top 7-0.
After another Buckeye three-and-out, Michigan struck quickly on the next
drive as on the third play of the possession, QB John Navarre hit Braylon Edwards (7 catches, 130 yards, 2 TDs) in the middle of the field, who then shook
off tackle attempts by Will Allen and Nate Salley and took it to the end zone
for a 64-yard TD play. The point after gave Michigan a 14-0 lead.
OSU took over on their next drive and had to punt once again after running a
few plays, and Michigan took over at their own 20 and marched down the field for
another long drive, aided in part by a personal foul penalty on Ohio State and
an interference penalty on Ohio State. The drive was capped by another Braylon
Edwards TD reception.
The Buckeyes were able to get one back before the half as they took over at
their own 18 late in the second quarter and moved the ball downfield on a drive
engineered by Craig Krenzel's passing (8-9, 63 yards on the drive) and running
(18 yards on 3 carries on the drive). Krenzel hit Santonio Holmes for an 8-yard
TD to cap the drive, and after Michigan ran out the clock on the following
possession, the Buckeyes would go into the half trailing 21-7.
The second half did not start promisingly though. UM started with possession
on their own 38 and drove down the field in less than two minutes to make the
game 28-7 on a 30-yard Chris Perry TD run. The Buckeyes responded by moving the
ball downfield inside UM territory, but penalties prevented them from getting in
scoring position and were forced to punt.
Michigan took over on their own 8-yard line and looked to have put the game
away as John Navarre hit Braylon Edwards on a deep TD pass, but the Wolverines
were called for a hold and had to punt shortly after. The Buckeyes took over
with solid field position and cut the lead to 28-14 shortly after as they capped
off the drive with a TD pass from Craig Krenzel to Santonio Holmes.
OSU's defense held UM to a three-and-out on the next possession, but OSU
started the next drive with the ball inside their own 10-yard line. On the
possession, Craig Krenzel had to leave the game after taking a hard hit and
apparently suffering an injury around the shoulder area, and OSU had to punt
back to UM soon after. After a three-and-out by UM, the Buckeyes and Scott McMullen began a drive at their own 7-yard line and engineered a drive that
would bring the Buckeyes back within a TD after a 42-yard pass to Santonio
Holmes and a 2-yard TD run by Lydell Ross to cut the lead to 28-21.
Momentum continued to move in the Buckeyes' direction on the following
Michigan possession as Chris Gamble picked off a John Navarre pass on the second
play of the drive, but the Buckeyes could not do anything with it as they were
forced to punt after three plays. Michigan took over on their own 11-yard line
and would then put together an 89-yard back-breaking drive that put the
Wolverines up 35-21 on Chris Perry's second TD of the day. Craig Krenzel would
re-enter the game, but neither he nor Scott McMullen (who gave it a shot on the
final OSU possession) could put the Buckeyes in the end zone again.
OSU's offense had (unofficially) 383 yards on the day, with over 300 of those
coming through the air. Craig Krenzel went 20 of 33 for 221 yards and two
touchdowns, while Scott McMullen threw for 108 yards and 1 INT on 8 of 13
passing. Michael Jenkins was the leading receiver with 9 catches for 132 yards,
while Santonio Holmes had eight catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Craig
Krenzel led the Buckeyes on the ground with 38 yards. B.J. Sander had 9 punts for a 49.1 yard average. Will Allen had 14 tackles and Nate Salley 11, but the Buckeye D only managed two tackles for loss.
The Buckeyes finish the regular season at 10-2 on the year and appear to be
headed to either the Capital One Bowl or a potential BCS at-large bid.