COLUMBUS, Ohio – When Ohio State coach Urban Meyer predicted earlier in the week that Michigan would give the Buckeyes “their best” in their annual rivalry game, he was right: It took an interception on a two-point conversion attempt with :32 left in the game to preserve a 42-41 Ohio State victory and an unbeaten regular season.
It was a game marred by a brawl that saw two Ohio State players and one Michigan player ejected, but was also one of the most thrilling in the history of the bitter rivalry.
The two teams combined for 1,129 yards of total offense, 226 of them racked up by Carlos Hyde who scored what proved to be the decisive touchdown on a one-yard run with 2:20 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner, limping on an injured ankle, complete eight passes as he led the Wolverines on an 84-yard scoring drive that brought Michigan to within a point at 42-41 with :32 remaining.
The Wolverines lined up and tried a two-point conversion but safety Tyvis Powell dove in front of Gardner’s pass to seal the Buckeyes’ win.
Third-ranked Ohio State (12-0, 8-0) will play Michigan State next Saturday in the Big Ten Championship game.
The Buckeyes did not enjoy their first lead of the game until midway through the third quarter, when
Braxton Miller scored on a three-yard run to give them a 28-21 lead.
Miller ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns and passed for another 133 yards, two scores and an interception. Miller and Hyde are the first Buckeye tandem to rush for over 100 yards since Jim Otis and Rudy Hubbard in 1967.
Gardner threw for 451 yards and four touchdowns, but the Buckeye defense held the Wolverines (7-5, 5-3) to 152 yards rushing.
Ohio State totaled 562 yards of total offense.
Michigan got on the scoreboard first with Gardner run in the first quarter and the teams traded touchdowns for the rest of the first half, going to the lockers room tied at 21.
The Buckeyes scored 14 unanswered points, capitalizing on a fumble recovery with Miller’s run, followed by a pass to Jeff Heuerman, but the Wolverines responded with two touchdowns in the fourth, aided by a Hyde fumble, to knot the score at 35.
Hyde capped a six-play, 65-yard drive with what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
Gardner threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Devin Funchess to make it 42-41, but instead of kicking for the tie, Wolverines coach Brady Hoke went for the lead with his offense.
Gardner tried to zip a pass into traffic near the goal line, but Powell came up with it. Buckeyes cornerback Roby Bradley recovered the onside kick to seal Ohio State’s 24th consecutive victory and keep its national championship hopes alive.