Michigan Ends Season With Loss at No. 10 Ohio State

Saturday, November 22

Columbus, Ohio

Noon

Michigan

10-2 , 7-1

Ohio State

3-9 , 2-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Michigan

Ohio State

Brandon Minor

11/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes Photo Gallery

By: David Ablauf

Site: Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium)
Score: #10 Ohio State 42, Michigan 7
Records: U-M (3-9, 2-6 Big Ten), OSU (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 105,564
Next U-M Game: Season Complete

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan football team contained No. 10 Ohio State for 30 minutes of football, helping the underdog Wolverines enter the locker room with a manageable 14-7 deficit, but the Buckeyes awoke in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points in a 42-7 victory Saturday afternoon (Nov. 22) at Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State exploded on scoring plays of 59 and 53 yards for its 14 points in the first half, but Michigan kept it close with an epic 14-play, 65-yard scoring drive near the end of the second quarter to trail by seven at the gun. The third quarter was the Wolverines' undoing with OSU extending its lead to 21-7 on its first possession of the second half, then adding 21 more points in the half to put the game out of reach.

Junior running back Brandon Minor (Richmond, Va./Varina) led the way for U-M with 14 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown, churning up 44 yards on the ground in Michigan's second-quarter scoring drive. In his fourth start, junior/sophomore quarterback Nick Sheridan (Saline, Mich./Saline) was 8-for-24 passing with 87 yards.

On defense, senior safety Brandon Harrison (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) posted his third sack in as many games, while junior defensive end Brandon Graham's (Detroit, Mich./Crockett Technical) 10th sack of the season tied him for seventh place on the all-time single-season list with Mark Messner (20, 1987). Fifth-year senior Tim Jamison (Riverdale, Ill./Harvey Thornton) had eight tackles and finished with a sack, wrapping up his career in seventh place on U-M's all-time sacks list with 20.

Ohio State gained 203 of their first 258 yards of offense on five plays, scoring touchdowns on plays of 59, 53 and 49 yards and rumbling for a 42-yard rush on the first play of the second half. Michigan's defense was able to bottle up the OSU offense on 30 of their 32 first-half plays, sacking Pryor three times and intercepting him once. The Buckeyes ran just nine first-half plays inside the U-M 50-yard line, with U-M's defense sacking Pryor twice inside Michigan territory and stopping OSU on a fourth-down attempt at the U-M 35.

The U-M offense showed its stuff on a second-quarter drive engineered by Sheridan and Minor, putting together a 14-play, 65-yard scoring drive that put Michigan's only points on the board. Minor carried the ball on six of the final seven plays, gaining 44 yards on the ground, breaking a 32-yard run to the OSU one-yard line and burrowing into the end zone on a fourth-down try for his ninth rushing TD of the season.

Junior safety Stevie Brown (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East) intercepted OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor's second pass of the day on OSU's opening drive, returning the ball 34 yards to the OSU 13-yard line, but fifth-year senior K.C. Lopata's (Farmington, Mich./Farmington) 35-yard field goal sailed wide and the game remained scoreless. Neither team made a dent offensively until Buckeye tailback Chris Wells broke the stalemate with a 59-yard touchdown run on the first play of OSU's fifth possession, putting the Buckeye's ahead, 7-0.

To open the second quarter, Pryor hit wide receiver Brian Hartline on a 53-yard score, making it 14-0. Michigan responded near the end of the period, picking up its first first down, crossing midfield for the first time and converting two fourth-down tries, culminating in a one-yard, fourth-down touchdown plunge for Minor, making it 14-7.

Ohio State opened the second half with a two-play, 39-second scoring drive that was bookended by a 42-yard rush for Wells and a 49-yard touchdown sprint for running back Dan Herron, making it 21-7. Ten minutes later, the Buckeyes returned a punt 80 yards, setting up Pryor's eight-yard touchdown pass, putting the Buckeyes up 28-7. Ohio State tacked on seven more points in the next drive, pulling ahead 35-7 and then scored on a U-M turnover on the kick return, making it 42-7.