Michigan
5-7 , 1-7
Ohio State
10-2 , 7-1
Wolverines Fall to No. 9 Ohio State in Season Finale
11/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: #9 Ohio State 21, Michigan 10
Record: U-M (5-7, 1-7 Big Ten), Ohio State (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 110,922
Next U-M Game: Season Completed
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan football team fell to Ohio State University (No. 9 AP, No. 8 USA Today), 21-10, on Saturday (Nov. 21) to close out the 2009 season at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines threw for 229 yards on the day, compared to OSU's 67, but the ground game and turnovers proved to be the difference as the Buckeyes ran for 251 yards and capitalized on five Wolverine miscues. Michigan had three opportunities to make it a one possession game late, but three U-M interceptions solidified the win for Ohio State.
Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) completed 23-of-38 attempts for 226 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions, while sophomore/freshman slot receiver Roy Roundtree (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) recorded his second 100-yard receiving game with nine catches for 116 yards. Senior/junior linebacker Jonas Mouton (Los Angeles, Calif./Venice) led the defense, tying his career high of 11 tackles and had an interception, which led to U-M's only touchdown of the afternoon.
Stopped near midfield on their first drive of the game, the Buckeyes got on the scoreboard first on a defensive touchdown at 10:44 in the first quarter. Scrambling near his goal line, Forcier was stripped of the ball and OSU defensive end Cameron Heyward recovered it in the end zone. The extra point was good, putting OSU in front 7-0.
Two series later, freshman quarterback Denard Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) jumpstarted the U-M offense with 12 yards on the ground to reach OSU territory. Forcier returned to the game and completed two passes to Roundtree for 31 total yards. U-M reached the OSU seven-yard line before the drive stalled, but fifth-year senior placekicker Jason Olesnavage (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale) pushed a 24-yard field goal wide right, leaving the score 7-0 in favor of Ohio State.
Michigan cut the deficit to 7-3 on an Olesnavage field goal from 46 yards out with 7:59 left in the second quarter. Over the 10-play, 50-yard drive, Forcier completed four passes for 42 yards, including a 22-yard pass over the middle to Roundtree.
Ohio State quickly responded with a touchdown on its ensuing possession to take a 14-3 lead with 5:22 remaining in the half. The Buckeyes required just six plays, all rushing attempts, to cover 80 yards. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor ran for 34 yards and tailback Brandon Saine rushed for 46 yards, 29 of which came on his touchdown scamper to the left pylon.
U-M's offense went three and out to open the second half, but the defense got the ball back when Mouton corralled a deflected pass near midfield for his second interception of the season.
The Wolverines capitalized on the turnover with their first touchdown of the game at the 10:05 mark. Faced with a third-and-five from the OSU 18-yard line, Forcier scrambled to his left, set his feet, and threw back to the right hash mark to freshman running back Vincent Smith (Pahokee, Fla./Pahokee), who broke a tackle and found pay dirt. Olesnavage hit the extra point to make it 14-10 OSU.
Ohio State marched downfield for a touchdown on its next drive to reestablish an 11-point advantage, 21-10, with 4:46 left in the third quarter. The Buckeyes covered 77 yards on the ground. The lone pass play came on third-and-goal from the 12-yard line when Pryor hit Dan Herron on a screen pass for a touchdown. Devin Barclay converted the extra point.
Michigan got a spark early in the fourth quarter as Roundtree caught a short pass from Forcier near the U-M 20-yard line and raced 43 yards to the OSU 40. Two plays later, however, a deep pass by Forcier was picked off by safety Kurt Coleman at the OSU six-yard line.
Four minutes later, Michigan reached the OSU 11-yard line only to be turned away when Forcier was intercepted by Devon Torrence at the goal line.
Team Stats
OSU 7, MICH 0
OSU - Heyward, C 0 yd fumble recovery (Barclay, Devin kick)
OSU 7, MICH 3
MICH - Olesnavage, J. 46 yd field goal 10 plays, 50 yards, TOP 3:22
OSU 14, MICH 3
OSU - Saine, Brandon 29 yd run (Barclay, Devin kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:37
OSU 14, MICH 10
MICH - Smith, Vincent 18 yd pass from Forcier, Tate (Olesnavage, J. kick) 8 plays, 49 yards, TOP 3:02
OSU 21, MICH 10
OSU - Herron, Dan 12 yd pass from Pryor, Terrelle (Barclay, Devin kick) 11 plays, 89 yards, TOP 5:19
