Michigan gets final word against Ohio State in what feels like the end of an era
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s over.
This game, this era, this battle to set the narrative in college football’s most intense rivalry — all of it ended Saturday when Rod Moore , a three-star recruit from Clayton, Ohio, cradled an interception to seal No. 3 Michigan’s 30-24 victory against No. 2 Ohio State .
As the ball fluttered in the air, everything was still up for grabs. Ryan Day’s reputation as the coach who can’t beat Michigan . The suspicion that Michigan beat the Buckeyes only by breaking the rules. The insults, accusations and conspiracy theories that consumed fans of both programs in the lead-up to Saturday’s game. Moore’s interception settled it all, giving Michigan the one thing these rivals covet above all else: the final word.
“It was a dream come true, making the game-winning play in one of the biggest games in college football history,” Moore said. “I really can’t put into words how I’m feeling. I was on the field, like, ‘I just called game. I did that.’”
When historians document this era of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, the final scene will be Michigan fans rushing the field to celebrate a third consecutive victory against the Buckeyes. Two years ago, Michigan fans celebrated in the snow. This time the sky had a few streaks of sunlight. Otherwise, it was the same scene and the same result, another rush of validation for Michigan and another dose of misery for Ohio State.
A great way to close out the home schedule #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/ZlKDBLAUXK— Michigan Football November 25, 2023
This victory was a stamp of legitimacy for Michigan’s entire three-year reign atop the Big Ten. It doesn’t excuse Michigan’s alleged in-person scouting scheme or exonerate the program from potential consequences down the road. It won’t stop rival fans from branding the Wolverines as cheaters. But it showed that, even without head coach Jim Harbaugh and whatever advantage they gained from decoding signals, the Wolverines were better than the second-best team in the Big Ten.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own perception of how they view us,” quarterback J.J. McCarthy said. “They’re entitled to their own opinion. We only care about us.”
Since Michigan’s victory in 2021, the story of this rivalry has been Michigan’s toughness and Ohio State’s lack thereof. That clearly bothered Day, who shouted about Ohio State’s toughness on TV after a win against Notre Dame earlier this season. Then the sign-stealing scandal broke, and the narrative started to shift. Maybe the Wolverines didn’t win because they were tougher. Maybe they won because they knew Ohio State’s plays.
The Wolverines didn’t run all over Ohio State the way they did in 2021 or 2022, but Michigan’s toughness still won the day. In this case, toughness was winning without Harbaugh, banished three games by the Big Ten for Michigan’s violations of the league’s sportsmanship policy. Toughness was watching right guard Zak Zinter go down with a devastating leg injury, then popping a long touchdown run on the very next play.
“When it happened, I looked back and Zak was screaming,” McCarthy said, recalling the moment in the third quarter when Zinter’s left leg bent at a gruesome angle. “Karsen (Barnhart) was literally holding his foot as it was just, like, limp. It was a sight that I don’t wish upon anyone to see. At that moment, seeing the look in everybody’s eyes, seeing the (team) rally together, something about it was spiritual, honestly.”
Day built his team to win a game like this one. The Buckeyes have the nation’s best wide receiver in Marvin Harrison Jr. , but they also play good defense and run the ball with more authority than they have in the past. They showed it on their opening drive of the second half, marching 75 yards on 12 plays to tie the score at 17.
Michigan doesn’t fold that easily. All the talk about Ohio State getting tougher was, in wide receiver Roman Wilson ’s estimation, exactly that: talk.
“You’ve got guys back there ... who want to put on the Louis V., the $1,000 outfit,” Wilson said. “You want to act hard. Out there, they’re not hard. I see the film. They’re not tough.”
Much has been said and written about Day’s shortcomings in this rivalry. Losing three consecutive games to Michigan — one when Michigan’s head coach was suspended — is a good way for an Ohio State coach to get run out of town. People said the same things about Harbaugh when he lost his first five games against the Buckeyes, and he managed to turn things around.
Day could, too, but it will take a drastic shift in this rivalry, similar to the one that occurred when Urban Meyer stepped down at Ohio State in 2018. Day lost this stanza, just like Harbaugh lost the one before it. This will be a different rivalry next season for a whole bunch of reasons, and Ohio State will have to live with the pain of closing this chapter with a decisive loss.
It’s not hyperbole to say there might not be another Michigan-Ohio State game that will match the stakes of this one. Once the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams next year, the loser of Michigan-Ohio State won’t be eliminated with one loss. In a Big Ten without divisions, Michigan would get a rematch against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game instead of facing Iowa .
Ohio State could win the next 10 games in this series, and people would still be talking about this one. Sherrone Moore, Michigan’s acting head, recognized the stakes and called the game accordingly. Michigan unveiled a wildcat package with quarterback Alex Orji , threw a running back pass with Donovan Edwards for a big first down and went 3-for-3 on fourth down. Ohio State played not to lose and got what it deserved.
Moore’s performance dispelled any claim that the Big Ten did irreparable harm by suspending Harbaugh for the three biggest games of the season. The Wolverines will be happy to have Harbaugh back on the sidelines for the Big Ten Championship Game, but he wasn’t essential to Michigan’s success. The defining characteristic of this Michigan team — its ability to keep winning in the face of controversy — was on full display Saturday.
“The job has to get done no matter what,” Corum said. “Whether Coach is here, whether players are hurt — it doesn’t matter. The job has to get done, and the job will get done.”
When the ball left Kyle McCord ’s hand on Ohio State’s final play, everything was still up in the air. If McCord had thrown a touchdown instead of an interception, it could have changed the trajectory of Day’s coaching career and altered the way an entire era of Michigan football is remembered. Those are the stakes when these teams square off. This isn’t a rivalry for the faint of heart.
No matter where the rivalry goes from here, Saturday felt like the end of an era. And Michigan got the final word.
(Photo of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy: Ezra Shaw / )
