Follow along with senior writer Jeff Rapp as he decribes the action from the Big House.
Welcome to our live game blog!
We hope you enjoy today's game. Gametime temperatures are in the high 40s and the sky is dingy and gray (of course). The Ohio State band is on hand and the Maize and Blue are honoring the 1969 team that beat top-ranked Ohio State at the Big House, a victory that set the Ten Year War in motion as Bo Schembechler opposed his friend and old boss, Woody Hayes.
I felt a little surge in me as I typed the words "Ohio State at Michigan" into the headline field for this story. I'm guessing some of you are being struck by the rivalry as well. I know you would have been if you were driving through campus like I did and seeing brave Buckeyes fans being verbally accosted by UM knuckleheads. One drunk walked across the street right in front of us to try to kick out a taillight on a car with Ohio plates.
It's game on here at Michigan Stadium.
12:02 p.m. -- We are getting ready for kickoff. There is red all over the place in here. Wow I've never seen this many OSU fans at the Big Outhouse before! The Buckeyes have warmed up in their new unis and the reviews from the press box are favorable -- except maybe for the socks. Eeesh.
BTW, the OSU players have a pink "SS" sticker on their helmets in honor of Stefanie Spielman, who passed away on Thursday.
Bo's widow Cathy Schembechler and Archie Griffin have joined the captains for the coin toss. Ohio State won the toss and elects to receive. Here we go.
12:18 p.m. -- OK, we have developments. Ohio State had success throwing to each side of the field and each receiver as Terrelle Pryor hit Dane Sanzenbacher for 11 yards on the first play of the game and two plays latter connected with DeVier Posey for another first down. In between and after were Boom Herron runs for no gain as he slammed right into a crept-up UM defense that had eight in the box. There is no reason to be stubborn here. Throw the ball! The payoff will be nice, believe me.
The Buckeyes get a good result, though, with Jon Thoma punting down to the UM 7 for 42 yards. Two runs of no consequence set up a third-and-7 and Tate Forcier, UM's excitable but sometimes mistake-prone freshman QB, runs around in the end zone and knocks the ball out of his own right hand with his thigh. Cameron Heyward recovers the loose pig in the end zone for a touchdown and the Buckeyes tack on the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 10:44 left in the first quarter.
Michigan already has done the one thing it can't do to win this game: gift-wrap points for Ohio State. The takeaway is the Buckeyes' 29th of the season and a huge one.
12:26 p.m. -- Michigan has to punt the ball away after Forcier scrambles left and misses an open receiver near the hash. Normally he's more accurate on those kinds of throws. The Buckeyes, though, go three-and-out as defensive tackle Mike Martin sacks Pryor on third-and-long. Pryor either isn't looking downfield or is not getting enough time to do so. It looked like Bryant Browning got burned there.
Michigan starts series number three with Denard Robinson at quarterback. The Wolverines pick up their first first down of the day but Robinson gets only 5 yards rushing on the next two plays. Forcier comes back in on third-and-5 and zips one out for a 21-yard catch-and-carry. Nice play there where it looked like the Buckeyes weren't quite set.
On second down from the 22, Forcier hits Roy Roundtree for the second straight time and a first down in the red zone just inside the OSU 12. On second down, Forcier tried to thread one in but Kurt Coleman broke up the play. The crowd groaned at the replay but it appeared to be good defense.
Michigan has to settle for a 24-yard field-goal attempt and Jason Olesnavage pushes it right to the delight of the OSU fans in the south end zone. A drive of more than five minutes netted no points for the home team.
12:37 p.m. -- Dan Herron finally finds some yardage on the left side, getting 4 on first down. He falls forward for just one on second down. A pass in the flat to Herron on third-and-5 picks up four but it's punt time again. Either Jim Tressel is really worried about UM's pass rush or the Buckeyes thought they were going to fool someone there. All five offensive linemen had their blocks on that play but the pass was out to an unelusive RB.
Thoma blasts a 54-yard punt, 1 yard shy of his season high. Michigan has to start from its own 18.
12:41 p.m. -- Brian Rolle blitzed on second down and caused an incompletion but limped off the field after the play. Forcier makes a great scramble play on third down to find Greg Mathews, who appears to be the next UM jerk in a long line of UM jerks. He decided to get into it with Chimdi Chekwa on the first series and taunted Chekwa on that first down. Watch No. 13. He's a hero.
After Ross Homan and Coleman break up passes to set up third-and-12 on the Ohio State 42, the quarter ends with the score still Ohio State 7, Michigan 0.
Ohio State had just 31 total yards -- including zero rushing -- in the period to Michigan's 93.
12:47 p.m. -- Anderson Russell bats away a pass for Mathews to join the party. A few plays earlier, Jermale Hines fought off a block --- actually a hold by tight end Martell Webb -- to blow up a short pass play. The only defensive back not off to a good start is Devon Torrence, who played way too soft on a deep out and gave up a first down late in the first quarter.
Ohio State has to start on its own 6 but busts Herron through on second down. Pryor dials up Posey on the next two plays for a first down and a 6-yard gain and OSU has breathing room out to the 44.
This running game needs a boost from someone. Herron runs for 2 short yards and doesn't seem to be finding any holes. Then again, Michigan is still stacking the box. On this down Pryor rolls right and has the option but you knew he was never going to pitch the ball. He's stopped short and Thoma's punt is not a great one.
A fair catch has Michigan on its own 22 with 11:21 left before halftime.
BTW, if you want to air out any grievances or just offer your own observations after the game, be sure to call our Bucknuts Live postgame call-in show. Our own Dave Biddle and Bucknuts comrade Bret Hoovler will be standing by to take your calls, or you can e-mail the show by firing off a message to dave.biddle@bucknuts.com. Again, feel free to voice your own thoughts.
12:56 p.m. -- The Wolverines continue to show they can move the ball on this Ohio State defense and are putting together their best drive so far. Several first downs take UM to the OSU 26-yard line until the Wolves have to burn a timeout with 9:00 to go because a lineman lost his shoe. We'll see if it allows Ohio State to catch its breath.
The next play is near disaster as Forcier can't get the ball handed off and has to keep it for a 20yard gain. His next pass is high and goes right into Coleman, who apparently wasn't expecting it. On third-and-8 a quick out losses 4 yards. Not sure what RichRod was thinking there.
However, Olesnavage nails the 46-yard field goal with 7:59 left before halftime.
It's Ohio State 7, Michigan 3 -- and time for the Buckeyes to do something with the football.
1:06 p.m. -- The Buckeyes come out with Brandon Saine and he immediately makes something happen on a trap play with a powerful, move-the-pile 14-yard run. Pryor breaks loose on the next play and gets 9 yards but doesn't lunge for the first, which he almost never does. He coolly steps out of bounds and Saine gets nothing on second down. OSU has to power Saine out of the I on third down to move the chains.
A very good fake by Pryor -- he put the ball in the belly of Saine and took it right back out -- leads to another big run to the UM 29 for a first down. Saine goes the distance from there as he bursts left off a fake to the right. A well-executed and well-designed play.
Devin Barclay's extra point ups the lead to 14-3 with 5:22 left before halftime.
1:14 p.m. -- We have a Jack Tatum hit of the week candidate! Etienne Sabino absolutely balsted return man Darryl Stonum and No. 22 was not sure where he was for a couple seconds there. On the first play, Forcier heaves deep right to Mathews and Chekwa and Coleman team up for the interception. Chekwa was able to get his right hand on the ball and bat it back away from the sideline and right to Coleman, who secured the pick.
TP goes deep on the next play and has Posey but overshoots him. The Buckeyes end up having to punt but their coverage is excellent again. Michigan has it back rather quickly on its own 23 and still has nearly five minutes to move the ball.
1:23 p.m. -- OSU gets a stop but not without more whining from the stands and the press box after Doug Worthington's hand grazed Forcier's facemask on third down. Worthington didn't use the facemask to make the tackle and therefore it was a good no call.
The Buckeyes move the ball with Herron and Pryor each sliding through the left side for good runs but Pryor is flagged for intentional grounding and loss of down on the next play, which allows Michigan to burn its final two timeouts and get the ball back with enough time. Pryor at least stays in bounds on third down so that UM has to expend its final timeout.
Fourth-and-23 brings Thoma back out on the field. His awful kick goes just beyond the first-down marker (28 yards) and Michigan is set up on its own 46.
Thaddeus Gibson showed why he's going to get paid to play next year by chasing down Forcier, gaining a step on him from the pocket to the sideline. The ruling was an incomplete pass and changes the time on the clock from 16 ticks to 37, but it doesn't matter.
Michigan punter Zoltan Mesko pads his stats by blasting the kick into the end zone and OSU takes a knee.
The Buckeyes lead 14-3 at halftime.
BTW, if you want to air out any grievances or just offer your own observations after the game, be sure to call our Bucknuts Live postgame call-in show. Our own Dave Biddle and Bucknuts comrade Bret Hoovler will be standing by to take your calls, or you can e-mail the show by firing off a message to dave.biddle@bucknuts.com. Again, feel free to voice your own thoughts.
Halftime stats: Michigan has 33 rushing yards to OSU's 113. The passing yards are 133 to 50 and Michigan has 163 total yards to Ohio State's 163. Pretty close.
Obviously the biggest play of the half is the Forcier fumble that Heyward fell on in the end zone. Also the missed chip-shot field goal is playing a role as UM would be within a score with another three points.
Ohio State looks like it can pass whenever it really wants to/needs to but the running game spiked up in the second quarter.
Michigan always has a chance to make plays with Forcier out there. It will be interesting to see if Rodriguez even elects to play Robinson in the second half.
1:53 p.m. -- We are underway and Ohio State again does a great job of covering a kick, but UM has the ball first. Very solid start for the OSU defense with a three-and-out. Forcier tried a low-percentage pass up the sideline to Roundtree that had no chance Mesko is back on.
Ray Small muffed the punt but recovered it. The sun has crept out but was behind Small, so he may have been caught looking at the coverage.
OSU starts with Saine at tailback (good idea) and he gets 6 yards on first down. However, Pryor throws a poor pass in the flat on second down and is intercepted on third as he threw a high fastball to Posey.
Michigan does what it needs to do and takes advantage of the miscue on scotes on the short field. It was pretty much all Forcier, who continues to show that he plays better as the game gets more frantic.
The eight-play, 49-yard drive is capped off by and 18-yard scoring pass to tailback Vincent Smith, who was left alone in the right flat and juked Chekwa to get into the end zone. Unless it was a decoy, Michigan looked confused prior to the snap and it appeared Rodriguez wanted to call timeout. Forcier motioned to just snap the ball and created on the play.
2:07 p.m. -- With it now Ohio State 14, Michigan 10, this crowd is into it. Small only gets to the 21 on the kickoff and OSU is flagged for a hold to set up poor field position. Pryor gets OSU out to the 30, though, with a nifty scramble through traffic.
Saine then goes to work with a short run and another to midfield. Another first down. Boom Herron gets into the act running off right guard and kicking his feet away from a defender for a 13-yard run. On second-and-11 Pryor fakes to Herron and shoots left for 12 yards. This is OSU's best play today. Keep the ball in No. 2's hands. Plus the receivers have been doing an excellent job of blocking on the perimeter.
OSU is ready to answer. Herron's 23-yard run to the Michigan 2 sets up first-and-goal and puts OSU at 206 yards rushing. It marks the eighth time this season and fifth straight game in which the Buckeyes have at least 200 yards rushing.
Hold the phone, though. A couple negative rushes take OSU's total back to 196 and set up third-and-goal at the 12. However, the Buckeyes counter with a perfect play -- a jailbreak screen to Herron in which Pryor lofted the ball over several defenders. No. 2 to No. 1 nets a pretty touchdown and a huge answer score by OSU. Pryor was roughed on the play, which will allow OSU to kick off from the 45.
Another penalty on the extra point attempt moves OSU back but Barclay drills the EP and OSU leads 21-10 with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
2:19 p.m. -- Michigan can't move the chains and has to punt but OSU is flagged for another infraction on the return, an illegal block in the back on Brian Rolle.
Tressel would love a clock-chewing drive right here.
A couple first downs get that process in motion. Herron appears to be churning his legs better and is in a rhythm. Both he and Saine should be able to help Pryor salt this thing away.
The Buckeyes had two receivers who weren't set on the left side when center Mike Brewster quick-snapped the ball. OSU is moved back 5 but the clock churns down to the end of the third period.
Still 21-10 good guys.
BTW, if you want to air out any grievances or just offer your own observations after the game, be sure to call our Bucknuts Live postgame call-in show. Our own Dave Biddle and Bucknuts comrade Bret Hoovler will be standing by to take your calls, or you can e-mail the show by firing off a message to dave.biddle@bucknuts.com. Again, feel free to voice your own thoughts.
2:30 p.m. -- With OSU fans all over the stadium, they break into the O-H-I-O chant during the quarter break. The Michigan fans drowned them out for a while but not entirely.
Back to action OSU hits the left side of the defense and then the right, the second-down play a short completion to Posey. It's still third-and-8. Pryor just overshoots him again on another deep rainbow and Thoma is back on to punt.
2:34 p.m. -- They just announced over the PA that the attendance for the game is officially 110,922, which is interesting considering there have been several empty seats all afternoon high in the north end.
Forcier continues to make plays as he draws defenders on a rollout and flips a pass to Roundtree that turns into a 43-yard play. Anderson Russell made the saving tackle at the OSU 40. Denard Robinson continues to be no factor as his second-down run loses a half yard. Forcier goes deep left on third-and-5 and appears to be picked off by Coleman. He hung onto the ball. I always thought a butt equaled a knee equaled two feet in football. We'll see what the refs say.
BTW, Torrence blitzed off the corner there but I don't know if that affected Forcier's decision or not. It appeared he was going for the downs there regardless.
2:40 p.m. -- They rule an INT, giving captain Kurt a pair in his final Big Ten game. Pretty nice day for No. 4. OSU starts from its own 6.
Two runs by Saine and a twisting keeper by Pryor only get 9 yards, though. Mr. Thoma is on the field yet again. His boot is fair-caught right at the 50.
OSU plays it a bit soft on defense and is going to make Michigan earn any points it may get here. There is still plenty of time, though. Vincent Smith is walked off the field during an injury timeout with 9:37 to play.
The crowd boos when Robinson comes back in but he completes a pass and picks up a first down to the OSU 11 with a 17-yard run. Michael Shaw gets 5 yards on first down to the 6 with Forcier back in.
On the next play, Tater tries to thread one into zone coverage and is picked in the end zone by Torrence. Now No. 10 has joined the party.
That should do it, folks.
2:52 p.m. -- Tick, tick, tick. We are at six minutes and going under with the Buckeyes running vanilla plays. Pryor appeared to get nothing on a third-down sneak but the spot was good enough to move the chains. Brandon Graham, who has had a very good game, gets tackles for loss numbers three and four and OSU will punt with a little less than five minutes to play.
This reporter knows this game is not completely over but I have no chance of getting down to the field unless I start heading down now (anyone who has every been to this stadium knows what I am talking about).
So this is Rapper, signing off. Talk to you again during the Rose Bowl -- when Ohio State will be there as the outright Big Ten champions.
Hope everybody enjoyed the game and don't forget about the radio show. The phone number to call in is 614-754-7549. Take care.
