Terrelle Pryor

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel never dreamed he would have this kind of success against the University of Michigan when he took the job with the Buckeyes in 2001.

“I was looking for 1-0,” Tressel said. “That’s as far as I looked.”

Fast forward nine years and Tressel’s mark against the hated Wolverines move to a sparkling 8-1 after his Buckeyes took a decisive 21-10 win before 110,922 Saturday at Michigan Stadium. The ninth-ranked Buckeyes churned out 252 yards rushing in securing the win.

“It was a heck of a hard fought game, like all of these great rivalry games are,” Tressel said. “We weren’t comfortable until there was about a minute to go and we had the ball. Our kids stepped up and did a great job of preparing. They did a good job of doing what they were called upon to do. It was a heck of a team effort.”

With the win, the Rose Bowl-bound Buckeyes (10-2, 7-1) clinched the outright Big Ten championship and also took a sixth consecutive win over Michigan for the first time in the 106-year history of the rivalry. Following an Oct. 17 loss at lightly regarded Purdue, the Buckeyes reeled off five wins to cap the regular season.

“We knew as we looked at the November schedule it was not going to be an easy thing,” Tressel said. “But our guys don’t back down from anything. Everybody kept saying, ‘Well look at Michigan’s record.’

"It’s the Ohio State-Michigan game. We are very proud of our guys. When you’re undefeated in November, good things are going to happen for you over the holidays.”

The loss gives Michigan (5-7, 1-7) a second consecutive losing season and no bowl game. A win would have allowed the Wolverines to play in one of the Big Ten’s bowl tie-ins. Instead, UM has back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1962-63 and back-to-back seasons with seven or more losses for the first time in school history.

"I'm tired of being humbled," said UM coach Rich Rodriguez.

When asked if he feared for his job, the second-year UM coach replied succinctly: "No."

The tailback tandem of Boom Herron (19 carries, 96 yards) and Brandon Saine (12 carries, 84 yards, one touchdown) was too much for Michigan’s struggling defense to take. It marked the fifth consecutive game OSU had rushed for more than 200 yards.

“Our O-line got a little bit healthy,” Tressel said. “We had a tough stretch in there. When you don’t practice, you don’t get any better. Danny Herron was also out four weeks. It hurts when you lose your starting tailback.

“We probably did get conservative. But we understand we won the Big Ten championship and we had a great win over our rival. We know we still have a long way to go to be what we want to be on all sides of the ball.”

OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor completed 9 of 17 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown with one interception. He also carried the ball 19 times for 74 yards in the win.

“They couldn’t stop the run so we just kept grinding it out,” Pryor said. “If you can run the ball, you’re going to be a successful team.”

Pryor, who considered playing for Michigan, improved to 18-3 as OSU’s starter and has back-to-back Big Ten titles and Rose Bowl wins to his credit.

"I’m at Ohio State,” Pryor said. “I’m not really worried about that. I'm glad I'm on this side.

“This win was huge, especially with what was at stake with the Big Ten championship. We didn’t want to share it with anybody. I’m just so happy for the seniors. A win over Michigan is always good. We’ll take it any way it comes. It’s a happy day for the Buckeyes, but now we have to get better.”

Michigan freshman quarterback Tate Forcier completed 24 of 38 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown. Forcier, who had only thrown six interceptions all season, was intercepted four times by the Buckeyes including two by OSU safety Kurt Coleman.

"This is what you dream of," said Coleman, a senior who was playing his final regular season game for the Buckeyes. "I'm able to say I left a lasting legacy against Michigan."

In a text message to an Associated Press reporter, Forcier took the blame for the loss.

"I lost that game," Forcier wrote in his text about an hour after the game. "This offseason, I'm gonna make sure myself and every single person on this team works the hardest we have ever worked. We're gonna come back a new team. I'm not going to let this happen again."

Tressel was impressed with what he saw of Forcier, who spreaded the ball around to nine different UM receivers. (Roy Roundtree led UM with nine catches for 116 yards.)

“He does such a good job of creating things,” Tressel said. “He threw one clear across his body for his touchdown early on. Sometimes that baits you into thinking that makes since. Throwing blind hurts you sometimes. He’s a young guy. He threw some good passes in there.”

As It Happened

OSU won the pregame coin toss and elected to receive. The Buckeyes got one first down before punter Jon Thoma hit a high punt that bounced at the Michigan 20 and rolled dead at the UM 7-yard line.

Disaster struck the Wolverines on third-and-7 from their own 10-yard line. Forcier dropped into his own end zone to pass and had plenty of time. He finally stepped up to elude the rush and simply dropped the ball. It fell on the ground at the 1-yard line. OSU defensive end Cameron Heyward, sitting in the end zone, appeared to grab the pull and pull it into the end zone for the touchdown. OSU was up 7-0 with 10:44 left in the first quarter.

“I think he had more time than we expected,” Heyward said. “Thad (Gibson) was able to force him out of the pocket a little bit. He just dropped the ball. I was at the right place at the right time. I think I bobbled it a little bit and I was able to scoop it in. It goes back to our defense. We make big plays when we have to.”

Later in the quarter, Michigan drove from its own 40-yard line all the way down to the OSU 7. But on fourth-and-7 there, Jason Olesnavage missed a 24-yard field goal wide right.

Michigan mounted another threat midway through the second quarter, driving 50 yards in 10 plays. The key play was Forcier’s 22-yard pass down the middle to Roy Roundtree. He then found Greg Mathews for 12 more yards down to the OSU 26. But OSU’s Devon Torrence stopped Carlos Brown for a 4-yard loss on a third-down reception. Michigan settled for Olesnavage’s 46-yard field goal to cut the OSU lead to 7-3 with 7:59 left in the first half.

Ohio State answered with an efficient six-play, 80-yard drive. Saine started it with a churning 14-yard run where he appeared bottled up but just kept going. Pryor then kept it left and went for 9 yards. Saine converted a third-down with a 3-yard run. On first down from the OSU 46, Pryor faked a give and went left for a 25-yard gain down to the Michigan 29.

Finally, on first down there, OSU lined up with three receivers to the right. Saine took a give and went left behind blocks from tight end Jake Ballard and linemen Jimmy Cordle and Justin Boren and rolled into the end zone for the easy 29-yard touchdown that pushed the OSU lead to 14-3 with 5:22 left in the first half.

According to Tressel, the original play call was not relayed properly to the players on the field.

“You’re going to laugh, but on Saine’s touchdown the student manager put the wrong wristband number on the board,” Tressel said. “That was not the play we called. He called that.”

Saine added, “The plays were very similar. They were both outside runs to the left. We didn’t have a guy pulling, but it worked out.”

Forcier then tried to go deep for fellow quarterback Denard Robinson, but the pass was tipped by OSU’s Chimdi Chekwa right to safety Kurt Coleman who made the interception. But OSU could not get a first down and punted the ball back. Another OSU possession late in the half was marred by a 24-yard penalty on Pryor for intentional grounding. The 14-3 OSU lead stood at the half.

Michigan got a big break early in the second half. OSU had the ball on third-and-4 from its own 46. Pryor rolled right and threw to Posey in the right flat. But UM’s Donovan Warren came in from behind and deflected the pass to linebacker Jonas Mouton, who made the interception with 13:07 left in the third quarter. Michigan was in business at the OSU 49.

The Wolverines needed eight plays to put the ball into the end zone. Forcier had an 11-yard scramble for a first down before throwing to Mathews for 12 yards on a quick slant for another at the OSU 23. Finally on third-and-5 at the OSU 18, Forcier was flushed and started rolling left. He turned and threw back across his body to a wide open Vincent Smith in the right flat. Smith juked OSU’s Chekwa at the 5-yard line and completed the 18-yard touchdown reception to cut the OSU lead to 14-10 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.

There was a buzz across Michigan Stadium that the Wolverines could have a shot at an upset. But the Buckeyes went 89 yards in 11 plays to their third touchdown and a 21-10 lead. OSU got 77 of those yards on the ground. Pryor started it by scrambling for 14 yards after fumbling a shotgun snap. Saine then had a 17-yard gain on a nice second effort run. Herron subbed in and rolled for 13 more and a first down at the UM 36. Pryor then had a 12-yard gain down to the Michigan 25. On first down there, Herron followed blocks by Cordle and Boren and rolled down the left sideline for a 23-yard gain down to the 2.

Herron lost 2 yards on first down and Pryor was sacked for an 8-yard loss by UM’s Brandon Graham on second down. That set up third-and-goal at the Michigan 12. After 10 consecutive runs, Pryor set up a screen pass. He lofted the ball perfectly over UM defensive tackle Ryan Van Bergen to Herron at the 5. Herron turned upfield and scored to complete the 12-yard touchdown and put the Buckeyes back up 11 at 21-10 with 4:46 left in the third quarter.

Just prior to the play, Tressel ran 15 yards out on to the field to try and get a timeout to no avail.

“(Running backs coach) Doc Tressel said we need to run the (tailback) screen,” Tressel said. “Well, Doc always wants the tailback to have the ball. Someone said, ‘Let’s go with it.’ Then someone said, ‘No, no, no, because we’re not going to get it off. They said ‘Call timeout.’ I was out there trying to call timeout. Thank goodness they didn’t see me because it ended up a touchdown.

“It was good execution against the blitz. Terrelle put it where he had to and Boom was patient.”

Tressel credited Pryor for his play in the zone read offense on this critical series.

“He did a great job on that drive,” Tressel said. “He just kind of took over there. Rather than us guess on a play call, he made the decision who should carry the ball. That was a great drive.”

Michigan threatened early in the fourth quarter after a scrambling Forcier hit Roundtree for a 43-yard gain and a first down at the OSU 40. But on third-and-5 at the 35, he tried to fit one in for Mathews down the sideline. OSU’s Coleman made the leaping interception at the OSU 6. The play was originally ruled incomplete as Coleman landed near the sideline, but instant replay overturned the call and OSU had the ball back with 12:11 left.

Michigan got close again midway through the fourth quarter after Robinson scrambled for 17 yards and a first down at the OSU 11. But on second-and-5 from the 6, Forcier rolled right and tried to throw back across the field to Junior Hemmingway in the left corner of the end zone. But OSU corner Devon Torrence made the easy pick to thwart that threat with 8:09 left in the game.

“We were in Cover-2,” Torrence said. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell that but we were in Cover 2. He just didn’t see me. I just came out of there from nowhere and snatched the ball. I was just supposed to sit if my receiver did anything. A lot of people probably would have run the other way but I was just disciplined on that play and he just threw it backside thinking he had one.”

Michigan gained possession again late in the quarter after an Ohio State punt, but once again the Buckeyes crushed the Wolverines' hopes when Thaddeus Gibson intercepted Forcier with 3:34 left in the game.

“I’m excited about it,” Gibson said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and that the coaches put me in the right position to make a play.”

After the final seconds ticked off, OSU players congregated in a familiar place – in front of their fans in the southwest corner of The Big House. They jumped into the stands, they danced and they sang Carmen Ohio.

Afterwards, their coach was asked if he was amazed by his 8-1 mark against Michigan.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said in typical Tressel deadpan fashion. “I guess it means we get to come back another year.”

Also Notable

* The game was a happy homecoming for OSU left guard Justin Boren, who transferred from Michigan in the spring of 2008 after playing two seasons with the Wolverines.

“I knew people would be talking,” Boren said. “I wasn’t worrying about my safety. I had 70 guys to back me up. It’s awesome. I love Ohio State. I wish I had three more years here. We’re the outright Big Ten champions. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

* With his two interceptions, Coleman vaulted past linebacker Ross Homan for the team season lead with five. Homan has four. Coleman now has nine interceptions for his career.

Gibson notched his first career interception, while it was the second for Torrence.

Homan led the Buckeyes with 12 tackles. Jermale Hines and Brian Rolle each had nine.

* OSU wore specially designed uniforms from Nike as they commemorated the school’s 1954 national championship team. Two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin served as OSU’s honorary captain for the game.

* Ohio State trimmed Michigan’s lead in the all-time series to 57-43-6.

* The Buckeyes won in Ann Arbor for the third consecutive time. That’s the first time that has happened since OSU won in four straight trips to Michigan Stadium between 1961-67.

* Ohio State won a 42-39 shootout over Michigan in 2006 in Columbus. Since that game, OSU has outscored Michigan 76-20 the last three seasons. OSU has won all three of those games by double digits.

* OSU had clinched a fifth straight Big Ten title with its win over Iowa last Saturday. This win gave OSU its third outright Big Ten title in four years. OSU has won 34 Big Ten titles – eight shy of Michigan’s conference mark of 42. This is OSU’s 18th outright conference crown.

* Ohio State will be idle until Jan. 1, 2010, when it will face the Pac-10 champion in the Rose Bowl. Going into Saturday, four schools – Oregon, Arizona, Oregon State and Stanford – were vying for that berth.

“We’re going to be ready for whoever we see out there,” Heyward said.

More Links

Click here for video as Jeff Rapp taped the postgame onfield celebration. Click here for Jim Tressel's postgame press conference. Click here for Terrelle Pryor's postgame interview session. Click here for Dave Biddle's What We Learned column. Click here to listen to Bucknuts Postgame Live. Click here for our game recap. Click here for Jeff Rapp's in-game blog. Click here for the box score from ESPN.com.