COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sherrone Moore tipped back his head, puffed out his chest and let out a roar that could be heard loud and clear inside a mostly silent Ohio Stadium.
“We own you!” Moore shouted, and he wasn’t wrong. Michigan owns Ohio State. Saturday’s 13-10 victory, Michigan’s fourth consecutive in the series, removed any doubt.
Michigan has something on Ohio State that’s bigger than Jim Harbaugh, bigger than Blake Corum, bigger than Connor Stalions, bigger than the records and the rosters of either program. It’s a mental Block M that causes Ryan Day and his team to wilt in this game every single year. Whatever Michigan did to break Ohio State, the damage was so great that even this Michigan team, a 7-5 outfit that had trouble getting out of its own way for much of the season, could waltz into Columbus and take down a team built to win a national championship.
The torture of losing to the Wolverines four years in a row spilled over after the game as Michigan’s celebration clashed with Ohio State’s frustration, all in a cloud of pepper spray. Michigan has made a habit of planting its flag on the giant “O” at midfield. The Buckeyes don’t like it. A toxic mix of machismo, arrogance and insecurity turned into an all-out brawl that had to be broken up by officers from multiple law enforcement agencies.
“They try to look tough,” Michigan safety Makari Paige said. “They try to stare at us, stare us down. We knew in our head, they really didn’t want to come out here and play us.”
Hail to the Victors!#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/FUyJNalMn2
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 30, 2024
Michigan’s mental edge over the Buckeyes is worth at least 14 points. Or maybe 21, which was the pregame point spread. The Buckeyes are so preoccupied with demonstrating their toughness that they forget how to do what they do best. They keep trying to win this game on Michigan’s terms, and they keep failing.
People will be focused on what this loss means for Day, and rightfully so. It’s hard to imagine a more soul-crushing result for a coach who really, really needed to beat Michigan. There’s also the question of what this win means for Moore, whose future has brightened considerably in the span of two weeks.
Coming off of a loss to Indiana, Michigan was 5-5 and headed for an anxious offseason. The general consensus was that Moore was dealt a tough hand and didn’t do a lot with the cards he was holding. Then, in the span of about 10 days, the Wolverines landed a commitment from five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, throttled Northwestern and manifested Ohio State’s worst nightmare.
This Ohio State team was supposed to be what Michigan was last year: a senior-laden group on a mission. Ohio State could still win a national championship, but the Buckeyes won’t get a Big Ten title or a win against Michigan. It’s almost rubbing it in that a five-loss Michigan team beat Ohio State while passing for 62 yards, throwing a brutal interception in the fourth quarter and gaining 234 yards of offense.
When people talk about this team, they won’t talk about the losses to Washington and Illinois or the revolving door at quarterback. They’ll talk about Saturday and how good it felt to beat Ohio State in a year when it wasn’t supposed to happen.
“When you get in a game like this, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else is saying,” quarterback Davis Warren said. “Maybe they were listening to it too much. We were prepared, more than ready to go out there and play our best football.”
It’s tough to imagine a bigger contrast than Warren, a former preferred walk-on who threw six touchdowns and seven interceptions this year, passing the torch to Underwood, the highest-rated recruit in Michigan’s modern history. If Michigan could beat Ohio State with 62 passing yards and two picks, imagine what the Wolverines might do with a 6-foot-4 flamethrower at quarterback.
Excitement for the future starts right now as Michigan puts the finishing touches on its 2025 recruiting class and hits the transfer portal to upgrade the roster. Beating the Buckeyes in a down year injects hope that this 7-5 season will be the worst one Moore has at Michigan. But it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the present, something Michigan fans never thought they’d be doing right now.
Warren didn’t have a great season by any stretch, but he played with moxie and helped the Wolverines pull off an unforgettable win. Kalel Mullings got the tough yards when Michigan needed them. Michigan’s defensive line won the battle up front for a fourth year in a row. Michigan finds a way to do these things against Ohio State, even when every metric in the world favors the Buckeyes.
“The trenches win the game,” Moore said. “It’s not really about scheme. It’s not really about technique. It’s really about the will to want to push your man in the backfield.”
After the season Michigan has had, it was understandable that Moore and the players wanted to cut loose after the game. By rubbing salt in a fresh wound, Michigan rubbed Ohio State the wrong way. Players from both teams lost their cool, and the result was the kind of ugly scene that’s become all too common after Michigan’s rivalry games
Michigan’s success the past three years, and the way the Wolverines carry themselves, left other teams stewing. If the Buckeyes couldn’t get their revenge this season, it’s fair to wonder when they ever will. Moore, now 2-0 against Ohio State as a head coach, was asked after the game about the importance of losing gracefully and didn’t have much to say.
“We didn’t lose,” Moore said. “We won. I’m not worried about losing.”
That’s Day’s problem.
(Photo of Kalel Mullings: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
