The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530730
20 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2025 BY JOHN BORTON O hio State fans appeared as shell-shocked as Ryan Day getting picked off at third base. Day's offensive juggernaut — surely heading for a Big Ten championship and perhaps a na- tional title — stood tied with Michigan in the fourth quarter. The 10-10 deadlock felt absolutely unthinkable to the locals. Michigan? The 6-5 crew that struggled nearly all season? The program that lost its coach, its quarterback, and nearly its entire offense from a national championship roster the year before? The three-touch- down underdog that slipped silently into Columbus without soon-to-be NFL cornerback Will Johnson and soon-to- be NFL tight end Colston Loveland? Against this monster of an Ohio State squad, averaging roughly 500 yards and 45 points a game? A 10-10 deadlock, at crunch time? Impossible. Oh, it proved very possible, on a frigid, windy day in Ohio Stadium. And in that moment, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore welled up with a feeling he's come to know intimately over the past four years of The Game. His team was about to give those in The 'Shoe the boot. He urged his team to take it away from the Buckeyes, then take it all in. "I told everybody to listen … listen to the sounds, and there was nothing," Moore said. "We got to 10-10, and we A TOUGH WIN A Physical Michigan Team Pulls Off A Streak-Extending Shocker In Columbus The Wolverines outgained the Buckeyes in the all-critical metric of rushing yardage, 172 to 77. Graduate running back Kalel Mullings led the way with 116 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 32 carries. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL