The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530730
JANUARY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 21 had them. That was the goal. We wanted to just keep them on the ropes, keep fighting, and our guys did that." After junior placekicker Dominic Zvada nailed the 21-yard field goal to make it 13-10 with a mere 45 seconds left, Moore encouraged his team through the sounds of silence, as a solid wall of 100,000 scar- let-clad sufferers remained mute. When told his team had been given no chance to win this game, Moore genu- inely appeared shocked. Perhaps not as shocked as Ohio State partisans after- ward, but shocked nonetheless. "We don't really care what other peo- ple think," Moore insisted. "It's about what our players in the building think and what everybody around us thinks. And we're just happy we beat Ohio State, and that was the most important thing today." Michigan didn't just beat Ohio State. It handcuffed the Buckeyes with 10 points, half as many as they'd scored in their lowest output all season. The Wolverines limited the Buckeyes to 77 rushing yards, compared to 172 of their own — 116 on a career-high 32 carries by stalwart run- ning back Kalel Mullings. As former U-M radio icon Bob Ufer might have observed, the Buckeyes couldn't run for enough yards to bury themselves in. And yes, Ohio State threw for 175 yards, behind dinged-up quarterback Will Howard (19 of 33, 1 TD, 2 interceptions). But with an array of wide receivers that would make some NFL teams blush, OSU couldn't get nearly enough done in the air, either. Only when Big Ten Freshman of the Year wideout Jeremiah Smith twice shoved Michigan defenders to the ground — one called Michigan pass interference, the other an OSU touchdown — did the Buckeyes cross the goal line. Michigan defenders insisted they knew why the Wolverines won, extend- ing their streak against the Scarlet and Gray to four straight. They didn't use soft words when laying out the hard reality. "As a defense, as a team, we are tougher than them," graduate safety Makari Paige stated flatly afterwards. "Up front, they couldn't hang with us," senior edge Josaiah Stewart in- sisted. "I feel like we have an advantage every year — every game — up front, and we just took it to them. "[FOX Sports analyst] Joel Klatt said it best — boa constrictor. They start losing life as we keep getting physical, hitting them in the mouth, finishing strong. That really describes Michigan football. We're gritty, we're going to fight until the very end." From the very beginning, the Wolver- ines stonewalled any hint of a Buckeye run game. "We're just more physical," Stew- art said. "The film doesn't lie. We at- tacked it all game. We took the fight to them. We didn't wait or let them get in a rhythm, which is what's most impor- tant. When you stop the run, you can really keep a team one-dimensional." And the more the Buckeyes per- sisted in trying to play tough guy on the ground, the more OSU onlookers screamed "Noooooo!" and hid their eyes, like Apollo Creed's trainer did when he watched his prizefighter mov- ing in to slug it out with Rocky Balboa. Buckeye boss Day has been subjected to plenty of commentary over the past few years about the toughness — or lack thereof — regarding his team. He protested afterwards that his "devastated" team did throw 33 times. Others openly challenged as to whether it was enough, and the question of toughness lingered in the air like the smell of a losing locker room. Michigan football radio play-by-play man Doug Karsch issued a cogent ob- servation on the way it all played out. "When people would bring up how Michigan was always running the ball [so much], J.J. McCarthy used to say, 'Keep the main thing the main thing' — which was winning the game," recalled Karsch. "Don't get wrapped up in all that other stuff. "It looks to me like Ohio State tries to put together a game plan to prove they're tough, rather than put together a plan to win the game. "When you ask, does Sherrone have Ohio State's number, I'll just say that I think Sherrone keeps the main thing the main thing, and doesn't hear criticism out there, and believes in their plan. On the other side, I think they hear the criticism out there, and it's reflected on game day." ❱ Head coach Sherrone Moore "It starts up front — the trenches win the game. And it's not really about scheme. It's not really about techniques. It's about the will." ❱ Graduate safety Makari Paige "As a defense, as a team, we are tougher than them." ❱ Senior edge Josaiah Stewart "Up front, they couldn't hang with us."