ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Freshman quarterback Julian Sayin tossed three touchdown passes, highlighted by a 35-yard strike to Jeremiah Smith on fourth down in the second quarter, powering top-ranked Ohio State to a commanding 27-9 victory over No. 15 Michigan on Saturday.
The defending national champions (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely locked up a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff and can secure the top seed with a win over No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in Saturday night’s Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.
Head coach Ryan Day can finally exhale a year after a shocking loss in The Game, where his squad was a three-touchdown favorite. That defeat stretched his skid in the series to four games and fueled talk of his job security.
“We’re going to win with humility,” Day said, voice cracking, in an on-field Fox interview.
The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) jumped out with two early field goals and an interception on their first three drives but failed to rattle Sayin when the Buckeyes aired it out.
After coughing up a pick on his second snap, the redshirt freshman settled in, exploiting clean pockets. He went 6-for-6 for 68 yards and two scores on third- and fourth-down plays in the first half, capped by a 4-yarder to Brandon Inniss with 16 ticks left that sent Ohio State into the break up 17-9. Sayin wrapped up 19-of-26 for 233 yards, marking his sixth game with at least three TD passes this season.
That pivotal second-quarter dart to Smith sparked debate after a bobble at the goal line; Fox rules guru Mike Pereira flagged it during the broadcast.
“They said he had control—it didn’t look like it to me,” Moore admitted. “They called it inconclusive.”
Michigan dodged a bigger bullet early when edge rusher Jaishawn Barham drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for bumping an official but stayed in the game.
“The ref grabbed him, and he shouldn’t have swung back,” Moore said.
Ultimately, the whistles didn’t matter as Ohio State overwhelmed on merit. Sayin iced it with a 50-yard beauty to Carnell Tate in the third, dropping a dime over the defender’s shoulder after Tate shook Michigan’s coverage.
That score buried the Wolverines, who settled for three first-half field goals and couldn’t stop Ohio State’s second-half onslaught. The Buckeyes sealed it with a field goal on a clock-chewing 20-play, 81-yard march that burned nearly 12 minutes in the fourth.
Michigan QB Bryce Underwood, last year’s top recruit, struggled mightily: 8-of-13 for a measly 63 yards—his lowest output of the season—plus a late interception. The Wolverines mustered just 100 rushing yards on 24 attempts against the nation’s No. 1 defense.
“It has to improve, and that starts with me,” Moore said.
