Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer wrapped up his first season with the Buckeyes at a perfect 12-0, following a 26-21 win over Michigan.
The Wolverines actually held a 21-20 halftime lead, but the OSU defense shut them down and shut them out in the second half, and the offense did just enough to pull out a win.
Two of Michigan’s three touchdowns came on big plays, which accounted for more than half of their total offense. Roy Roundtree had a 75-yard reception to tie the score at 7 in the first quarter, and Denard Robinson broke a pair of tackles and raced 67 yards for a score just before the half.
That was part of a 17-point flurry in the final 90 seconds of the first half. First, Braxton Miller hit Corey “Philly” Brown for a 14-yard score with 1:30 left before the break. Then came Robinson’s long score two plays later. But the Buckeyes answered with a quick 30-yard drive, capped by a 52-yard field goal by Drew Basil at the gun.
After that, the Buckeyes shut the Wolverine offense down, forcing three second-half turnovers.
It’s the second time in a decade that OSU finished a season with an unbeaten record, following the 2002 Bucks and their 14-0 national championship season.