ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State entered Ann Arbor as the No. 1 team in the country, but all of that tends to fade when you walk into the Big House. For the first time since 2019, though, Ohio State walked out with a win, snapping a four-game losing streak to Michigan. And the difference came from exactly where you would expect for Ohio State: wide receivers Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith.
Tate had not played since the Penn State game, missing Purdue, UCLA, and Rutgers. Smith sat out the Rutgers game last week. Both were true game-time decisions, but head coach Ryan Day announced before kickoff that they were good to go, and their presence changed everything.
Day said afterward that both receivers were fighting through undisclosed injuries and spent the week doing everything possible just to give themselves a chance to play, but were limited in reps leading up to the game.
“If you really knew how much work they put in to get on the field and how gutsy they are — I’m sure the fans and everybody would appreciate what they did in going out there and putting it on the line,” Day said.”
The receivers and tight ends who filled in over the past two weeks performed well, but Day said during the week leading up to the rivalry game that Ohio State had to be willing to do whatever it took to win this matchup. That meant abandoning the old, predictable commitment to the run that had sputtered in recent editions of The Game.
The running backs have been improving and did make an impact, but the biggest shift was Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline leaning fully into what its offense does best — letting redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin unleash the deep ball to Tate and Smith. And that trust, in banged up Tate and Smith, payed off.
Sayin finished 19-of-26 for 233 yards, three touchdowns, and a 178.7 passer rating, and his biggest moments came when he pushed the ball downfield to his two stars.
And once Ohio State settled in after an early misstep—Sayin’s interception into Cover 2 on a ball intended for Smith—the offense found its rhythm. A red-zone penalty wiped out a touchdown on the next drive, forcing the Buckeyes to settle for a field goal, but that’s when running back Bo Jackson began to heat up. Jackson finished with 117 rushing yards on 22 carries, and his steady gains opened the entire offense, letting the Buckeyes dictate tempo and possession. Ohio State scored twice in the second quarter, including a touchdown to Brandon Inniss, and never looked back.
Ohio State ended the afternoon with 419 total yards to Michigan’s 163, converted 10 of 17 third downs, and controlled the ball for over 40 minutes.
Even with neither receiver fully healthy, Ohio State leaned into the deep ball and Michigan paid for it.
Smith broke free for a 35-yard touchdown, slipping away from coverage with a double move, racing to the sideline, securing the catch, and stumbling his way into the end zone.
Earlier, Sayin hit Tate on a 50-yard strike that completely stunned and silenced the Michigan crowd. Ohio State had tried the go route unsuccessfully earlier in the game, but in the third quarter Tate found a soft spot in the defense and turned it into a knockout play.
After weeks without both Tate and Smith, their return reignited the offense at the right time. Tate finished with five catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Smith added three catches for 40 yards and a score. Together, they gave Ohio State exactly what it had been missing—explosive plays that forced Michigan’s defense to stretch thin, respect the vertical game, and ultimately crack.
The Wolverines learned the hard way that accounting for both Tate and Smith at the same time is close to impossible.
