Michigan Football: Top 5 plays from win over Ohio State

1: Mike Sainristil Breaks Up a Touchdown in the Fourth Quarter

It was a rough game for Cade Stover in terms of almost having big plays. Following a missed 57-yard field goal attempt by Jake Moody, Ohio State found themselves in a spot to get right back in the game.

On a third and four from the Michigan nine-yard line, Stroud looked for an open Stover in the end zone, in what looked to be an easy touchdown.

Mike Sainristil, who was a wide receiver a year ago, thought otherwise. The slot corner came in from the opposite hash to perfectly time his entry and knocked the ball right out of Stover’s hands. It was one of the most incredible pass breakups I’ve ever seen and was the best play of the game.

Throughout the game, commentator Joel Klatt kept mentioning Jesse Minter’s philosophy regarding four-point plays.

These are the plays that hold opponents to a field goal and keep them out of the end zone. Sainristil’s breakup was the definition of a four-point play and absolutely huge. While these still result in points, they’re critical to success.

If Ohio State scores and gets a two-point conversion, it’s a three-point game and the Buckeyes have all of the momentum.

Instead, it’s an eight-point game, and Michigan is able to retain some of the swagger it had. This, of course, carried right into the first of Donovan Edwards’ touchdown runs. The game has a completely different feel without this play and was the biggest play of the game for Michigan.