If ever there was one play that described the current state of the rivalry between Michigan football and Ohio State, it was the 27-yard run by Kalel Mullings.
Facing a third-and-six with 3:30 left on the clock, following a goal-line interception by their quarterback, the Wolverines put the game on the shoulders of Kalel Mullings and the offensive line.
Michigan's defense just forced a three-and-out after Jack Sawyer's interception and the ball was at the Ohio State 44. This was after four straight runs for 16 yards. Everyone knew where the ball was going. Michigan was going to feed Mullings until he was stopped.
The idea was probably to get a little closer for Dominic Zvada who can hit from 60 yards. Mullings had something else in mind.
After getting met in the backfield, Mullings fought off defenders, then shed a few tackles before Caleb Downs, Ohio State's prized safety from the portal, finally pushed him out of bounds.
Downs, who played for Alabama last season, knows a thing or two about not being tough enough to beat Michigan football and in that moment, he wasn't tough enough. Not a single player on the Ohio State team was.
Mullings ran four more times on that drive. Michigan football got another first down, thanks to a 12-men on the field penalty after a timeout from Ohio State, then settled for a 21-yard field goal from Zvada.
Michigan didn't try for the touchdown because it knew it didn't need one. Ohio State didn't get a first down in the last 21 minutes and only gained 10 yards in the fourth quarter. On their final drive, the Buckeyes mustered a yard before turning it over on downs, igniting a Wolverines celebration.
That celebration eventually turned into a fight because Ohio State can't handle the fact that they are inferior, or that all the money they spent to beat Michigan was for nothing.
Also, if you want to stop an opponent from planting the flag in the middle of your field, do something about it during the game, instead of throwing a tantrum like a two-year-old.
The post-game scrum and the way each head coach handled it said as much about each program, as the 60-minute game did.
Michigan football was physically and mentally tougher. For 60 minutes. For the fourth year in a row.
There are no more excuses and here are five things we learned after Michigan football ruined Ohio State's season again.
Kalel Mullings is a Michigan football legend
All season Michigan fans have wanted Mullings to get the ball more. On Saturday, in "The Game" the coaching staff finally answered the call.
On the final drive, Michigan drove 57 yards and 54 of those came from Mullings. He got the ball nine times for 54. In the fourth quarter, the senior carried the ball 15 times and never wilted. He never looked tired and literally carried the Wolverines to the doorstep of victory.
Zvada and the defense slammed the door shut. Yet, the one play Michigan football fans will remember from this game will be the 27-yard run that reminded us all why the Wolverines continue to own this rivalry.
Sherrone Moore has some Jim Harbaugh in him
Jim Harbaugh always did his best work when people doutbed him. After the 2020 season and the 0-5 record against Ohio State, many analysts mocked him and acted like he was a dead-man walking.
A few years later, he's viewed as one of the greatest football coaches of all time after leading Michigan to three straight wins over Ohio State and a national title, plus turning around the Chargers in short order.
Moore, his protege, struggled in his first season as head coach. He didn't have the easiest path since Harbaugh left so late and hamstrung the roster-building process.
There were ups and downs during the season, but at the end, Michigan righted the ship. It beat Michigan State, got bowl eligible, and beat a team it had no business beating (from a talent perspective).
That's what great coaching is all about though. Harbaugh once beat USC, when it was a juggernaut, with Stanford, one of the least talented teams in college football.
Coaching matters, as Ohio State fans know, and Moore, just like Harbaugh, responded when he was doubted. Some were calling for his head literally a few weeks ago.
But on Saturday Sherrone Moore proved he isn't going anywhere and neither is Michigan football.
The Michigan football defense still owns Ryan Day
Remember in 2020 when Ryan Day said Ohio State was going to "hang 100" on Michigan football the next time they played?
Well, the two teams have played four times since then. Ohio State has scored a total of 84 points during the 0-4 stretch. So, if Day is still the head coach in 2025, the Buckeyes might finally reach that 100-point milestone.
Jokes aside, the Michigan defense put together the best defensive performance in the history of the rivalry. Bar none.
In the fourth quarter, Ohio State had 10 yards and zero first downs. The Buckeyes had just three first downs (zero points) in the second half. Hell, they only scored a touchdown because officials didn't call a blatant offensive pass interference on Jeremiah Smith.
The pass interference on Jyaire Hill in the end zone, which happened because Will Howard's throw was 10 yards to the right of where it should have been (still wasn't pass interference), and the resulting TD due to a non-call were literally the Buckeyes' best plays.
An Ohio State wide receiver didn't have a single reception of longer than 18 yards. Smith didn't have one longer than 10 and the Wolverines didn't even have Will Johnson.
One screen pass generated a 23-yard gain. That was it for explosive plays. Ohio State had 26 runs for 72 and exactly one run of more than 10 yards or more.
That's how dominant Michigan was defensively. It was a clinic. Wink Martindale deserves all the credit in the world too. He adjusted to this defense about a month ago and it's been rock solid since.
If the NFL doesn't hire him, Michigan football fans should be dying for him to return.
Oh, and one last stat: Between 2022 and 2024, Ohio State has scored three points in the combined second halfs of the last two games in the 'Shoe'.
If that's not dominance, I don't know what is.
So much for Ryan Day, Chip Kelly, and the best offense money can buy.
Ohio State is who we thought they were and its fans have to face reality
As Michigan football fans can attest, Ohio State fans have told anyone who will listen why the past three years didn't happen or weren't the fault of the Buckeyes.
First, it was cold and C.J. Stroud was sick. Then, it was the signs. Even after the sign guy was called out and taken off the sideline six games before playing Ohio State -- it was still the signs.
Even though we know Ohio State knew Michigan had their signs before the 2022 game, so in truth, it was never about the signs. That was an excuse. But all of those are gone now.
Michigan football has beaten Ohio State four straight times because it's better. It's as simple as that. This was a transition year for the Wolverines and still, they are superior.
It's time for Ohio State fans, even the ones who have already disappeared from the internet, to finally take a cold hard look at themselves and accept reality.
Ryan Day cares more about being "tough" than winning
There was a path for Ohio State to win on Saturday but it wasn't handing the ball off 26 times and running into the strength of the Michigan defense.
Yes, the team that has run the ball better has won 23 times in a row. But it shouldn't take a genius to figure out that Ohio State's advantage was at wide receiver. Michigan football was missing its best cover guy and the secondary was a big question mark.
Those guys stepped up and balled out. Aamir Hall, Makari Paige, and Zeke Berry were incredible. They all played a role in Ohio State not having a single completion longer than 18 yards to a wide receiver.
Day also played a role in it by stubbornly handing the ball off. I guess it was Chip Kelly calling the plays, but again, that was Day's hand-picked OC and they were both clueless.
Jeremiah Smith needed more targets. The Buckeyes should have been throwing on nearly every down, then running to try and put the game away late.
Yet, the ineptitude of Ryan Day is the one thing that gave Michigan football fans hope this week. You knew if the game got to the fourth quarter and it was close, Ohio State would get tight.
As it turns out, it didn't even take that long.
Michigan football lives rent-free in the head of Ryan Day and emasculation at the hands of the Wolverines has broken him. The Ohio State program too.
That was never more evident than Saturday, before, during, and after "The Game."