Michigan football ruins Ohio State season thanks to the best defense 'The Game' has ever seen

Michigan football owns Ohio State.

There is no other way to say it. Even during a down year, when seemingly everything went wrong, Michigan football found a way to course correct and beat the Ohio State super team.

Regardless of how much money the Buckeyes spent on their roster, one thing they couldn't buy was mental toughness. Michigan football won that battle, once again on Saturday in The Shoe on their way to a 13-10 victory that shouldn't have surprised anyone.

Sherrone Moore coached circles around Ohio State last season and he did it again. Michigan football had a talent disadvantage on offense, but not on defense. Those guys dominated. The defensive front got pressure, consistently, all day and Will Howard essentially soiled himself.

Howard acted tough after Makari Paige drilled him but he threw two interceptions and only got a touchdown pass after the refs missed a blatant offensive pass interference on Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes only got into the red zone because Howard's pass was so bad that Jyaire Hill, who turned to locate the ball he expected five yards to the left, was called for pass interference after Smith ran into him trying to catch the wayward pass (NIL money well spent, Buckeyes!).

Michigan held Ohio State to 252 yards. They forced two takeaways and only allowed 16 first downs. In the second half, the Buckeyes didn't score. They did get close but Makari Paige ended their last scoring opportunity with an interception.

Michigan football wrecked Ohio State's season

After Michigan turned the ball over at the three-yard line, Ohio State went three-and-out. Then, after Kalel Mullings burst into field goal range, with an assist from the Buckeyes having too many men on the field on third-and-two with just over two minutes, after a timeout mind you, U-M got in range for a chip shot.

Eventually, Dominic Zvada hit the game-winning field goal. He made a 56-yarder earlier in the game and connected from 21 yards out to put Michigan in front. The defense forced another four-and-out, literally giving up one yard and the game was over.

Ohio State players started a fight after the game because they are sore losers. Ryan Day stood there and did nothing because that's who he is. He was Born on third base, paid for the best college football team ever -- in the words of Urban Meyer -- and still lost to Michigan.

It's glorious and it all happened thanks to the greatest defensive game in the history of the rivalry. Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Rayshaun Benny, Josaiah Stewart, Derrick Moore, TJ Guy, Paige, Ernest Hausmann, Jaishawn Barham, Zeke Berry, Quinten Johnson, and so many others.

It was an epic performance. Wink Martindale earned his salary. So did Sherrone Moore. Give kudos to Davis Warren who just kept battling back. He did beat cancer though so beating Ohio State in Columbus probably didn't feel like that big of a deal.

Mullings' run will cement his place in Michigan football history. Against a loaded box and a really good defense, Mullings ran the ball 32 times for 116 yards. Michigan ran for 172 yards, while Ohio State had just 77.

For the 21st year in a row the team that won the rushing battle won "The Game."

And the cherry on top is that Ohio State's super team will be nothing but a disappointment. Even if they somehow recover and get a berth for the playoff, any national championship will feel hollow.

The Buckeyes didn't beat Michigan. Nothing else after that is supposed to matter and if you whiff on two out of the three goals, is that season really a success?

Jim Harbaugh said it best. If you win this game, your season is a success. If not, it isn't. We all know it to be true on both sides of the rivalry.

A national championship for Michigan would have been meaningless without a win over Ohio State and even if the Buckeyes do the unthinkable, it's already been tarnished.

Bring on another year of Buckeye tears.