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2014 national title anniversary: Look back at Ohio State football’s win vs Michigan
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- 2014 national title anniversary: Look back at Ohio State football’s win vs Michigan
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2014 national championship season, when the Ohio State football Buckeyes went 14-1 and captured the first College Football Playoff title. We'll relive that remarkable year by sharing the game stories from that campaign as they appeared in the pages of The Columbus Dispatch.
Now up: Ohio State's win over Michigan .
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Injury steals luster from win
Barrett's broken ankle clouds OSU's prospects
November 29, 2014
J.T. Barrett lay on the ground, his season over and Ohio State's victory over a supposedly overmatched Michigan team far from certain.
As one Buckeyes teammate after another gave him a consoling slap of hands, the quarterback's message was clear.
"He said, 'Win this game,' " senior tight end Jeff Heuerman said. "He said that it's not about him, it's about us."
HISTORY LESSON: Remembering the 2014 College Football Playoff Championship
It will have to be now. Despite Barrett's injury, a broken right ankle, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Ohio State pulled away for a 42-28 victory at Ohio Stadium over their stubborn rival to become the first team in Big Ten history to win all of its conference regular-season games for three straight seasons.
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But the Buckeyes (11-1, 8-0) now must rely on their third-string quarterback, third-year sophomore Cardale Jones , in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday against Wisconsin and beyond.
Heuerman acknowledged that Barrett's injury tempered the unbridled joy that is supposed to result from beating Michigan.
"It's tough, especially walking off that field for the last time and knowing the guy you've rallied around all season is hurt," Heuerman said. "But you've got to keep moving forward."
The Buckeyes can take strength from knowing that they did exactly that after Barrett's injury. Leading 28-21 when Barrett was hurt, Ohio State finally got the cushion it needed when coach Urban Meyer went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Michigan 44-yard line with five minutes left, and Ezekiel Elliott broke free for a touchdown.
Ohio State’s Devin Smith beats Michigan’s Raymon Taylor on a 52-yard pass from J.T. Barrett during the third quarter.
When linebacker Darron Lee returned a fumble caused by Joey Bosa 33 yards for another score a minute later, the victory was secured.
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Until then, this was hardly the mismatch the oddsmakers expected.
A three-touchdown favorite against a Michigan team that needed a win to become bowl-eligible, Ohio State had every one of its punches answered by the Wolverines for 2½ quarters.
Michigan's offense hardly looked like the one that had been stuck in neutral most of the season. A year ago, the Wolverines gouged Ohio State's defense with misdirection and screens. This was worse. Led by quarterback Devin Gardner, Michigan mostly bulled through the Buckeyes in a way that would have made Bo Schembechler proud.
Michigan used a total of 34 plays on three touchdown drives that knotted the score at 21.
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At that point, Buckeyes senior defensive tackle Michael Bennett called the defense together and ripped into them, with language hardly G-rated.
"I wanted to bring it to the forefront and eliminate all confusion," Bennett said. "We were just getting beat (man vs. man), and we had to go out there and beat our man lined up across from us every play."
While Bennett was chewing out his teammates, the Buckeyes launched a 14-play, 81-yard drive to take a 28-21 lead. Ohio State's defense answered by getting its first three-and-out.
Then came Barrett's injury. On their next series, the Buckeyes faced the pivotal fourth-and-1 at the 44. Meyer turned to offensive line coach Ed Warinner and asked if his unit could convert if he went for it. The answer, not surprisingly, was yes.
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"It was a simple inside zone that the offensive line did a (heck) of a job blocking," offensive coordinator Tom Herman said.
Elliott broke a tackle attempt near the line of scrimmage by linebacker Jake Ryan, ran through a gaping hole opened by tackle Taylor Decker and guard Billy Price , and was gone.
So were Michigan's upset hopes, making yesterday's game likely the final one for coach Brady Hoke. But he was more frustrated that Michigan (5-7, 3-5) won't be headed to a bowl game.
"It's disappointing for all of us," he said. "It stinks for a lot of reasons, No. 1 the expectations you have for yourself, that you haven't met them … as a program and a team."
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The Buckeyes' goals remain in reach, though Barrett's injury casts a pall on their chances.
But a victory over Michigan, even an imperfect and costly one, is worth savoring.
"There was a saying that you can lose every game other than this one. I don't buy that, but that's the way we approached this game," said Meyer, the first Ohio State coach to win his first three Michigan games since Francis Schmidt in the 1930s. "For those who grew up in the state of Ohio, this is The Game.
"Our guys are going to enjoy this, but they know what's ahead of them."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football 2014 National Championship year: Michigan game
