Michigan 16 - 35 Ohio St. (11:18 left in 3d Quarter)

On third and goal, the Buckeyes score on a pass from Fields to K.J. Hill (of N. Little Rock H.S. in Little Rock, Ark.)  I have been extremely disappointed in Michigan.  The Wolverines gave up 62 points to OSU last year, and they appear to have learned nothing in the intervening 12 months.  OSU can name the score.

ESPN gives OSU a 96.9 percent chance of victory.  Unless something major changes, I won't post anything more until this game is over.

Michigan 13 - 28 Ohio St. (13:06 left in 3d Quarter)

OSU is cruising down the field, as usual.  Facing a 2d and 7 at the Michigan 10, Fields can't find anyone open, and he runs out of bounds.  After he goes out of bounds, he is hammered by Michigan linebacker Cameron McGrone (of Lawrence Central H.S. in Indianapolis, Ind.)  Personal foul -- late hit.  Oh, and there was also defensive holding on the same play.  First and goal at the 5.  That's Michigan's day for you.

Michigan 16 - 28 Ohio St. (Halftime)

Quinn Nordin kicks a 23-yd field goal after Peoples-Jones dropped a touchdown pass, and Michigan cuts the lead to 12.

ESPN gives OSU a 90.4 percent chance of victory.  Hard to argue with that.

Michigan 13 - 28 Ohio St. (22 seconds left)

On 3d and goal from the OSU 5, Peoples-Jones appeared to catch another touchdown pass in the back of the end zone.  But a Buckeye slapped at the ball as he caught it, and he could not hang on.  So in case you are keeping track, Michigan has had:

1.  A missed extra point.
2.  A fumble deep in OSU territory
3.  A penalty on 4th and 4 to give OSU a first down
4.  A dropped TD pass in the end zone

It's all adding up.

Michigan 13 - 28 Ohio St. (3:15 left in 2d Quarter)

I thought that this would be a close game.  But I didn't realize that Michigan would make one stupid mistake after another.  In the last few minutes, Michigan fumbled deep in OSU territory, and then jumped offside to give OSU new life when the Buckeyes were about to punt.  Two plays later, J.K. Dobbins scooted into the end zone from five yards out for his third TD of the game.

ESPN now gives OSU a 92.4 percent chance of victory, and it's hard to disagree with that.  You can't give up 28 points in the first half at home and pull too many upsets.

Michigan 13 - 21 Ohio St. (3:29 left in 2d Quarter)

Michigan's defense held, creating a 4th and 4 at the OSU 43.  But then Michigan jumped offside on the punt, giving OSU five free yards and a new first down.

On the new first down, Fields hurled a pass to Garrett Wilson, who makes a diving catch at the Michigan 5.  This game is over.

Michigan 13 - 21 Ohio St. (6:32 left in 2d Quarter)

Michigan drove straight down the field, and soon had a 3d and 9 at the OSU 12.  But then Sean Patterson fumbled the snap, and the ball was recovered by OSU's Robert Landers (of Wayne H.S. in Huber Heights, Ohio).  Landers, a defensive lineman, may be the first Ohioan to touch the ball in this game.  But his play is huge.  The Buckeyes can now put Michigan in a very deep hole.

Michigan 13 - 21 Ohio St. (10:12 left in 2d Quarter)

Dobbins scoots in from six yards out, and OSU restores its eight-point lead.

I was right that Michigan is playing hard, and I was right that Michigan's offense is quite good.  But Michigan just seems to have no answer for the OSU offense.

Michigan 13 - 14 Ohio St. (11:35 left in 2d Quarter)

Facing 2d and 19 from its own 47, OSU goes 41 very easy yards on a slant pass from Fields to Garrett Wilson (of Lake Travis H.S. in Austin, Tex.)  Somehow Wilson ended up all alone on the right side of the field, and he trotted deep into Michigan territory.  So far, the Wolverines have had no answer to the Southerners who make up the OSU offense.

Michigan 13 - 14 Ohio St. (19 seconds left in 1st Quarter)

The Wolverines strike back!  It only takes Michigan three plays to go 75 yards.  They top off their drive with a 25-yard pass from Shea Patterson (of IMG Academy in Shreveport, La.) to Donovan Peoples-Jones (of Cass Technical H.S. in Detroit).  Good for Peoples-Jones -- it's nice to see a Midwesterner do something in this game.

With one quarter gone, ESPN gives OSU a 72.2 percent chance of victory.

Michigan 6 - 14 Ohio St. (1 minute left in 1st Quarter)

This is how OSU beat Michigan 16 times in the last 18 meetings.  The Buckeyes get up to midfield, and then Justin Fields (of Harrison H.S. in Kennesaw, Ga.) hits Chris Olave (of Mission Hills H.S. in San Marcos, Calif.) with a 51-yard touchdown pass.  Down through the years, Michigan's defense simply has not had an answer to OSU's athleticism.

Michigan 6 - 7 Ohio St. (3:54 left in 1st Quarter)

Michigan gets one first down, but can do no more.  The Wolverines punt to the OSU 19.

Michigan 6 - 7 Ohio St. (5:17 left in 1st Quarter)

Michigan's defense holds, and OSU punts.  After a penalty against the Wolverines, Michigan will start at its own 17.

Michigan 6 - 7 Ohio St. (7:20 left in 1st Quarter)

Michigan goes three and out and punts.  OSU will start from its own 45.

Michigan 6 - 7 Ohio St. (8:50 left in 1st Quarter)

It's easy when you know how.  OSU goes 75 yards in nine plays, capping off their touchdown drive with a 5-yd run by J.K. Dobbins of LaGrange H.S. in LaGrange, Tex.  (One of the great mysteries of college football in recent years is why so few great football players from Texas play for the University of Texas.)  Blake Haubeil of Canisius H.S. in Buffalo adds the extra point, and the Buckeyes have a one-point lead.

Michigan 6 - 0 Ohio St. (11:43 left in 1st Quarter)

The Wolverines take the opening kickoff and go 75 yards in 7 plays.  Giles Jackson, a freshman wide receiver from Freedom H.S. in Antioch, Calif., dashes 22 yards on an end-around for the touchdown.  Quinn Nordin, a senior from Rockford H.S. in Rockford, Mich., misses the extra point.

Michigan v. Ohio St.

Here are the last eighteen meetings between these two ancient rivals (home teams listed first):

11/24/01:  Michigan 20 - 26 Ohio St.
11/23/02:  Ohio St. 14 - 9 Michigan
11/22/03:  Michigan 35 - 21 Ohio St.
11/20/04:  Ohio St. 37 - 21 Michigan
11/19/05:  Michigan 21 - 25 Ohio St.
11/18/06:  Ohio St. 42 - 39 Michigan
11/17/07:  Michigan 3 - 14 Ohio St.
11/22/08:  Ohio St. 42 - 7 Michigan
11/21/09:  Michigan 10 - 21 Ohio St.
11/27/10:  Ohio St. 37 - 7 Michigan
11/26/11:  Michigan 40 - 34 Ohio St.
11/24/12:  Ohio St. 26 -21 Michigan
11/30/13:  Michigan 41 - 42 Ohio St.
11/29/14:  Ohio St. 42 - 28 Michigan
11/28/15:  Michigan 13 - 42 Ohio St.
11/26/16:  Ohio St. 30 - 27 Michigan
11/25/17:  Michigan 20 - 31 Ohio St.
11/24/18:  Ohio St. 62 - 39 Michigan

If you're keeping track at home, that's a record of 16-2 for the Buckeyes in the 21st century.  That's not much of a rivalry.  Michigan hasn't won in Columbus since Bill Clinton was president.  Michigan never beat Urban Meyer while he was at OSU.  Michigan hasn't held OSU to less than 30 points since 2012.

The odds-makers aren't giving Michigan much of a chance this year, either.  OSU's closest game was an 11-point win over Penn State last week.  Every other game has been a blowout.  According to Vegas, the Buckeyes are favored by nine in a game where 52 points are expected.  That would work out to something like a 30-21 victory for OSU.

And yet, I have a feeling that we will see some real drama today.  Early in the year, Wisconsin beat Michigan 35-14, and most folks haven't paid attention to them since.  But they are 9-2 on the year, with their only other loss coming by seven points at Penn State.  Here are their last four games:

10/26/19:  Michigan 45 - 14 Notre Dame
11/02/19:  Maryland 7 - 38 Michigan
11/16/19:  Michigan 44 - 10 Michigan St.
11/23/19:  Indiana 14 - 39 Michigan

Yes, Indiana is Indiana.  Yes, it's ludicrous that Maryland is in the Big 10.  But Notre Dame and Michigan State are long-time rivals who have tormented the Wolverines in the past -- this year Michigan crushed both of them in the Big House.  That's the version of Michigan that Ohio State is going to see today.

Fifty years ago, Ohio State was coming off of the 1968 national championship.  The Buckeyes were ranked number one all year.  They had no close games in the regular season.  The week before the Michigan game, they toyed with a Purdue team that was ranked 10th in the country, beating them 42 to 14.  But on November 22, 1969, they went to Ann Arbor and lost, 24 to 12.  The Bo Schembechler era had begun.  Jim Harbaugh has a chance to start his own era today.  I'm very curious to see what will happen.

Ohio St. 28 - 17 Penn St. (Final)

This is the only game all year where a team took Ohio State into the fourth quarter.  Down 21-0 in the third quarter, Penn State scored 17 quick points to make the score 21-17 with one quarter to go.  But OSU put one more touchdown on the board, and the Buckeye defense made it stand up, and Ohio State had its 11th victory of the season.

It was the last game of the year in Columbus, a town that loves its football team, and has rarely had a season more pleasant than this one.  The Buckeye fans cheered and cheered through the gloom and rain of the fourth quarter, and one can hardly blame them.  They have dominated almost every team they'v played, they pulled out a tough victory against a very good Penn State team, and now they are only two games away from the playoff.

Rutgers 21 - 56 Ohio St. (Final)

Neither  was this one.

Ohio St. 73 - 14 Maryland (Final)

This game was not worthy of coverage.