Controversial fourth down spot leads to OSU win

The junior took the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to the MI 45-yard line and sparked an 11-play, 55-yard drive that culminated with a Khalid Hill touchdown in the final seconds to give MI a 10-7 halftime lead.

Ohio State clinched the win when OSU running back Curtis Samuel rushed into the end zone from 15 yards.

Officials initially ruled he had made a first down.

In that second OT, the Michigan Wolverines took a short lived lead, 27-24 but OSU would not be defeated. The first matchup to go to overtime in the 113-game history of the rivalry likely eliminated MI from the playoff race and could have locked up a spot for the Buckeyes. Avoid those and Ohio State can negate or at least mitigate what looks like an advantage for MI. Barrett to junior tight end Marcus Baugh.

The scarlet-clad crowd covered the field after the game.

Harbaugh also was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third quarter when he hurled some papers onto the field and argued vigorously with the officials over an off-sides call against the Wolverines.

Ohio State’s offensive line, led by center Pat Elflein, has had a good season protecting quarterback J.T. Barrett, except for one particularly poor performance in the Buckeyes’ loss at Penn State.

IN (5-6, 3-5) has a lot more at stake. The Badgers will go up against fellow two-loss, top-10 team Penn State in the conference championship game, and a berth in the Playoff could be on the line. West champion Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game Dec. 3 in Indianapolis. The loss by MI knocks them out of the Big Ten championship game and likely out of the playoff picture. That one yard run was the outlier in the runningback’s day considering he was quite well bottled up for most of the day.

Leidner passed for 158 yards and a touchdown, rushing for an additional 46 yards and a touchdown.

But in a game where Ohio State didn’t run their 10th play in MI territory until the fourth quarter, in which the Buckeye offense had 14 points and an offense that had contributed all of 4 yards to that 14 points, the feeling for MI is that they gave one away that should have been theirs.

MI coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t too happy with the officiating in the Wolverines’ loss to Ohio State.

Alabama remained the unanimous No. 1 after taking down Auburn, 30-12, in the Iron Bowl, while Ohio State stayed at No. 2. It set up Leidner’s 3-yard touchdown run with 53 seconds left for a 17-7 halftime lead.

Iowa closing out to finish 8-4 by beating a ranked team by 30 also helps their case that was not such a bad loss. A few little fights broke out at the end of plays, and MI star Jabrill Peppers forcefully shoved an Ohio State fan as the fans rushed the field at the end of the game. “They don’t give me the ball to go three or four yards, they give me the ball to go out there and score”.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer signals to his team during warm ups for their NCAA college football game against Ohio State on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio.

“That was not a first down”, said Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh. With no Wolverine players in sight, Hooker returned the interception 16 yards for the touchdown. MI went away feeling dejected and cheated. Speight connected with Amara Darboh on a five yard touchdown pass.

“It wasn’t a first down, by that much”, Harbaugh said, holding his hands about a foot apart.

On Michigan State’s first possession, Terry’s 39-yard pass to R.J. Shelton and his 10-yard completion to Monty Madaris on third down gave the Spartans a first and goal at the 9, but the drive stalled and Geiger kicked his first field goal.