COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 2022 Michigan-Ohio State football game will forever be known as the JJ McCarthy Breakout Game.
While the sophomore quarterback’s talent has been tantalizing all year, he never has it all rolled into one. Much less on a stage of this magnitude. But it seemed like Michigan knew something that everyone else didn’t.
McCarthy on Saturday threw for three touchdowns, ran for another and Donovan Edwards hit twice for 75 and 85 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter as the Wolverines maimed the Buckeyes, 45-23for their first win at Ohio Stadium since 2000.
“None, no adjustments,” McCarthy said of what the team changed in the locker room, leading to a 28-3 margin over the past two quarters. “We came in with a full game plan and we were ready for them. The message was simply ‘we are the best second half team in the country and we prove it every week. “
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“It was just awesome to go out there and prove it again.”
Michigan (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) advances to the Big Ten Championship Game next Saturday night in Indianapolis, where the Wolverines will face Purdue. The Boilermakers locked up the Big Ten West with their victory in Indiana Saturday.
The Wolverines trailed at halftime, 20-17, then dominated the final two quarters with the power-running play to beat the Buckeyes for the second consecutive season. Michigan, which rushed 11 times for 10 yards in the first half, finished the game with 35 carries for 252 yards (7.2 yards per carry) and three scores.
“One good thing about the running game is that it can wear you out,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “That’s why it’s usually better as the game goes on. And I love Donovan Edwards, when he breaks free, you don’t even think about it, it’s going to be a touchdown.”
The Wolverines, whose identity was forged thanks to Blake Corum on the pitch, have never seemed worried about their lack of passing game this season.
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Not when McCarthy has gone four consecutive games under 170 yards through the air in the past month. Not when UM has only had one play for 60 or more yards through the air in the first 11 games of the season.
Going into the Horseshoe with a hobbled Corum – who only touched the ball twice earlier and didn’t play after the first quarter – the Wolverines said they were confident in their quarterback to deliver – and he never did.
McCarthy found Cornelius Johnson watching a blitz and Johnson broke tackles on the left sideline for a 69-yard touchdown. On Wolverines’ next offensive snap, McCarthy threw a perfect 75-yard touchdown, again to Johnson, on a wide open road to give Michigan their first lead, 17-13.
“I thought it was pretty good, we were just waiting for him to come out,” McCarthy said of the through-throw game that had been much maligned all season. “We knew what it was, it was just great that he came out at that time.”
Johnson had a career day, catching four passes for 160 yards and both touchdowns.
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In the second-half opener, McCarthy ran for a 19 gain before throwing a perfect pass down the right sideline to Colston Loveland for a career-first 45-yard touchdown. , to give Michigan a 24-20 lead. .
UM never hung around again.
“Right after that touchdown at the end of the half,” McCarthy said of the moment he knew the win was coming. “I just felt like we were able to do whatever we wanted to do at that moment, I felt so comfortable, so calm. In the first half, I was a little excited because I wanted to play this game for so long, but once the nerves kind of calmed down, I knew it was over from there.”
Early in the fourth quarter, McCarthy capped off Michigan’s 15-play, 80-yard run 7:51 behind by hammering a quarterback on third and the 3-yard line goal for a 31-yard lead. -20.
He was 12 for 24 for 263 passing yards, four total scores and no turnovers.
“I’ve always said he’s got it, he’s got that factor in every way,” Harbaugh said when asked what McCarthy had proven. “First game against Ohio State, at Ohio State to play this well, you know everyone on our team knows that.
“I mean, I don’t know how to answer the question ‘what can it do for him’, because he already has it. He already has it. So it just keeps rolling with him. . It happens a lot.”
This is Michigan’s first undefeated regular season since the 1997 national championship season.
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Big plays keep Wolverines early
The Buckeyes (11-1, 8-1) were the second scoring unit in the nation behind Heisman Trophy contender quarterback CJ Stroud, who came on and opened the game with a hauler, rushing 81 yards in 12 plays, capped by a strike from Stroud to Emeka Egbuka on third base of 4.
The two teams traded goals on the next two possessions to make it 10-3 at Ohio State, but after three straight games at Michigan, McCarthy was cooking.
On the third-and-9, Ohio State sent an A-gap double blitz from an 0 coverage formation. He fed the ball to Johnson, who broke a tackle and had no one between him and the end zone. goals as he galloped for 69 yards.
Ohio State went for 42 yards in two plays in assured practice but settled for a 46-yard field goal with 5:36 left in the second quarter.
Wolverines then completed their fastest training of the season.
Lined up in the slot, Johnson ran a streak, faked an outside move and got safety to bite. He opened a post lane down the middle for a 75-yard touchdown in just 12 seconds.
“It’s been open all year,” McCarthy said. “I’m happy to have finally been in contact with him. He’s a special player.”
The Buckeyes responded with a four-play, 79-point drive when Stroud found Marvin Harrison Jr. on a 42-yard streak to retake the lead and the final halftime score.
Key games in the second half
It started on the first practice, when McCarthy threw a fly ball to Loveland, who beat double coverage for 45 yards, putting Michigan ahead 24-20 with 11:56 left in the third.
Ohio State moved the ball into midfield on the practice that followed, but a nice tackle from Junior Colson into space forced a punt. The Wolverines went three times in their next practice, but OSU didn’t capitalize after starting with the ball on the Michigan 49.
A first down play looked like going for a 20 win, but the Buckeyes were flagged. Along with a hold call that backed them from 10 yards, they were tagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, which set up first and 35.
They gained 28 yards in the next three games, but against the fourth- and seventh-ranked Wolverines 43, coach Ryan Day chose to throw much to the chagrin of Stroud and OSU fans. Michigan then missed 7:51 from the clock in its ensuing 15-game drive, the biggest game being a third-and-one.
McCarthy passed the baton to Kalel Mullings – a converted linebacker who hadn’t run the ball in his career before Saturday – who threw a jump pass to Luke Schoonmaker for a 15-win.
“You could tell they were really crowded from the line of scrimmage,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a game that we’ve kept for the whole year, we’ve really prepared for it…and Schoony has done a great job adapting to the ball.”
Six plays later, McCarthy faced third and eleven and under pressure kicked the ball into the end zone for Ronnie Bell. The pass fell incomplete, but OSU was called for pass interference, setting up the first and the goal. McCarthy scored three games later to make it 31-20.
“I’m fighting Coach (Sherrone) Moore for these games,” McCarthy said. “Just give me the ball when we need a few yards of sand and I’ll go get it.”
OSU had its first solid practice of the half after UM made it 31-20 when Egbuka beat Mike Sainristil on a post pattern for a gain of 41 yards, but the senior defensive back made amends honorable. On third and fourth from the 9-yard line, Stroud threw a pass to tight end Cade Stover in the corner of the end zone, which Sainristil broke to force a field goal.
“He came out late and I was kind of in a running position and the only thing that went through my mind at that point was ‘don’t give up another touchdown,'” Sainristil said. “I saw the ball being thrown and it was floating around a bit so I thought ‘okay, I think I’ve got time to get there’ and I saw the ball go into the hands clenched and the only thing I thought about was kicking him out.”
Edwards then scored a 75-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, giving Michigan 15 points with just over seven minutes left.
Ohio State ran the length of the field, but Stroud tried to avoid a sack and returned the ball to receiver Xavier Johnson, but the ball bounced off his hands and into the arms of Michigan’s Taylor Upshaw, who intercepted at OSU 8.
Three plays later, Edwards cleared 85 yards to cap what turned out to be a career day – 22 carries, 216 yards and two scores – to send home crowd fans 106,787 ratings for the outings.
Fifth-year senior linebacker Mike Barrett had a game-high 11 tackles and was then asked if the rivalry had come under Michigan’s control.
“I don’t have much to say about it,” he said, draping a Michigan 2022 Big Ten East Champions TY jersey on the table in front of him. “But yes, I would say yes from now on.
“We play our ball, being the team we knew we were.”
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.