Buckeyes Fall To Michigan, 38-26 – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2000
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By RUSTY MILLER
%^$AP Sports Writer
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Michigan didn’t let this fourth-quarter slip away.%^$
Drew Henson threw three touchdown passes and ran for a clinching score as%^$No. 19 Michigan made a 19-point lead stand up in a 38-26 victory over No. 12%^$Ohio State on Saturday, giving the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten title.%^$
“We never get comfortable,” tailback Anthony Thomas said. “We’ve seen%^$things happen.”%^$
Three times this season, Michigan (8-3, 6-2) lost after taking the lead into%^$the final quarter of a big game. Each of the losses was by seven or fewer%^$points.%^$
“Coach (Lloyd) Carr told us all week that we had to win this game, that it%^$would come down to a play in the fourth quarter and we’d have to make a stop,”%^$linebacker Larry Foote said.%^$
The Buckeyes (8-3, 5-3), who could have tied for the league title with a%^$win, scored the first nine points and the last 14 to make it interesting. But%^$Michigan stopped Ohio State tailback Jonathan Wells at the Buckeyes’ 18 on a%^$fourth-and-1 run up the middle with just over three minutes left to seal the%^$outcome.%^$
“My thinking was, if you kick the football you’re probably not going to get%^$it back,” Ohio State coach John Cooper said. “So we gambled a little bit -%^$and lost.”%^$
Henson, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 303 yards with one interception,%^$then scored on a 1-yard bootleg with 1:18 remaining.%^$
“Each year, no matter what happens early on, this game essentially comes%^$down to the last few minutes – sometimes even the last play,” Henson said.%^$
Michigan took a 31-12 lead into the fourth quarter on a 17-point flurry in%^$the third quarter. David Terrell caught his second TD pass of the day from%^$Henson, Hayden Epstein kicked a 25-yard field goal, and Julius Curry sped 50%^$yards after intercepting Steve Bellisari’s pass.%^$
“He was going to Rambo the whole time,” Curry said. “Anything on the%^$inside, I’m going to take.”%^$
As in all three of the losses, Michigan played conservatively, choosing to%^$run Anthony “A-Train” Thomas on first and second downs and then relying on%^$Henson to pass against the Big Ten’s top pass rush. Needing 166 yards to become%^$Michigan’s career rushing leader, Thomas was limited to 60 yards on 29%^$attempts.%^$
The Buckeyes almost made them pay for that approach, with Wells scoring his%^$second touchdown on a 2-yard run to cut the lead to 31-19 and Bellisari hitting%^$Ken-Yon Rambo on an 18-yard pass to draw Ohio State to 31-26 with 7:03%^$remaining. Bellisari was 21-of-47 passes for 251 yards with three%^$interceptions.%^$
On its last possession, Ohio State gained 9 yards on three plays and coach%^$John Cooper elected to go for it on fourth down. But on a deep handoff from%^$Bellisari, Wells ran into linebackers Victor Hobson and Larry Foote and%^$noseguard Eric Wilson, silencing a record crowd of 98,568 in expanded Ohio%^$Stadium.%^$
“Our defense was tremendous when they had to be,” Carr said. “That last%^$stop was tremendous penetration from a very young defensive front. I think it%^$was as big as any play in the game.”%^$
Cooper’s record fell to 2-10-1 against Michigan as Ohio State’s coach. It%^$was the eighth time as head coach of the Buckeyes that he his team has lost an%^$outright title or a share of the Big Ten title with a loss to Michigan.%^$
“My record against Michigan speaks for itself. Obviously, it’s awful,”%^$Cooper said. “To play here at home and to have a chance to beat Michigan one%^$time, obviously I’m disappointed.”%^$
Michigan won for the fifth time in the last six years in the series, all%^$under coach Carr. Four of those victories came with Ohio State having the%^$better record.%^$
The game started out as if that would all change. In the opening five%^$minutes, Ohio State had two fumbles (recovering them both), threw an%^$interception and had a punt blocked – and still led 9-0.%^$
Nate Clements took the opening kickoff, faked a handoff on the reverse, and%^$went 80 yards before stepping out of bounds. Four plays later, on%^$fourth-and-inches from the Michigan 11, Wells bolted up the middle for the%^$touchdown.%^$
On Michigan’s first possession, Henson’s pass for Terrell bounced off the%^$receiver’s helmet and ricocheted to Ohio State cornerback David Mitchell, who%^$returned the ball 21 yards to the 15.%^$
After Ohio State settled for Stultz’s 37-yard field goal, Henson tossed a%^$short screen that Thomas turned into a 70-yard touchdown and a 21-yarder to%^$Terrell for a lead that the Wolverines wouldn’t surrender.%^$
Two years ago, Ohio State had blistered the Wolverines 31-16, turning the%^$200-mile ride back to Ann Arbor into a bleak few hours.%^$
“The last time I was here it was a long ride home,” cornerback Todd Howard%^$said. “You could hear a pin drop on the bus ride home. It’s great to get that%^$taste out of my mouth.”
