November 21, 2009

Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich.(AP) Tate Forcier threw four interceptions and fumbled in his end zone, and No. 9 Ohio State took advantage to beat Michigan 21-10 Saturday for its sixth straight win in the series.

The Buckeyes (10-2, 7-1) clinched an outright Big Ten championship and will play in the Rose Bowl with a five-game winning streak.

The Wolverines started the season 4-0 and ended it 5-7. The flop came after a school-record nine-loss season in Rich Rodriguez's debut year with college football's winningest program.

Michigan has endured consecutive losing years for the first time since the 1962-63 seasons.

Forcier's first turnover came on his first drive, a fumble that Cameron Heyward recovered to give Ohio State a 7-0 lead. The freshman threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter, ruining Michigan's chances to come back in a game it trailed 14-10 in the third.

Terrelle Pryor wasn't spectacular, but didn't make many mistakes and made a key throw after Michigan pulled within four points. He perfectly lofted a screen pass to Dan Heron, whose 12-yard touchdown gave the Buckeyes a 21-10 lead.

That proved to be enough to beat Michigan, which played perhaps one of its best games of the season but still had nothing to show for it.

Rodriguez said earlier in the week the Wolverines would not be ``doomed'' if they were shut out of the bowl picture. But he desperately needed the feel-good victory to take some heat off him - especially with an NCAA investigation looming over his program.

Jim Tressel, meanwhile, extended Ohio State's longest winning streak in the suddenly lopsided series and matched the best run in the rivalry since Michigan won six in a row in the 1920s.

Pryor finished 9 of 17 for 67 yards with a TD and an interception, off a deflection. He also ran for 74 yards, while Herron had 96 yards rushing and that TD catch.

Forcier was 23 of 38 for 226 yards and a touchdown to Vincent Smith that made it 14-10 with 10:05 left in the third quarter. He had not thrown more than one interception in a game this season until throwing four against the Buckeyes.

Michigan's Roy Roundtree caught nine passes for 116 yards.

Ohio State's Kurt Coleman made two interceptions, the second coming after a video review at the Buckeyes 6 early in the fourth quarter. Forcier threw his third interception on the ensuing drive, making an ill-advised pass that cornerback Devon Torrence caught in the end zone with 8 minutes left.

Perhaps fittingly, the Wolverines were flagged for having five men in the backfield on their final snap and the Buckeyes ran out the clock, much to the delight of thousands of their fans who were at the Big House.

	Box Score Final
	Ohio State (10-2) 7 7 7 0 21 Michigan (5-7) 0 3 7 0 10

Scoring Summary
	Ohio State: Cameron Heyward 0 yd fumble return (Devin Barclay kick)
	Michigan: Jason Olesnavage 46 yd FG
	Ohio State: Brandon Saine 29 yd run (Devin Barclay kick)
	Michigan: Vincent Smith 18 yd pass from Tate Forcier (Jason Olesnavage kick)
	Ohio State: Daniel Herron 12 yd pass from Terrelle Pryor (Devin Barclay kick)

Team Statistics
	Michigan	Ohio State
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	16	18
TOTAL NET YARDS	309	318
Total Plays	73	70
Average Gain	4.2	4.5
NET YARDS RUSHING	80	251
Rushes	31	53
Average per rush	2.6	4.7
NET YARDS PASSING	229	67
Completions-attempted	25-42	9-17
Sacked	0	0
Yards Lost	0	0
TOTAL TURNOVERS	5	1
Interceptions	4	1
Fumbles Lost	1	0
OTHER
Penalties	3	6
Penalty Yards	25	40
Time of Possesion	27:4	32:56
Punts	6	9
Punt Average	43	38.56
Return Yards	69	48

Passing
Michigan	CMP	ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YDS/ATT
Tate Forcier (0)	23	38	226	1	4	5.9
Denard Robinson (0)	2	4	3	0	0	0.8
Ohio State	CMP	ATT	YDS	TD	INT	YDS/ATT
Terrelle Pryor (0)	9	17	67	1	1	3.9

Rushing
Michigan	ATT	YDS	TD	AVG
Vincent Smith (0)	8	32	0	4.0
Denard Robinson (0)	10	31	0	3.1
Tate Forcier (0)	6	10	0	1.7
Michael Shaw (0)	7	7	0	1.0
Ohio State	ATT	YDS	TD	AVG
Terrelle Pryor (0)	19	74	0	3.9
Team (0)	3	-3	0	-1.0
Daniel Herron (0)	19	96	0	5.1
Brandon Saine (0)	12	84	1	7.0

Receiving
Michigan	ATT	YDS	TD	AVG
Roy Roundtree (0)	9	116	0	12.9
Greg Mathews (0)	6	67	0	11.2
Vincent Smith (0)	3	28	1	9.3
Kevin Grady (0)	2	7	0	3.5
Darryl Stonum (0)	1	10	0	10.0
Martell Webb (0)	1	6	0	6.0
Junior Hemingway (0)	1	5	0	5.0
Carlos Brown (0)	1	-4	0	-4.0
Michael Shaw (0)	1	-6	0	-6.0
Ohio State	ATT	YDS	TD	AVG
DeVier Posey (0)	5	38	0	7.6
Daniel Herron (0)	2	17	1	8.5
Dane Sanzenbacher (0)	1	11	0	11.0
Brandon Saine (0)	1	1	0	1.0

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