First quarter
The game got off to a dreadful start for Michigan.
The Wolverines went three-and-out on their first series, and Ohio State took over at its own 43-yard line.
It then drove six plays in 57 yards, capped off with a 24-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins to freshman wideout Chris Olave, putting the Buckeyes up 7-0 at the 11:29 mark of the first quarter.
U-M then began its next possession at its own 35-yard line and responded with a score. The Maize and Blue drove 44 yards in 10 plays, but had to settle for a 39-yard field goal from freshman kicker Jake Moody at the 6:22 mark, making the score 7-3.
U-M's defense forced an OSU three-and-out on its next drive, and the Wolverine offense took over at its own 35-yard line with 5:32 to go in the quarter.
Second quarter
Michigan strung together a 12-play, 52-yard drive that ended with Moody's second field goal of the day (this one from 31 yards out) to start the second quarter, trimming Ohio State's lead to 7-6.
U-M's defense forced yet another three-and-out on OSU's next possession, and the Maize and Blue took over at the 50-yard line with 14:08 left in the quarter.
They weren't able to take advantage of the field position, though, and punted at the 12:07 mark.
The Buckeyes then began at their own 25, and drove 80 yards in nine plays, culminating with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Olave to make the score 14-6.
OSU then started its next series at its own 21-yard line following a Michigan punt, and tossed a 31-yard touchdown to fifth-year senior receiver Johnnie Dixon with 3:18 left, making it 21-6.
U-M then got some much-needed momentum right before halftime, driving 79 yards in eight plays, capping things off with a 23-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Shea Patterson to sophomore receiver Nico Collins with 47 seconds left, making the score 21-13.
A very odd sequence then occurred when Michigan kicked off, as OSU fumbled the fair catch and junior receiver Nate Schoenle recovered at the Buckeyes' nine-yard line.
On the first play of the drive, Patterson found a wide open junior running back Chris Evans in the end zone for a nine-yard TD, making the score 21-19 (Patterson was sacked on the two-point conversion attempt).
Ohio State then drove all the way down to the Michigan two-yard line and kicked a 19-yard field goal as the half expired, making the score 24-19 at the break.
Takeaways
The way Ohio State has torched Michigan's defense through the air has been startling — the Buckeyes have racked up 278 yards, including 222 through the air.
Their aerial assault is what led to the 21-6 lead, but the sequence that occurred right before halftime got U-M right back in the game. If not for Collins' touchdown and the fumbled fair catch, we'd be looking at a completely different game right now.
The Buckeyes will receive the ball first to start the second half.
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