Michigan posted 20 of its 39 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 62-39 loss to Ohio State, but wasn't able to find the end zone enough prior to the game's final frame.
The Maize and Blue registered just three points in the opening stanza, 16 in the second and none in the third.
As a whole, U-M's offense racked up 401 total yards, but averaged just 5.1 yards per play, tied for its second-lowest tally of the season (the 4.4 it accumulated at Notre Dame was the worst).
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson had a solid performance — he went 20 of 34 through the air for 187 yards with three touchdowns and a pick to give him a 21-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio on the year.
"I thought Shea really competed well and played extremely well. I was really pleased with the way he played," head coach Jim Harbaugh said afterward. "He’s such a competitor and was doing everything he could."
Michigan's first touchdown came with just 47 seconds left in the second quarter, when Patterson found sophomore receiver Nico Collins in the end zone for a 23-yard strike to cut Ohio State's lead to 21-13 at the time.
Its second touchdown came just moments later after OSU fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Patterson tossed a nine-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Chris Evans with 41 seconds remaining in the half.
Collins hauled in his second score of the day at the 14:11 mark of the fourth quarter, but OSU already had the game well in hand at that point, at 41-25.
Sophomore fullback Ben Mason pounded it in from a yard out on U-M's next possession, while the final score of the afternoon came on a four-yard TD run by freshman quarterback Joe Milton with just 3:16 remaining, solidifying the score at 62-39.
Higdon, Ground Game Held in Check
The rushing attack has carried the Michigan all year, averaging 219.1 yards per game (25th nationally) entering Saturday.
It compiled 161 against OSU, but its 4.0 yards per carry average was its third-worst clip of the season.
Senior running back Karan Higdon had hit the century mark in eight of the 10 contests he had played in entering Saturday, but was held to just 72 against the Buckeyes.
The Wolverines as a team had compiled at least 171 yards in 10 of their 11 outings in 2018 prior to the weekend, making the rushing performance against OSU their second worst of the year (the 58 they gained against Notre Dame were the fewest).
Evans was the team's second-leading rusher with just 33 yards, while junior running back Tru Wilson was next with 32.
Evans didn't have an answer when asked afterward why the ground game never really got going.
“We just tried to put our players in position to make plays," Evans explained. "Coach had a good game plan, and we just needed to execute it."
Miscellaneous Notes
• Patterson left the game with injury in the fourth quarter, and redshirt sophomore Brandon Peters was the first quarterback into the game, though Milton also saw action.
"Shea has a contusion on his knee — a knee bruise and a bone bruise," Harbaugh revealed after the contest.
“I just fell down on it weird on that sack," Patterson added. "I don't really know what happened. I should be fine, though.”
Peters' lone attempt was an eight-yard completion to Evans, while Milton connected on two of his three throws for 45 yards, with his lone incompletion being an interception.
• Sophomore receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones' seven catches were a career high.
• Redshirt freshman Andrew Stueber earned his first career start at right tackle in place of injured fifth-year senior Juwann Bushell-Beatty.
• Mason's one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was his seventh of the year and the ninth of his career. His seven rushing scores are now second on the team, checking in behind Higdon's 10.
• Collins recorded his second multi-touchdown game of the season (his other was against Rutgers on Nov. 10) by hauling in two TD grabs. He now has six scoring receptions on the year, which is second on the team only to Peoples-Jones' seven.
• Patterson threw three touchdown passes against Ohio State, and has now accounted for three or more TDs (rushing and passing) in six of Michigan's 12 games.
• U-M's 39 points on Ohio State were its most in The Game since scoring 41 in a 42-41 loss in 2013.
• Saturday's contest was the eighth game this year in which Collins registered at least one catch over 20 yards (he hauled in a 43-yarder), which is the most among Wolverine pass catchers. Collins' 91 yards were also a career high, with his previous best being the 73 he posted in the win at Northwestern on Sept. 29.
• Redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry's streak of 15 straight contests with at least one grab came to an end over the weekend. He left in the fourth quarter with an injury, and Harbaugh revealed afterward that he suffered a concussion.
• U-M's 401 yards were the fewest it had posted in a game since putting up 395 on Michigan State Oct. 20. In fact, the Wolverines had tallied at least 444 yards in four of their last six games.
• Evans' nine-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter was his first TD catch of the season and second of his career (his other was against Rutgers last year).
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