Blake Corum was the difference maker

Corum’s two rushing touchdowns — to set Michigan’s single-season record — are obviously a big deal, both for the history and the impact on the game, but it was more than just his scoring that factored into the Wolverines’ win. Last season, Corum suffered an injury against Illinois a week before the Ohio State game. He attempted to play against the Buckeyes, but it was quickly apparent he wasn’t healthy enough to continue.

Michigan won last year without him, but that might not have been possible Saturday. Ohio State’s defense mostly shut down the Michigan rushing attack in the first half, but Corum began to find cracks in the second half. It was Corum soaring over the line of scrimmage on a fourth-and-1 in the third quarter, and it was Corum squeezing through the A-gap for a 22-yard touchdown run one play after the Wolverines lost their All-American right guard Zak Zinter to a gruesome leg injury.

Then there was Michigan’s final offensive possession of the day in which it fed Corum repeatedly to melt the clock away. When he broke loose for a 14-yard gain around the left edge to get the ball down to the Ohio State 25-yard line, you could almost sense the belief being sucked out of the Buckeyes sideline.

Sherrone Moore deserves legitimate consideration

It’s somewhat ironic that Michigan State officially announced the hiring of new coach Jonathan Smith during the game because I couldn’t help but think while watching the game that Michigan’s Sherrone Moore is somebody the Spartans should have considered. That’s not a knock on Smith, whom I believe is a great coach and a wonderful hire out of Oregon State by MSU. It’s a comment about how great Moore has been in his role as acting head coach in place of Jim Harbaugh.

Moore had his day in the big chair earlier this season when Harbaugh was serving his original three-game suspension, and the job’s been his the entire time during the latest suspension, an assignment he’s aced it with flying colors. Moore was in charge of the Wolverines for their two biggest games of the season against Penn State and Ohio State, and Michigan never trailed in either game.

Moore has shown the ability to put together a strong offensive game plan, successfully make important decisions in critical junctures and win big games as a head coach. I can think of a lot of programs who can use that right now.

Saturday alone, he made key decisions to attempt fourth-down conversions — both of which were successful for the Wolverines — and he called a halfback pass for Blake Corum that took plenty of life out of Ohio State, which believed it was about to get a crucial stop in a major situation. Moore was not just standing in for Harbaugh, he was actively a reason why Michigan won Saturday’s game and completed consecutive 12-0 regular seasons for the first time in program history.

Ryan Day is on the hot seat

College football is a popular sport. If you don’t believe me, just look at conference realignment and how television networks have had a direct impact on it. None of this happens if people don’t care passionately about the game, and it’s that passion that sometimes leads to scenarios that seem absolutely ludicrous on the surface but are true all the same.

All of which is my fancy way of saying that, stupid or not, Ryan Day is on the hot seat at Ohio State.

Yes, a coach who has a 56-7 record at Ohio State (39-3 in Big Ten play) and two College Football Playoff appearances — that guy could be in trouble. Why? Because those three Big Ten losses have all come to Michigan, and they’ve all come in the last three seasons.

Make no mistake about it, both Michigan and Ohio State want to compete for Big Ten and national championships, but sometimes those aren’t as important as making sure you don’t lose to Ohio State or Michigan.

Let’s be clear: Day is not in any immediate trouble, nor should he be — again, the man is 56-7 over five seasons — but the pressure is undoubtedly rising.

You simply cannot lose three straight to Michigan as the head coach at Ohio State. The last guy who did, John Cooper (1995-97), is also the last Buckeyes coach to be fired for his on-field performance (though it happened three years later).

Perhaps Day’s saving grace will be the division-less Big Ten and expanded CFP? Lose this same game next year, and Ohio State rematches with Michigan the following week for the Big Ten title. The Buckeyes would get an opportunity for immediate redemption, and perhaps even if losing consecutive games to the Wolverines, they could remain one of the top 12 teams in the CFP Rankings, meaning they would still have a shot to win the national championship.

History did not repeat itself for Kyle McCord

McCord didn’t begin the season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback as he remained in a battle for the job with Devin Brown. He quickly won the gig but had large shoes to fill from the start being asked to replace C.J. Stroud (who replaced Justin Fields, who replaced Dwayne Haskins and so on). McCord does not possess the same talent as his predecessors, but while he never put up the eye-popping numbers we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Ohio State, he had a knack for coming through when it mattered.

McCord leading the Buckeyes to a game-winning touchdown on the road in the final minutes against Notre Dame is one of the highlights of Ohio State’s 2023 season, but he couldn’t pull off an encore Saturday. For a moment, it seemed he might. He hit Marvin Harrison Jr. for a big gain to get the ball to midfield and followed it up with another nice throw to Julian Fleming to get into Michigan territory and make 100,000 people in the Big House nervous.

Unfortunately for McCord, this game didn’t end with a touchdown to Emeka Egbuka but rather an interception, a turnover that stands as a reminder of the difference between McCord and his predecessors. Stroud and Fields were able to survive pressure in the pocket and either use their legs or arms to keep plays alive. McCord doesn’t have that same level of ability — at least we have not seen it yet. That’s why he hurried a throw over the middle that led to the game-sealing interception.

McCord’s accuracy fails him from time to time, too. While Michigan’s Will Johnson deserves plenty of credit for jumping a route to pick off McCord in the first quarter, if McCord’s throw had been in front of Harrison instead of slightly behind him, odds are we’re looking at an incompletion at worst. Instead, it resulted in a first-and-goal and eventual touchdown for Michigan.

The good news is McCord has time to improve and will get the opportunity. That doesn’t do anything to make him or the Buckeyes feel better about Saturday’s result, but let’s not forget what happened last year. The Buckeyes lost this game and still made the College Football Playoff where C.J. Stroud played what might’ve been the best game of his college career.

McCord may not have to wait long for his chance at redemption.

Final: No. 3 Michigan 30, No. 2 Ohio State 24

For the third straight season, Michigan has defeated Ohio State to win the Big Ten East and earn a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game. It was another classic meeting between the two long-time rivals that came down to the game’s final moments. After Michigan kicked a field goal to extend its lead to 30-24 with 1:05 remaining, Ohio State began a drive with no timeouts needing a touchdown. Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord completed two deep passes to wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Julian Fleming to get within striking distance, but then, the Wolverines defense stepped up.

Michigan pressured McCord into a bad throw over the middle that was picked off by Rod Moore. It was a fitting end to the game since it was a McCord interception in the first quarter that broke the scoring deadlock. That first interception, nabbed by Will Johnson, gave the Wolverines a first-and-goal that ultimately resulted in a 7-0 lead. Michigan would never trail after that, though the Buckeyes did tie the game at 17-17 in the third quarter.

McCord’s two back-breaking picks — in the biggest game of his career — were ultimately the difference, though the Wolverines offense did plenty on its own to win the game. Running back Blake Corum finished with 88 yards rushing and two touchdowns to become Michigan’s single-season record holder with 22 TDs on the ground on the season.

Interception: Game over

Kyle McCord was hit as he released the ball, and his pass fluttered over the middle of the field where it was picked off by Michigan’s Rod Moore. It’s over. Michigan has beaten Ohio State for the third straight season.