ANN ARBOR, Mich. — After beating Notre Dame on a last-second running play when the Irish seemed to forget to put 11 men on the field, Ryan Day exclaimed: “These are tough kids, and we have a tough team.”
Ever since Michigan football bullied the Buckeyes in 2021, that school in Ohio has had something of an identity crisis.
On Saturday, Ohio State appeared closer to the goal. In a close game, the Wolverines didn’t run roughshod all over the Buckeyes as they have in the previous two years. Michigan rushed for 156 yards on four yards per carry, and OSU managed 107 yards. In fact, sophomore defensive tackle Mason Graham went into The Game preparing for a fist fight.
“Oh yeah, we knew that was going to be one of the best lines we faced,” Graham said. “I mean, they have good tight ends, too. So that complements the O-line really well so we knew we had to be on our best game just going into every play, executing the best we can.”
However, it appears Ohio State didn’t live up to Michigan senior wide receiver Roman Wilson’s expectations in that regard.
Asked if the Buckeyes have gotten tougher, Wilson had a simple, yet emphatic statement.
“No. Definitely not,” Wilson said. “I mean, like I told the receivers this whole week, you got guys back there like — this is the thing I thought, too: guys who want to put on like the Louis V, the $1,000 outfit. Like you want to act hard, but when we’re out there like they’re not hard, like I see the film, but you’re not tough. Like I don’t think I’m the toughest guy in the world. But I’m out there, I’m getting physical. I don’t think they wanted it like how I wanted it.”
When Graham and sophomore tight end Colston Loveland were asked if they feel the same way after the game, they both agreed.
That’s not going to make anyone in Columbus happy, but them’s the breaks and to the victors go the spoils.