The Wolverine Now

DEC. 1, 2013 O By John Borton ne play. One well-executed rub route from three yards out, and Michigan would have been the talk of the college football world on Thanksgiving weekend. In the end, No. 3 Ohio State came away thankful, relieved and breathing 42 One Lose Shootout Crusher, 42-41 Play Away Wolverines 41 once more after cornerback Tyvis Powell stepped in front of Michigan's two-point conversion attempt and picked it off in the final minute. That interception, after the Wolverines rallied from two touchdowns behind to claw within an extra point of a tie, preserved a wild classic for the Buckeyes, 42-41. Devin Gardner (32-of-45, 451 yards passing, four touchdowns) drove the Wolverines 84 yards for a TD with just 32 seconds to play. After he floated a two-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Devin Funchess, overtime looked inevitable. Instead, U-M head coach Brady Hoke chose to try and win the game on a single snap. Michigan hearts everywhere snapped in half, when a pressured Gardner couldn't connect on the throw. "We play the game to win," Hoke assured, regarding going for the win sans overtime. "I thought about it, and we did it." Ohio State's overwhelming rushing attack probably had something to do with the decision to avoid overtime as well. The Wolverines scored a touchdown with 32 seconds remaining in the game, but the two-point conversion attempt, which would have given U-M the lead, was intercepted (above). photo by lon horwedel Quarterback Braxton Miller connected on just six passes all afternoon (6-of-15, 133 yards, two TDs), but he ran away from the Wolverines for 153 yards and three TDs on 16 carries. Meanwhile, tailback Carlos Hyde provided the wrecking ball to Miller's Ferrari, carrying 27 times for 226 yards and a touchdown. That's how the Wolverines — despite a jaw-dropping 603 yards of offense and 41 points on the board — couldn't quite overcome their greatest anger-engendering nemesis. "It's not very good. It's not," Hoke said of Michigan's gashed run defense. "You've got to give them some credit, give their offensive line some credit. At the same time, we've got to do a much better job getting off blocks." The Wolverines (7-5 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) got out of the blocks and led throughout a wild first half, only to see OSU (110, 8-0) score late to tie the game at 21. The Buckeyes then raced to a 35-21 lead in the second half, before Michigan rallied to tie it, and rallied again to come within nine feet of an almost unthinkable win after a draining November nosedive. "We knew we were going to take it to the fourth quarter," fifth-year senior captain Taylor Lewan said. "We were ready to fight. Everyone was fighting for each other." U-M fought back even after the Buckeyes shredded Michigan's defense on their final 65-yard touchdown drive, never putting the ball in the air. Miller scrambled out for 32 yards to set the table, and Hyde

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