“It was a designed play to get a short throw to move the chains,” Marshall said of his fifth receiving touchdown this season and 11th overall. “They were playing man defense and I knew if I could beat him J.T. would throw it up there for me. He had to trust me that I’d go get it. … Coach (Urban) Meyer told me use all the ability God has given you to get the ball. That’s what I did.”
The catch helped Ohio State beat Michigan for the fourth straight time, 42-13, on Saturday.
Marshall sprinted past Clark, but the cornerback stayed within arm’s reach and was draped on Marshall as he hauled in the 25-yard touchdown pass 2:39 into the third quarter.
Marshall had two catches for 31 yards. He’s second on the Buckeyes with 31 catches for 448 yards and second in all-purpose yards with 769.
Ohio State’s leading receiver, Michael Thomas, finished with two receptions for 50 yards. The passing game finished with 113 yards, good enough to keep the Wolverines honest while the rushing game was churning out 369 yards.
“Early on we found they couldn’t really handle the tempo,” Marshall said. “Once that happened it was easy for us to move the football down the field.”
Cut the chatter: There were a couple of minor shoving matches but trash talking was quiet in a rivalry that has seen some heated moments.
Thomas said Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis, a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist as the nation’s top defensive back, was especially quiet.
“I don’t think he had much to talk about,” Thomas said.
Hail to the victory: Ohio State didn't run it up. They just ran.
The 29-point win was OSU’s largest margin of victory in the series since beating Michigan 50-20 in 1961.
“(Michigan) is an excellent football team with very good personnel,” said Meyer, who improved to 4-0 against the Wolverines. “Excellent personnel.”
The win helped Ohio State avoid its second straight defeat, which would have been even more demoralizing coming off the stunning loss to Michigan State.
“I don’t want to go where you’re headed if we didn’t win,” Meyer said, responding to a reporter’s “what if” question. “We’d be in dire straits right now.”
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