The coach of the Buckeyes acknowledged recruiting great players is essential, but he cited their perseverance above all.
“They just kept swinging,” Meyer said. “It’s a very, very good defense we faced.”
There were plenty of times Meyer’s team looked on the brink of collapse in the 113th meeting between Ohio State and Michigan.
After a missed field goal meant the Buckeyes squandered a chance to take an early lead, they largely spun their wheels on offense.
Although they trailed only 17-14 entering the fourth quarter, that was almost entirely thanks to the OSU defense.
The “Silver Bullets” returned one interception for a touchdown and set up a 13-yard touchdown drive with another pick. The offense ended up needing to gain only four yards on the latter drive thanks to two penalties on Michigan, including an unsportsmanlike foul assessed to Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh, who took issue with an offside penalty called on his team.
Michigan held a total yardage advantage of 274-153 after three quarters, and it was easy to conclude the Wolverines were just a play or two away from taking total control.
The Buckeyes never let them get away, though.
Even when a 61-yard Ohio State drive again ended up going for nothing because of another missed field goal, the Buckeyes never stopped coming.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett drove them 77 yards in the final five minutes to set up Durbin again, and the third time was the charm as the senior walk-on knocked a 23-yard field goal through the uprights to tie the game at 17 with one second left.
“It’s a testimony to the culture of our program,” senior center Pat Elflein said. “We never stop swinging, never stop trying. That’s the whole motto of how we train all year.”
The Ohio State defense got stronger as the game went on, too, allowing only 36 yards and one first down in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Wolverines scored a touchdown on their first possession in OT but had to settle for a field goal the second time they got the ball.
“It’s a long game,” Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said. “That’s the only thing I kept stressing to the defense the entire time, going up and down the sideline saying, ‘Do not lose your focus. Do not worry. Do not start to blame. Things are going to change, and it’s a long game.’
“Anything that’s worth anything doesn’t come easy.”
Fickell, who has been on the winning side of 13 Ohio State-Michigan games as a coach after going just 1-3-1 as a player in the mid-1990s, also wondered if the Wolverines lost their poise while clinging to a 27-24 lead in the second overtime.
Facing fourth-and-1, Barrett kept the ball and ran over left tackle. He was marked down at the 15-yard line, a ruling that was upheld upon review.
One play later, Curtis Samuel slipped through the Michigan line and sprinted 15 yards for the game-winning touchdown, leaving frustrated Wolverines in his wake.
Harbaugh argued in his postgame interview Ohio State hadn’t gotten the first down, but it was far too late at that point.
“They’re complaining it was a bad spot, this and that, then what happens the next play?” Fickell said. “You’ve gotta be able to handle situations, and I think that’s one of the things I’m most proud of with these guys.”
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