COLUMBUS — Urban Meyer looks nothing like a Heffalump, but he has taken up that frightening pink elephant’s real estate in the minds of Michigan football, and particularly the subconscious of coach Jim Harbaugh.
The Ohio State coach unleashed a performance never before seen by a Wolverine defense in the 115-year history of this ancient series. The resulting explosion fueled a 62-39 blowout on Saturday in Ohio Stadium, easily eclipsing 50-point totals Woody Hayes put on Michigan in 1961 and again in 1968.
The verdict sends the Buckeyes to next week’s Big Ten championship game against No. 20 Northwestern and abruptly ended the Wolverines’ vaunted “Revenge Tour,” not to mention short-circuiting their playoff hopes. It also spoiled running back Karan Higdon’s guarantee of a victory.
Wrecking all of those dreams seemed improbable just before kickoff. This marked the first time a Meyer team has been an underdog in more than 50 games, a gambling line that proved to be wildly inaccurate. Instead, Meyer improved to 7-0 against Michigan, unprecedented in school annals.
“The team we beat today was very good. It was a very, very good team with excellent players all over the field,” Meyer said. “Where does that rank? I don’t know. But I know the team we beat, that’s a heck of a team we beat.”
Meanwhile, Harbaugh falls to 0-4 against OSU, and is beginning to resemble the familiar form of John Cooper. The former Buckeye boss simply could not top the Wolverines in the 1990s — no matter the circumstance.
“Well, they played great. Their third quarter especially,” Harbaugh said after OSU blitzed Michigan 17-0 in the third period. “They ran a lot of speed plays that got out on the perimeter and got loose. We also set them up in good field position with a couple turnovers, and of course the blocked punt, which contributed as well.”
It seemed Harbaugh clearly had the superior squad this year, only Michigan didn’t play like it. Ohio State scored on its very first possession and the Wolverines, boasting the No. 1 defense in the nation, never came close to stopping the onslaught. A fumbled kickoff that led to an easy TD kept Michigan within 24-19 at halftime, but the Buckeyes erupted for 38 points in the second half to pull away.
“We didn’t get the pressure on their quarterback that we wanted to,” Harbaugh said. “They did a really good job in protection.
“Ohio State played really well in all phases. They’re a heckuva football team.”
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins may have earned an invitation to the Heisman ceremony in New York next month, as a finalist for the hallowed award. He has little chance of pocketing the honor, almost certainly going to Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but Haskins figures to join Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray at the ceremony.
“The quarterback’s a product of those in front of him. And I take a peek down here against that defense, under sacks it says zero,” Meyer said. “So I think the first thing that he would say, and I’d be disappointed and shocked — as a matter of fact, I’m going to tell him to make sure he says that — thank the big guys up front because they won the game for us — zero sacks.”
By far it was the best performance by Ohio State’s offensive line. No sacks, no pressures, no hurries, no problems for Haskins. The redshirt sophomore hit 19 of 30 passes for 318 yards and 5 TDs. For the season he has a Big Ten record 41 touchdown passes and crashed the 4,000-yard passing barrier at 4,003.
“I don’t know about 62, but I knew we were going to come out and put on a show,” Haskins said. “I’m proud of how we played today. It started up front with the “O” line. And the playmakers made plays. That’s what mattered.
Ohio State’s offense racked up 568 yards and 28 first downs. Parris Campbell caught five passes for 114 yards and a score, and tacked on a 78-yard TD run. True freshman Chris Olave caught two touchdown passes and blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. Running back Mike Weber registered 96 yards and a score on just 13 carries.
“Second offense in America just put a bunch of yards on the number one defense in America,” Meyer said. “Just great players and a really good offensive staff, and that’s how you do what you did.
“Did we see that? No. No. The guys just went out and played.”
It was shocking, and unprecedented. It marked the most points ever scored on a Michigan team in regulation, topping Cornell’s 58-point total in 1891, during the heyday of Butch Cassady and the Sundance Kid.
“I was licking my chops (looking at Michigan’s defense on film),” Haskins said. “I see the one-high covers and that’s a quarterback’s dream.
“The biggest responsibility for me all week was to be able to pick up blitzes and protection, because we saw a lot of different fronts and exotic looks. I spent hours in the film room just trying to figure out how we can pick the blitzes up. And once we picked it up, receivers make plays, and I’m going to put it there. And it was a great overall team effort today.”
