Ohio State Ends Michigan's Big Ten Winning Streak

Saturday, November 21

Columbus, Ohio

Noon

Michigan

8-3 , 7-1

Ohio State

10-1 , 7-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Michigan

Ohio State

11/21/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider

Site: Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium)
Score: #6/7 Ohio State 31, #11 Michigan 16
Records: U-M (8-3, 7-1 Big Ten), OSU (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 94,339
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Nov. 28 -- at Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii), 4:35 p.m. HST

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan football team had its 16-game Big Ten Conference winning streak snapped by Ohio State, losing 31-16 to the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. The loss dropped the Wolverines to 8-3 on the year and into a first-place tie with the Buckeyes (10-1).

Junior quarterback Tom Brady (San Mateo, Calif./Serra HS) set a Michigan single-game record with 375 yards passing against the Buckeyes. Brady completed 31 passes on 56 attempts -- both school records -- and threw one touchdown. Senior wide receiver Tai Streets (Matteson, Ill./Thornton Township HS) caught nine passes for 118 yards and junior flanker Marcus Knight (Sylacauga, Ala./Comer HS) made seven catches for 116 yards. Defensively, senior linebacker Sam Sword (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) led the team with 14 tackles.

Michigan won the toss and deferred to the second half. Ohio State elected to receive with the Wolverines defending the north goal in the first quarter. The Buckeyes started their first possession of the game at the 20-yard line and immediately passed on their first three plays. They could not complete a pass and were forced to punt.

The Wolverines took over at their 31-yard line after a fair catch by Knight on a 49-yard Brent Bartholemew punt. The OSU defense held to three plays and Michigan had to relinquish possession on a punt. Senior punter Jason Vinson (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) punted 36 yards to the Ohio State 31-yard line, where it was fair caught by David Boston.

On its second possession, OSU scored the game's first points on a 53-yard touchdown run by running back Michael Wiley after the Buckeyes had gained the game's initial first down on a 15-yard Wiley run. The four-play scoring drive carried 69 yards and took 1:18.

Trailing 7-0, Michigan was again forced to punt without gaining a first down. After senior running back Clarence Williams (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech HS) gained six yards on first down, the Wolverines' offense threw two incomplete passes and they were forced to punt. Vinson fumbled the snap, picked it up and kicked a punt that went a negative 13 yards.

Ohio State took possession at the Michigan 16-yard line and utilized the good field position for its second touchdown of the day. After two plays gained zero yards, quarterback Joe Germaine hit wide receiver Dee Miller in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. The Buckeyes moved out to a 14-0 lead with 9:44 remaining in the first quarter.

After trading punts, Michigan gained the battle for field position. The Wolverines started drive at 21-yard line and proceeded to gain two first downs and move into Ohio State territory. Brady hit senior tight end Jerame Tuman (Liberal, Kan./Liberal HS) for 19 yards to the U-M 42-yard line and the team's initial first down of the game. Two plays later Brady connected with junior fullback Aaron Shea (Ottawa, Ill./West Ottawa HS) for 13 yards and into OSU territory at the 44-yard line. The Wolverines were unable to gain another first down and the drive stalled at midfield.

Vinson pinned Ohio State at the two-yard line after a 51-yard punt. The Buckeyes took over and lost one yard on the first play but moved out the five-yard line on a fullback Matt Keller four-yard rush. Germaine hit David Boston deep down the middle on third down but he fumbled and safety Tommy Hendricks (Houston, Texas/Eisenhower HS) picked it up at the U-M 37-yard line and carried it 33 yards to OSU's 30-yard line. Michigan gained another 16 yards as Ohio State was assessed a personal foul for a late hit out of bounds. Michigan managed to get on the board as senior placekicker Jay Feely (Odessa, Fla./Tampa Jesuit HS) connected on a 27-yard field goal.

The teams traded punts before Ohio State took over at the 34-yard line. The Buckeyes moved deep into Michigan territory before the defense held and forced a 46-yard field by Dan Stultz. The kick had the distance but was wide left. The Buckeyes moved into Michigan's end of the field on two passes from Germaine to Boston, the first a 12-yard pass on third-and-nine and the second a 32-yarder on the very next play.

Taking over a the 29-yard line, Michigan got inside Ohio State territory after a face-mask penalty on a second down. The Wolverines got to the 49-yard line but were forced into a punting situation. Vinson's punt was blocked by Derek Ross and recovered by Jonathan Wells at the Michigan 20-yard line. The Buckeyes were assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play, which moved the ball back to the 35-yard line. Ohio State capitalized as Wiley rushed for five yards on first down and Germaine connected with Boston for the 30-yard touchdown on the next play. Ohio State led 21-3 with 3:15 remaining before half.

The Wolverines responded the Buckeyes touchdown with one of their own. Brady hit Streets for a three-yard score with 25 second left in the half. Michigan's scoring drive was aided by a 34-yard pass to Streets and a 24-yarder to Knight on third-and-10 from the OSU 32-yard line. Brady was 6-of-8 on the 80-yard scoring drive (nine plays and 2:38), with 68 of those yards coming through the air.

Michigan took the second half kickoff at its 14-yard line trailing 21-10. The Wolverines gained three first downs and moved to the 47-yard line before Brady was intercepted by Jerry Rudzinski at the OSU 46-yard line. The Buckeyes struck for their fourth touchdown of the game and third after a turnover as Germaine hit Boston on a 43-yard touchdown pass. The four-play drive covered 54 yards and took 1:14.

Sophomore Anthony Thomas (Winnfield, La./Winnfield HS) gave Michigan possession inside OSU territory with a 57-yard return on the ensuing kickoff. The Wolverines moved down and got into field goal position, gaining 27 yards in nine plays. Feely hit a 34-yard field goal to cut the Ohio State lead to 28-13.

OSU took over at its 20-yard line and proceeded to add three points to its lead on a 39-yard Stultz field goal. The big play came as Germaine threw a screen to Matt Keller, who gained 49 yards down to U-M's 29-yard line. The drive was stopped at the 22-yard line and Stultz connected to give the Buckeyes a 31-13 advantage.

Michigan closed the gap to 31-16 as Feely hit a 30-yard field goal with 14:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines got into scoring territory on key receptions by Streets (40 yards on third down) and Knight (22 yards). The 10-play drive gained 68 yards and took 1:41.

The Wolverines held the Buckeyes on the their next possession and took over at their eight-yard line. Michigan moved out of the shadow of its end zone and to midfield before back-to-back sacks pushed the Wolverines back to the 34-yard line and forced a punting situation. Vinson punted 43 yards and Boston made a fair catch at the 23-yard line.

Michigan held Ohio State without a first down and forced a Bartholemew punt that went out of bounds at the 37-yard line. The Wolverines took over and immediately moved into OSU territorty as Knight caught a pass for 36 yards to the 26-yard line. After three plays gained five yards, Michigan went for it on fourth-and-five from the 21-yard line. Brady's pass intended for Knight was intercepted by Ahmed Plummer.

Taking over at its 17-yard line, Ohio State turned over possession of the ball at the 29-yard line after going for it on fourth down. The Buckeyes ran 11 plays and gained three first downs to run 3:06 off the clock.

The Wolverines could not sustain a drive in the final minutes and Ohio State eventually regained possession and ran out the final moments of the game.

Michigan will conclude its regular-season shedule at Hawaii next Saturday, Nov. 28. The game will be broadcast by ESPN2 beginning at 4:35 p.m. HST (9:35 p.m. EST).