Kornacki: Big Plays, Injuries Key in Deciding Second Half at Ohio State
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football, Features
Devin Gardner consoles J.T. Barrett (USATSI)
By Steve Kornacki
COLUMBUS, Ohio. -- What would've happened had Michigan tailback Drake Johnson not injured his left knee on his four-yard, game-tying touchdown run midway through the third quarter?
The Wolverines had been playing scoreboard ping pong with Ohio State up to that point. And Johnson was becoming the star of the game with 15 carries for 74 yards, an 11-yard catch for a first down and an 18-yard pass to quarterback Devin Gardner on the play before he scored.
Johnson tried to get the knee loose -- the same one on which he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the 2013 opener -- but to no avail. Johnson's day was done, and Michigan didn't score again until less than two minutes remained in Saturday's 42-28 loss.
However, the Buckeyes had to overcome a huge loss when quarterback J.T. Barrett fractured his right ankle on the first play of the fourth quarter. Barrett had run for two touchdowns and passed for one score while accumulating 265 yards in total offense.
He'd willed his team to a seven-point lead but would that hold up with little-used Cardale Jones replacing Barrett?
Two big plays that went against the Wolverines (5-7) determined the outcome much more than Jones, who ended up contributing 25 yards in total offense.
However, something happened after Barrett's injury that said more about this classic rivalry than the scoreboard or any statistic.
Gardner, playing his final game for the Wolverines, watched Barrett writhing in pain while prone on the field as medical staff members encircled him. And Gardner jogged out to the scene to pat Barrett on the side of his face and offer encouragement.
"I've talked to him a little bit through the season," said Gardner, revealing a friendship with his Buckeyes counterpart. "And you hate to see any player get hurt -- especially a guy like him -- who's a great guy, a high-character guy, a hard worker. He's been called upon, and he didn't know he was going to get a shot, and he's executed and done it humbly."
Barrett, a redshirt freshman from Wichita Falls, Texas, had moved ahead of Jones to become the backup to Braxton Miller only days before Miller tore the labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder two weeks before the season opener.
And after the replacement quarterback stumbled in a loss to Virginia Tech, he became so good that it's being debated whether Miller or Barrett will start in 2015. Barrett threw for 2,834 yards and 34 touchdowns while running for 938 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He was taken to medical treatment, and reporters didn't get an opportunity to speak with him Saturday. But in the days ahead, Barrett will surely talk about the compassion of Gardner, a finalist for the NCAA's Senior CLASS Award that takes character, competition and community and classroom contributions into consideration.
"It's like having a little brother getting out there and getting hurt," said Gardner, a fifth-year senior. "You don't like to see that at all. So, I just let him know I'm praying for him and told him to keep praying, and everything will be all right."
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer ruled out Barrett for next Saturday's Big Ten championship game and whatever bowl game the team reaches. He was injured after getting tackled for no gain by Wolverines defensive end Mario Ojemudia and getting bent over on the play.
The one thing the Buckeyes (11-1) had going for them when their leader went down was a seven-point lead.
And while Gardner threw for 233 yards and touchdowns to tight end Jake Butt (12 yards in the first quarter) and wide receiver Freddy Canteen (3 yards in the fourth quarter), Michigan couldn't overcome losing the tailback who had complemented him so well.
Johnson had slashed and bulled his way to big runs, often putting the Wolverines in short-yardage situations on second downs and bringing a confidence to the team.
"A lot of the air went out of the Michigan offense when Drake Johnson went out," said Wolverines radio analyst Dan Dierdorf.
Michigan head coach Brady Hoke was asked about the injury to Johnson and began by addressing the one suffered by Barrett.
"Before I say that," said Hoke, "I feel terrible, and that's what I told Urban after the game that J.T. Barrett got hurt. You don't like any kid to get hurt. And with Drake, I feel the same way. I think he'll be okay, but I don't know enough yet. We'll see how it goes from here."
Johnson, a redshirt sophomore from Ann Arbor Pioneer, was one of the bright spots for the offense. He burst onto the scene with 121 yards rushing at Northwestern, had 94 yards on the ground against Maryland before finishing the season with 60 carries for 366 yards (6.1 average).
"He obviously was seeing things well," said Hoke. "His vision was (good). I think the offensive line in a lot of ways was playing pretty well. I think they opened some things up, and he did a nice job with it. But (Johnson) did an extremely good job with his vision."
When the final score is scanned in the future, it will appear to have been no contest. But that couldn't be further from the truth.
The Wolverines once had control of a game nobody expected them to win. They had a 14-7 lead with only seconds remaining in the first half. And the Buckeyes were clinging to a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
However, two plays in the span of four minutes resulted in two OSU touchdowns.
Buckeyes tailback Ezekiel Elliott sprinted left on a fourth-and-one play for a 44-yard touchdown for a 35-21 lead with 4:58 remaining to play.
"We miss-fit the run," said Hoke. "We probably over-played the other side of the formation a little more than we should've. But you've got to give them credit, too."
And if that didn't seal the outcome, there was no doubt left when Buckeye linebacker Darron Lee recovered a Gardner fumble and rumbled 33 yards to score.
OSU survived a fourth quarter without Barrett because of those two plays, and Johnson wasn't around to help Gardner move the chains for most of the second half.
And that was all she wrote.
• U-M Stumbles in Second Half in 14-Point Loss at No. 7 Ohio State
