Ohio St. Rallies for 6th Straight Win over Michigan Despite J.T Barrett Injury

The Ohio State Buckeyes continued their dominance over the Michigan Wolverines with a 31-20 victory at the Big House on Saturday. 

Backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins led the way for Ohio State's win after taking over for an injured J.T. Barrett in the third quarter. The redshirt freshman finished with 118 total yards in his highest-profile appearance to date. 

Needing to make a big impression on the College Football Playoff selection committee with two games remaining, the Buckeyes shook off a slow start to beat their archrival for the sixth straight year and 15th time in the past 17 meetings dating back to 2001.  

Ohio State entered its regular-season finale ranked No. 9 in the latest playoff standings. After knocking off Michigan, the Buckeyes have won each of their last three games heading into a showdown against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 2. 

Things appeared dire for Ohio State in the third quarter, trailing 20-14, when Barrett went to the locker room after suffering an apparent knee injury on a 10-yard run. 

Per Matt Wilhelm of ESPN 850 (via 97.1 The Fan), Barrett has been dealing with an "ongoing meniscus issue" in his knee. 

Barstool OSU noted the parallels between Barrett's injury against Michigan this year and a scenario that played out against Michigan three years ago:

Haskins attempted 50 passes all season before being thrown into action against Michigan. He fit right in, totaling 55 yards on the drive and setting up J.K. Dobbins' one-yard touchdown run with this perfect pass to Austin Mack on 3rd-and-13: 

Ohio State then made the extra point, which Michigan failed to do on its previous touchdown drive, to take a 21-20 lead. The Buckeyes never trailed from then on. 

Going back to that 2014 game when Cardale Jones took over for an injured Barrett, Ohio State alum Cris Carter saw similarities between Jones and Haskins after the latter's first touchdown drive:

Playing in front of a raucous home crowd, Michigan looked like the better team in the first quarter. The Wolverines defense had Ohio State on its heels, leading to a historically bad 15 minutes for the Buckeyes in the Urban Meyer era:

Michigan jumped out to a 14-0 lead with two scores in the first 15:03 of game time. Per ESPN Stats & Info, in the past 113 meetings between these two teams, Ohio State had never beaten Michigan when facing a deficit of at least 14 points.  

The Cleveland Cam Show noted the start to this game was a perfect summary of how Ohio State has looked so often in 2017:

Ohio State is a team that went from the highs of a 39-38 win over Penn State to a 31-point loss against Iowa in a span of seven days. 

Trailing by two touchdowns, Barrett engineered a 75-yard drive that was capped off by his 21-yard touchdown run to help cut the deficit in half. That score put him in one of the most exclusive clubs in FBS history, per Ohio State researcher Jerry Emig:

"

With that rushing TD, J.T. Barrett has become only the 2nd player in FBS history to rush for 40 TDs and throw for 100 TDs. The only other: Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan. He had 47 and 102, respectively, between 2006-09. J.T. now has 40 and 101, respectively.

— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) November 25, 2017"

After Ohio State's defense forced a Michigan punt, Barrett used his arm to tie the score with this 25-yard score to Marcus Baugh:

After an Ohio State field goal made the score 24-20 in the fourth quarter, Michigan appeared to be set up on 2nd-and-1 at the Buckeyes' 36, but the drive stalled after quarterback John O'Korn tripped over an offensive lineman on the snap for a three-yard loss. 

O'Korn then overthrew a wide open Chris Evans in the middle of the field on fourth down for a turnover on downs. 

O'Korn got the start for Michigan with Brandon Peters unable to pass the concussion protocol, and the fifth-year senior endured his share of criticism for a lackluster performance against Ohio State:

Ohio State left the door open for Michigan by missing a field goal on its ensuing drive, but O'Korn once again overthrew his target, and Jordan Fuller picked him off for the game's only turnover. 

In his final home start as a Michigan quarterback, O'Korn went out with a whimper. He finished 17-of-32 for 195 yards with one touchdown and one interception. 

Mike Weber put the dagger in the Wolverines' heart with a 25-yard touchdown run three plays after the interception to help give Ohio State a 31-20 advantage with 1:44 left to play. 

Just as this game was a microcosm of Ohio State's season, it was a perfect summary of the 2017 Michigan Wolverines. Their defense was impressive early, but the lack of offense eventually left too much of a burden on the defense's shoulders. 

Brian J. Manzullo of the Detroit Free Press offered some unflattering stats regarding Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh against top-tier programs:

Harbaugh has proved to be an elite recruiter in his three years at Michigan, but an inability to find and develop a quality quarterback has significantly contributed to those disappointing stats. 

While Michigan will await its bowl destiny and answers heading into 2018, Ohio State can turn its attention to Wisconsin and the Big Ten title game, knowing it still has a chance to make the Top Four in the final playoff rankings that will be released on Dec. 3. 

Even though Barrett's health will be a focal point for the next seven days, Haskins' performance on this stage gave the Buckeyes confidence to know they won't miss a beat against a fast and physical defense.