The streak is over: No. 2 Ohio State falls to No. 5 Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The rivalry was still alive and well in Ann Arbor.

Players jawed on the field after physical tackles, gestures were raised as each team huddled in the same tunnel at halftime to go to their respective locker rooms. Ohio State was well prepared for the hatred, something that’s been engrained for 728 days since the last time it faced Michigan.

All throughout the week, Ohio State continued to hype up the history of the rivalry, saying it’s the most important game on its schedule, the one that it plans for 365 days a year, the one it has planned for for 3,290 days since the Buckeyes last lost to its rival.

But there was an actual game to be played. And that’s something Ohio State did not seem to be prepared for.

And when Michigan took control in the third quarter, all Ohio State could resort to was the rivalry, as redshirt junior cornerback Cameron Brown ripped the helmet of a Michigan defender off after a play, leading to an altercation: the refs trying to separate 117 years worth of resentment pulsating through the veins of the Buckeyes, a team that was trying to wrap around the unthinkable:

It was going to lose to Michigan.

It wasn’t something Ohio State was used to, like the pressure the Buckeyes saw from the Michigan defensive line Saturday afternoon, like the lack of pressure generated by the Ohio State defensive line allowing Michigan to do what it wanted in the run game, like the 111,156 in the stands above them, helping the Michigan defense generate five false-start penalties to keep an offense that’s been on schedule for the past few weeks behind.

In a game where Ohio State needed to look like the No. 2 team in the country, it didn’t, falling to Michigan, 42-27, for its first loss to the Wolverines since 2011.

It was a game that felt even more lopsided when it was because of Michigan’s consistency, using two scores by freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson — breaking Maurice Clarett’s 19-year-old record for most touchdowns by an Ohio State freshman — to bring it within a score.

But it was a game where the defense could not stop Michigan from taking advantage of its shortcomings, leading to a capacity crowd rushing the field, securing the unthinkable, changing the perception of the rivalry for at least another year.

Now Michigan can beat Ohio State.

The streak is over.

Read the rest of the takeaways here.