ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes, including a 35-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down in the second quarter, and No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 in a dominant performance on Saturday.
The defending national champion Buckeyes (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
They can keep their top seed with a win against No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in the conference championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Ryan Day should sleep well, a year after losing The Game when his team was favored by about three touchdowns. The upset extended his losing streak in the series to four games and sparked speculation he might also lose his job.
The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) started strong with two field goals and an interception on the first three possessions of the game, but couldn’t generate pressure when Ohio State wanted to pass.
After throwing an interception on his second snap, the redshirt freshman took advantage of the time and space he had to throw.
Sayin was 6 of 6 for 68 yards with two touchdowns on third and fourth down in the first half, including a 4-yard throw to Brandon Inniss with 16 seconds left that made it 17-9 at the break. He finished 19 of 26 for 233 yards and threw for at least three touchdowns for the sixth time this season.
He helped the Buckeyes pull away with a perfect pass to Carnell Tate for a 50-yard touchdown in the third quarter, lofting a ball over the receiver’s shoulder after he got past Michigan’s secondary.
That put the game out of reach for the Wolverines, who couldn’t catch up after being relegated to kicking three field goals in the first half and failing to get their defense off the field in the second half.
The Buckeyes removed all doubt with a field goal midway through the fourth quarter, capping a 20-play, 81-yard drive that took nearly 12 minutes off the clock.
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, the nation’s No. 1 recruit a year ago, was 8 of 13 for a season-low 63 yards with an interception late in the game.
The Wolverines ran for just 100 yards on 24 carries against the nation’s top-ranked defense.
