Star WRs Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith come through with big plays for No. 1 Ohio State

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — No. 1 Ohio State got Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate back on Saturday. And the star receivers delivered.

Playing at less than 100 percent, Smith and Tate helped the Buckeyes to a 27-9 victory over No. 15 Michigan that stopped a four-game losing streak against their archrivals.

Smith’s 32-yard touchdown reception with 11:44 remaining in the second quarter gave Ohio State a 10-6 lead. Tate then put it out of reach with a 50-yard TD that made it 24-9 midway through the third quarter.

“If you really knew how much work they put in to get on the field and how gutsy they are, I’m sure the fans and everybody would just appreciate what they did going out there and putting it on the line,” coach Ryan Day said.

Tate, who missed three games after getting injured in pregame warmups against Purdue on Nov. 8, had five receptions for 82 yards. Smith, who did not play during the second half against UCLA on Nov. 15 and last week’s game against Rutgers, had three catches for 40 yards.

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin tried to get Tate and Smith involved on the team’s first two offensive plays. Michigan defensive back Zeke Berry broke up a 42-yard pass up the right sideline intended for Tate on the first play. On the next one, Jyaire Hill jumped the route on a ball intended for Smith and picked it off at the Ohio State 39.

Even with the early pick, Sayin wasn’t bothered.

“Our whole mindset was going to be even keeled and keep swinging. We knew there was going to be adversity and we weren’t going to let it faze us,” said Sayin, who was 19-of-26 passing for 233 yards and three touchdowns.

Smith broke through in the second quarter. On fourth-and-5 at the Michigan 35, the sophomore made a double move on Berry, hauled it in at the 8 and then avoided a tackle by Brandyn Hillman before scoring his 11th touchdown of the season.

Smith appeared to bobble the ball going into the end zone, which would have been an Ohio State turnover and handed Michigan the ball on its 20. However, the touchdown was upheld after a replay review.

Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira thought it should have been a turnover, but referee Kole Knueppel said in a pool report they did not have a camera angle to determine when the ball was loose.

“By rule, if we don’t have an angle to confirm by obvious video evidence that the ball was loose before he crossed the goal line, then the play is going to be upheld,” Knueppel said.

Michigan also caught an officiating break in the first quarter when edge rusher Jaishawn Barham wasn’t ejected after he appeared to make contact with an official and nearly head-butted him.

Knueppel said “by the judgment of the official it wasn’t forcible enough for ejection, but it was an unsportsmanlike.”

Tate’s touchdown, his eighth of the season, was a familiar outcome for Ohio State — deep and down the middle of the field.

On second-and-3 at the 50, Michigan’s Brandyn Hillman was caught flat-footed playing deep safety and Tate beat Jaden Mangham before catching it at the 8 and scoring.

It was Tate’s seventh reception and fifth TD on a deep route between the numbers this season. It also was the Buckeyes’ longest scoring play since Chris Olave’s 57-yarder in 2019.

“Carnell ran a great route. The whole sideline was waiting on it. It was hanging up there a little bit but he made a great catch,” Sayin said.

Ohio State had 419 yards on offense, but was fairly balanced. The running game, which has started to hit its stride the past four games, had 186 yards.

The balance on offense should benefit the Buckeyes as the stakes get higher. Ohio State returns to the Big Ten championship game for the first time since 2019, taking on second-ranked Indiana in a matchup of 12-0 teams.

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