Ohio State Runs It Up; All Big Ten Eyes Turn to Happy Valley

Alternate title to this post: Is Nick Sheridan the worst quarterback in Michigan history? More on that in a minute.

That 14-7 Ohio State halftime lead did not hold for very long. Michigan actually took the opening possession of the second half and marched -- on the ground -- into Ohio State territory, stalling out just inside the 40. The Wolverines punted and pinned OSU at the nine-yard line. Not a problem for the Bucks, who then marched 91 yards on two running plays for a 21-7 lead.

A few minutes later, a long Ray Small punt return set up another touchdown to make it 28-7, and then Ohio State refused to take its foot of the gas. Terrelle Pryor threw his second touchdown pass of the game, making it 35-7, and then Todd Boeckman came off the bench and tossed a touchdown pass of his own, just for good measure.

As a result, everything in the Big Ten race now relies on the Michigan State-Penn State game. If Penn State wins, Penn State goes to the Rose Bowl; if Michigan State wins, Ohio State heads to Pasadena.

Despite Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio saying he was rooting for Michigan to lose earlier this week, Michigan's loss actually ends any Spartans hope of a Rose Bowl. MSU has not headed out there since 1988. Penn State, meanwhile, has not made a Rose Bowl trip since 1995, so even with the Nittany Lions' national title hopes out the window, that would be a nice consolation prize.

Back to the action in Columbus ... Ohio State simply blew Michigan out of the water in the second half. It was almost exactly what happened when the Wolverines headed into Penn State earlier this year -- they hung around for a half, and then just imploded.

All the Pryor struggles in the first half disappeared after the break. The freshman quarterback did not look great today, throwing a lot of wobbly passes and not having any success running. But he got the job done, hitting on a couple of touchdowns and improvising some impressive plays. All indications are that he is headed for an impressive career -- though there is clearly still room for improvement for him.

As for Michigan's quarterback situation: Wow. Yeah, Ohio State's defense is good, Michigan's offensive line is not spectacular, and the running game was banged up. Nick Sheridan, though, probably -- and for Michigan fans, hopefully -- took his last snap as a starter today. Sheridan finished 8-for-24 for 87 yards, with a couple of medium-range passes accounting for much of that yardage.

Unfortunately for Michigan and Sheridan, the passing game just became nonexistent with Steven Threet hurt. Even in today's game, Michigan trailed 21-7 and receiver Greg Mathews burned his man down the left sideline, but Sheridan badly underthrew the pass for an incompletion -- that was basically Michigan's last shot.

So Michigan finishes its worst season ever with a 3-9 record. Ohio State improves to 10-2, and arguably more important to Buckeye fans is that makes five straight victories over the Wolverines. The Buckeyes could still bump up into a BCS at-large bid as well, should Penn State go to Pasadena.