In a high-stakes college football showdown that lived up to its billing, the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Michigan Wolverines 27-9 in a game that will be remembered for a single, controversial play. The rivalry clash, a pivotal late-season matchup, saw Michigan start strong, building an early 6-3 lead behind a grinding ground game and reliable kicking from Dominic Zvada. However, the momentum shifted dramatically on a pivotal fourth-down play in the second quarter. Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin connected with star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on a 35-yard pass. Smith, who had missed the previous game against Rutgers due to injury, caught the ball in bounds and stumbled toward the end zone, where he was hit by Michigan safety Brandyn Hillman. The hit caused Smith to bobble the football as he crossed the goal line and stepped out of bounds, sparking immediate debate over whether the play should have been ruled a touchdown or a fumble.
The critical question for officials was whether Smith had lost possession before crossing the plane. By rule, a fumble that goes out of the end zone results in a touchback, awarding the ball to the defending team. Replays appeared to show Smith juggling the ball, with FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira stating on the broadcast that it ‘looks like to us it would be a touchback.’ Despite the visual evidence, the ruling on the field of a touchdown stood after review. Big Ten official Kole Knueppel explained to a pool reporter after the game that the call was upheld due to a lack of a definitive camera angle to confirm the ball was loose before it crossed the goal line. ‘So 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. The decision gave Ohio State a 10-6 lead, a margin they would not relinquish.
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore expressed his disagreement with the officials’ assessment that the replay was inconclusive. ‘At the end of the day, it’s not my decision on what the official says,’ Moore conceded, but he acknowledged the play’s significant impact on the game’s flow. ‘A good bit, right? A big piece,’ Moore said when asked about its importance. ‘We start out the game with a pick throwing at Jeremiah Smith… and if that’s a touchback, that gives us a little momentum, you know?’ The call immediately ignited a firestorm on social media, with fans arguing the sequence was a clear example of a fumble that should have resulted in a Michigan touchback. One fan wrote on X, ‘That is a terrible call in the Michigan game. Jeremiah Smith very clearly fumbled that and it should be Michigan ball and a touchback.’
The controversy overshadowed the return of key Ohio State players. Both Smith and fellow receiver Carnell Tate, who were listed as ‘day-to-day’ by head coach Ryan Day after missing the Rutgers game, took the field against Michigan. Their presence bolstered an offense led by the remarkably efficient Julian Sayin. The redshirt freshman quarterback, recently named a Heisman Trophy finalist, completed 78.4 percent of his passes during the regular season, an NCAA record pace. Against Michigan, he threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns, steering the Buckeyes to an undefeated 12-0 regular season and the No. 1 ranking. Following the disputed touchdown, Michigan answered with a field goal to pull within 10-9 before halftime, but Ohio State dominated the second half, out-gaining the Wolverines 198-39 to seal the victory.
While the final score showed a decisive Ohio State win, the debate over the touchback call will linger. In football, a touchback is a fundamental ruling that can completely flip field position and momentum, and this instance proved to be a critical juncture in one of the sport’s greatest rivalries. The Buckeyes, despite a subsequent loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game, are headed to the College Football Playoff seeking a repeat national championship. For Michigan, the loss in a hard-fought game was compounded by a controversial moment that left players, coaches, and fans questioning what might have been had a different call been made on that pivotal fourth-down play.