Eric Boggs
Ohio State closed its home schedule in emphatic fashion, dispatching Rutgers 42-9 to finish the regular season at 11-0 and lock up a College Football Playoff berth. It was a performance that checked every box the Buckeyes needed before turning attention to the game that has defined generations: next week’s trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan.
On a Senior Day filled with emotion and ceremony, the Buckeyes wasted no time asserting control. Bo Jackson delivered the best performance of his young career, rushing 19 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and bouncing back immediately after a fumble on the opening drive. With key receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate unavailable, Max Klare stepped up as Julian Sayin’s top target, catching seven passes for 105 yards and his first 100-yard game as a Buckeye.
Defensively, Caden Curry stole the spotlight. He finished with six tackles, two sacks, and a strip-sack that he recovered at the Rutgers 1-yard line, nearly scoring himself. His play ignited the defense and helped turn routine stops into momentum-shifting moments. From stuffing Rutgers on 4th-and-1 deep in their own territory to smothering the Scarlet Knights’ passing game, Ohio State’s defense looked postseason-ready.
The game was filled with defining sequences: Jackson’s powerful 15-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Sayin’s precise back-corner strike to Brandon Inniss to cap a 98-yard drive, and the tough goal-line touchdown to Klare after an untimely holding call threatened to stall the possession. James Peoples added the exclamation point late with a 49-yard burst down the sideline to seal the 42-9 victory.
The Buckeyes also celebrated 16 seniors before kickoff, with Jim Tressel ringing the Victory Bell and over 100,000 fans creating the kind of atmosphere that makes Senior Day at The Shoe one of college football’s most emotional traditions. Lorenzo Styles Jr. exited with a shoulder injury, while David Adolph and Bryson Rodgers earned their first career starts at wide receiver in a game where depth was tested — and responded.
But once the final seconds ticked away, all attention moved instantly to the one game that has hovered over the program for years. Welcome to Hate Week.
It has been 2,184 days since Ohio State last beat That Team Up North. Four straight losses — 42-27, 45-23, 30-24, and 13-10 — followed the canceled 2020 matchup. Yet even those results carry an asterisk for many Buckeye fans. The NCAA found “overwhelming evidence” that Michigan orchestrated an impermissible in-person scouting and sign-stealing scheme, resulting in more than $30 million in fines and multiple show-cause penalties for Connor Stalions, Sherrone Moore, Jim Harbaugh, and others.
Inconsistently — and many would say hypocritically — the NCAA declined to issue the same severity of penalties it has levied against other programs, including postseason bans or vacated wins. Michigan kept its victories, its banners, and its competitive standing. Ohio State fans have not forgotten.
Now, with Bryce Underwood leading a 9-2 Michigan team that has beaten only unranked opponents, the Wolverines prepare for their biggest test of the season. The 121st meeting of the rivalry once again becomes a season-defining, legacy-defining, and era-defining moment.
Ryan Day made it clear after the Rutgers game that the countdown began the second the clock hit zero. “We know this is the last game of the year and what it means to everybody here,” he said. “There was a good look in everybody’s eyes in the locker room. We’re excited about this one.”
Day added that Smith and Tate remain “day-to-day,” and emphasized that Ohio State will need its best football next Saturday — something he believes the team is ready to deliver. The Buckeyes have quietly built toward this moment all season, responding to adversity, developing depth, and leaning on their veterans in the biggest spots.
Now comes the final test before the postseason — the most important test of them all – Ohio State vs. Michigan.
