ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State coach Urban Meyer took his turn with an impassioned, angry, unforgettable speech after The Game on Saturday.
That might seem out of whack considering all of the following statements are true:
No. 9 Ohio State defeated Michigan 31-20 at Michigan Stadium. Meyer improved to 6-0 against the Wolverines and 3-0 against Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. The Buckeyes kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive with the help of backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who led the Buckeyes to 17 unanswered points in the second half.
MORE: Three takeaways from Ohio State's win over Michigan
Why would Meyer be that angry? This twisted tale started in warm-ups minutes before game time, when starting quarterback J.T. Barrett said a camera man bumped into his knee. Meyer teed off on the incident, looking for a "man in gray." It was reminiscent of Harbaugh's postgame rant about the officiating after a 30-27 double-overtime loss to Ohio State in 2016.
"It was a non-football injury," Meyer said. "Too many damn people on the sideline, and a guy with a camera hit him. We're going to find out who. Think about that. I'm so angry right now. I have to move on."
Have fun with that, Twitter.
No matter what that turns up, Ohio State (10-2, 8-1) proved that depth at quarterback is the difference in this rivalry one more time. Barrett played through the injury before that knee locked up on a keeper with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter. That's when Haskins delivered a performance reminiscent of 2014, when former Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones, who happened to be sporting a Barrett jersey on the sideline Saturday, pinch-hit for Barrett against the Wolverines in a victory that sparked a national championship run.
That's the best news for Ohio State, whose quarterbacks found a way while Michigan (8-4, 5-4) floundered around second-stringer John O'Korn (17 of 32, 195 yards, TD, INT).
Meyer wasn't finished. He reeled off a list of quotables when asked about the incident in question.
"Someone on your freaking sideline hit the QB. I'll find out who that was."
"Pregame. Major college football. Major college football."
"Full-on investigation."
MORE: Five things to know about Dwayne Haskins
Meyer didn't provide an update on Barrett's status, but the fifth-year senior quarterback said he intends to play in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin on Dec. 2. Barrett even demonstrated for reporters what happened afterward, which only adds to the strange narrative that unfurled in the Michigan Stadium tunnel afterward.
J.T. Barrett demonstrates what happened with camera man pic.twitter.com/9YPxy2kIB1
— Bill Bender (@BillBender92) November 25, 2017
"I'm throwing, warming up and I went to go throw and somebody tried to squeeze through and get close to our bench," Barrett said. "I don’t really care. I’m minding my own business. He hit me, and my knee kind of shifted in, and just kind of twisted on me."
Does that explain the slow start? Ohio State had -6 yards in the first quarter, but Barrett still led back-to-back touchdown drives in the second quarter to tie the score at halftime. Barrett dashed for a 21-yard touchdown run and hit tight end Marcus Baugh with a 25-yard touchdown pass while playing through an injury not everybody knew about. Senior center Billy Price said there were "murmurs on the sideline."
Barrett, however, left after a quarterback keeper in the third quarter and did not return. Haskins stepped in facing a third-and-1. He handed off to J.K. Dobbins, who hammered in for the first down.
"After that first down, I was able to say, 'All right, we can get this rolling and start the drive,'" Haskins said. "After that play, it was, 'Let's keep this moving, let's go score the ball and it piled on. It was crazy.'"
Crazy. That's the same word Barrett used to describe Michigan’s last victory in Ann Arbor, one where the Buckeyes made countless big plays in a 42-13 victory. Those plays returned when Haskins settled in — none bigger than a third-and-13 conversion to Austin Mack. The Buckeyes had just committed two false starts in front of a starved Michigan fan base looking for the breaks to finally go in their favor.
Haskins delivered a strike to Mack for a 27-yard gain down the sideline then bolted 22 yards two plays later to set up Dobbins’ go-ahead touchdown. The Buckeyes had six plays of 20 yards or more with Haskins in. A little later, Price ducked in on Haskins' news conference, sat down and smirked.
"Introduction to the rivalry, huh," Price said with a laugh.
More like difference in the rivalry once again. Haskins finished 6 of 7 passing for 94 passing yards behind Barrett, and O’Korn committed the first turnover with a woeful interception to Jordan Fuller on the Wolverines' last-gasp drive with 2:47 remaining.
Only Meyer still wasn't laughing. He said quarterbacks coach Ryan Day prepared the quarterbacks well this week, and Haskins did an excellent job with quick throws, but the focus continued to spin toward Barrett.
MORE: Difference between Ohio State, Michigan is QB
"Dwayne, wow," Meyer said before shifting his thoughts. "J.T. played. Somebody told me right before the opening kickoff on the sideline he was down, and I'm like, 'What happened?'"
Barrett suffered a fractured ankle in that well-documented 2014 victory against Michigan, and Jones took it the rest of the way. It appears Barrett will be fine — at least he thinks so — and that's the good news heading into Indianapolis.
That will be the viral focus, but we're not sure how long. Will there be a full-on investigation? Where's the video? What will that turn up? Or is this simply another strange-and-unusual episode that takes away from the real story that unfolded.
Ohio State still has the advantage at quarterback at starter. At backup, too.
Until that changes, Meyer won't have a reason to stay angry after The Game for long anytime soon.
After all, he still hasn't lost as head coach.
