Michigan lost by a point in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon after being tied with Ohio State at the half.

Here how the Associated Press reports the dramatic finale in a dispatch posted by WWJ:

Tyvis Powell intercepted Devin Gardner’s pass as Michigan went for a go-ahead two-point conversion with 32 seconds left and No. 3 Ohio State held on for a 42-41 victory Saturday in one the most thrilling games in the history of the storied Big Ten rivalry.

Devin Gardner threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Devin Funchess to make it 42-41. But instead of kicking for the tie, Wolverines coach Brady Hoke went for the lead with his offense.

Gardner tried to zip a pass into traffic near the goal line, but Powell came up with it. Buckeyes cornerback Roby Bradley recovered the onside kick to seal Ohio State’s 24th consecutive victory and keep its national championship hopes alive.

Michigan finishes the season 7-5. The Buckeyes play MSU next Saturday in the third annual Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Detroit News sportswriter Angelique Chengelis tweeted this from the locker room:

Saturday morning article:

The Wolverines are on "unfamiliar terrain" today, as columnist Drew Sharp puts it in the Free Press. "They must now adapt to the reality that Ohio State is currently more fearful of Michigan State than U-M."

He writes ominously -- and realistically -- about the annual meeting of rivals at Michigan Stadium:

The Wolverines are nervous about what might happen this afternoon..

Does Urban Meyer not only win his 24th straight game at Ohio State, but does he deliberately run up the score in a desperate attempt at impressing BCS voters?

Will there be far more than a tolerable number of scarlet-clad Buckeye fans in attendance at Michigan Stadium, those who scooped up the returned tickets of U-M fans who simply aren’t interested any longer in a season that ranks as one of the great disappointments in this storied program’s recent memory?

Then the home state sportswriter adds another kick for the team that's already down:

Considering how badly and regularly they have been out-coached this season, it’s a wonder that the Wolverines won seven games.

Ouch.

Wednesday article:

MoveOn and the Tea Party seem like drinking buddies in comparison to UM and Ohio State fans jousting about Saturday's game in Ann Arbor.

Consider this tweet to 9,700 followers from an OSU player who's a senior from Cleveland:

There's also a crack by Buckeyes linebacker Ryan Shazierone, who told a Columbus sports site that UM has "probably given up a thousand tackles for [a] loss this season."

Actually, according to a site called College Football Statistics, the Wolverines have been tackled for a loss 102 times this season, second-worst nationally in that category -- one reason why Ann Arbor partisans can't push back forcefully against their arch-rivals.

"Michigan's offense has no defense," posts Bleacher Report columnist Brian Leigh, 22. One reader, OSU fan Norman Robles, offers a score prediction in a comment: "OSU-100, Mich.-0."

At the Detroit Free Press, columnist Jeff Seidel is equally blunt. "It would take a miracle for U-M to win this game," he writes.

The comments reflect Ohio's 23-game winning streak since 2012, a school record.  

UM enters Saturday's noon home game as a two-touchdown underdog with a 2013 record of 7-4 (3-4 in Big Ten), compared to 11-0 for the Buckeyes (7-0). Ohio, ranked third nationally, clinched the Big Ten Leaders Division title against Indiana last Saturday to earn a spot in the Dec. 7 championship game against Michigan State. 

That explains this opening sentence in a gloomy game preview from sports editor Liz Vukelich of The Michigan Daily: "Sure, the Michigan football team has squandered its Big Ten title hopes."


UM won the 1938 game in Columbus by 18-0.

The student journalist continues:

In a season in which very little has gone according to plan, pride is the only thing the Wolverines have left to play for. . . .

It’s no secret that the Wolverines have had difficulty putting points on the board through the month of November. And with Ohio State averaging 49 points a game, it’s questionable if Michigan will have the offensive production necessary to even keep the game remotely close. .

In his Freep column, Seidel puts it this way:

The Wolverines are an average Big Ten team. Which is to say, they don’t have a very good team. This once-great program is no more.

Which brings us to the big game Saturday. There was a time when the Michigan-Ohio State game meant something. But now? Ohio State is elite; Michigan isn’t even close. The Wolverines are 14-point underdogs, and some are worried that the Big House will be overtaken by Ohio State fans Saturday.

UM students aren't the only ones less interested in The Game than in most years. Coach Brady Hoke's latest weekly media briefing wasn't a typically popular draw, writes Art Regner of Fox Sports Detroit:

The press conference before the Ohio State game usually is overflowing with reporters. . .

There were many empty seats, the tone was somber, and the only small talk was the gallows humor surrounding the anemic Wolverines offense.  

Even Ohio Gov. John Kasich joins the pile-on, saying: “When we beat you like a drum every single year, you better start looking for a new rival.”

Read more: WWJ