Ohio State football 56, Michigan 27: Eight plays that defined the game

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Ohio State football team improved to 12-0 and 9-0 in the Big Ten after its 56-27 win over Michigan on Saturday.

This marks the eighth straight win over the Wolverines and the first for rookie head coach Ryan Day. Here are the plays that defined the game.

• Michigan strikes first

For the first time this season, Ohio State allowed a team to score on its opening drive as it took Michigan seven plays to go 75 yards. The end result was a 22-yard touchdown run by Giles Jackson. The Wolverines did miss the extra point making it a 6-0 game when the Buckeyes’ offense took the field.

• The Buckeyes go through J.K. Dobbins

Ohio State responded with a touchdown of its own as Dobbins accounted for 79 yards — 51 rushing and 28 receiving — closing out the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Unlike the Wolverines, the Buckeyes converted on their extra point to take a 7-6 lead.

• Fields goes deep to find Chris Olave

Olave scored the first two touchdowns for Ohio State against Michigan last season. This year he got his third touchdown catch against Michigan on a 57-yard pass from Fields. Prior to that completion Field was just 3-of-9 for 43 yards, all of which were short-yardage passes.

• Michigan quickly responds

The Wolverines responded with the quickest touchdown drive of the day. It took them three plays and 1:08 to go 75 yards, resulting in a 25-yard pass from Shea Patterson to Donovan Peoples-Jones.

• Shea Patterson fumbles in the red zone

Michigan looked like it was ready to respond to another Ohio State touchdown with one of its own. The Wolverines had driven all the way down into the red zone, but then Patterson fumbled a snap. That fumble was recovered by the Buckeyes’ Robert Landers, giving them a chance to take a two-score lead in the second half.

• Ohio State capitalizes off Michigan’s turnover

The Buckeyes took advantage of the Wolverines’ misfortune by taking the ball 84 yards in nine plays to take a 28-13 lead. That was capped off by Dobbins’ third touchdown run of the half — tying his career-high — set up by a 47-yard pass from Fields to Garrett Wilson.

• Ohio State opens up the second half with a touchdown

Fields got his second touchdown of the game on a 6-yard pass to K.J. Hill to make it 35-16 in Ohio State’s opening drive of the third half. That gave Hill a catch in his 46th straight game, and he’s now four away from passing David Boston on the school career receptions list.

• Justin Fields comes back from injury and makes a play

Fields was forced to leave the game with a left knee injury in the third quarter and was replaced by Chris Chugunov for seven plays. When he returned, he had a brace on his knee, but it didn’t stop him from making plays. His first snap back on the field, he scrambled out wide and found Wilson for a 30-yard touchdown to give Ohio State 42-16 lead.

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