COLUMBUS — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was not feeling fine after Ohio State beat his team 30-27 in double overtime on Saturday, but he may be paying a fine to the Big Ten soon.
Harbaugh spent his postgame press conference criticizing the officiating in the game. Sometime this week, he probably will be spending some money for that.
He was angriest over the call on the field, which was confirmed by the replay officiating crew, when J.T. Barrett barely made a first down on a fourth-and-one situation in the second overtime.
If the call had gone Michigan’s way, Ohio State would have lost the game.
Harbaugh said, “That was not a first down. I’m bitterly disappointed with the officiating today.”
If history is any indicator, Harbaugh could be hit with a fine of $10,000 or more. Former Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was fined $10,000 by the Big Ten when he criticized the officiating in one of the Cornhuskers’ games in 2013.
Harbaugh also was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third quarter when he hurled some papers onto the field and argued vigorously with the officials over an off-sides call against the Wolverines.
His penalty moved Ohio State to Michigan’s 4-yard line. Two plays later, it scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Mike Weber to cut Michigan’s lead to 17-14.
Looking into the future: The replay that showed Barrett did make the first down in overtime wasn’t the only one on defensive end Jalyn Holmes’ mind after the game.
He was thinking about watching Saturday’s game at some time in the future and re-living the experience.
“I can’t wait to see it when I’m 35, to look back and tell my kids I played in that game. It brought the rivalry back to where it should be,” Holmes said.
He likes close games: OSU linebacker Chris Worley said he prefers playing close games against Michigan, that it heightens the excitement in the rivalry.
“You don’t want it any other way. You don’t want to beat them by 40, you want it to be a dog fight,” Worley said.
History lesson: Defensive end Sam Hubbard said hearing so much about the 2006 No. 1 Ohio State against No. 2 Michigan game motivated this year’s Buckeyes.
“I think it really put it into perspective talking about the 2006 game so much and former players saying this would be your legacy game. And the fact that what we were going to do was going to be written in the history books was a big part of this game,” Hubbard said.
Lots of numbers: Urban Meyer’s teams are 8-0 in overtime. Malik Hooker’s interception for a touchdown was OSU’s seventh TD on interceptions this season. Jerome Baker had a career-high 15 tackles and Worley’s 11 tackles also were a career best. Raekwon McMillan tied his career high with 16 tackles. Saturday’s game was the first overtime Ohio State and Michigan have played against each other.
