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Ohio State still haunted by ‘sickening, bad’ Michigan loss

Ethan Stone

By Ethan Stone

Published:

Ohio State fans know it all too well. The Buckeyes were riding an 8-game winning streak against Michigan heading into the final week of the 2021 season.

The Buckeyes sat at No. 2 in the country and were well on their way to another College Football Playoff berth with a win. Instead, the Wolverines snapped the streak with a commanding 42-27 win at the Big House.

“It didn’t feel real,” receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said at B1G media days, via Mlive. “We always thought we were just going to go to the playoffs. We were just so sure of it.”

Smith-Njigba had a solid game against the Wolverine, too. He caught 11 passes in total for 127 yards, most of either team by a considerable margin. He described the loss as “Sickening, bad.”

Ohio State went on to defeat Utah in the Rose Bowl, finishing 11-2. Is it weird to call that bittersweet?

“Maybe at some places 11-2 with a Rose Bowl victory is a good year,” head coach Ryan Day said. “It isn’t at Ohio State.”

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.