Ohio State's only blemish was a close loss to Oklahoma, and they went into Ann Arbor ranked 4th. A fired-up OSU squad tried once again to rip down the M Club banner in front of a record crowd of 106,024, leading to a short shoving match between the Buckeyes and the Michigan students. Once the game started, Ohio State went right to work, driving the ball into the Wolverine red zone only to have the drive stop at the 11-yard line. A 29-yard field goal from Vlade Janakievski put the Buckeyes on the board first 3–0. Ohio State drove the ball again into Michigan territory, but a botched option play held the Buckeyes in check, and a Janakievski field goal try failed. Michigan would finally get yardage of its own in the second quarter, only to miss a field-goal try. Both teams traded possessions for much of the quarter, until Michigan finally had a drive that ended in the end zone, as Roosevelt Smith pounded the ball in for a 7–3 Wolverine lead. The Buckeyes went into field-goal territory again only to have a 49-yard attempt by Janakievski fall short with 10 seconds left in the half. Michigan went three-and-out to start the second half, but got the ball right back when Ron Simpkins picked up an Ohio State fumble at the Buckeye 20. Blessed with excellent field position, the Wolverines marched off four plays and Rick Leach would score on a 1-yard quarterback keeper, prompting a toilet-paper shower onto the Michigan Stadium field and extending the Wolverine lead to 14–3. Ohio State's dangerous option offense got into Michigan territory again, but the scarlet-and-gray would be held to a field goal by Janakievski, who connected from 44 yards out to cut Michigan's lead to 14–6. Ohio State would then get a golden opportunity of its own, recovering a Roosevelt Smith fumble to get the ball back at the Wolverine 31, but the Buckeyes would lose yardage and miss another field-goal try. Michigan's next two possessions resulted in no additional points, and each time after that, Ohio State would get the ball inside Michigan's 10-yard-line, only to turn it over. The second time hurt more, as Gerald lost control of a pass and fumbled it away, recovered by Derek Howard. Hayes was then seen on camera throwing his phone on the ground, then taking a swing at the ABC-TV cameraman who recorded it, Mike Freeman.