T e Michigan Daily f michigandaily.com November26,2012 .T H' : , PIASS. Michigan offense a slate-colored sky, an appropri- ate backdrop for the renewal of hits a wall, collapses the timeless Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. late vs. Buckeyes But after a second half spent looking for answers that ulti- n Columbus mately eluded them, the Wol- verines could only trudge away By BEN ESTES solemnly, their mood mirrored Daily Sports Editor by the still-gray heavens above them. Hundreds of Ohio State COLUMBUS - For most of the students and fans rushed past morning and afternoon here on themronto the field once the clock Saturday, a faint snow fell from read zeroes, fueled by the kind of euphoria that can only result from a win in this game. The Buckeyes pulled ahead in the third quarter and stayed ahead, kneeling away a hard- fought, 26-21 victory, with Michi- gan (6-2 Big Ten, 8-4 overall) powerless to do anything about it. "It hurt," said fifth-year senior wide receiver Roy Roundtree. "We have to look at film and look at the mistakes that we made." The early action on Saturday seemed to promisea high-scoring affair, which has been something of an aberration over the history of this rivalry. Ohio State (8-0, 12-0) needed just six plays to score the game's first touchdown, a four-yard run by bruising running back Carlos Hyde after a rapid drive down the field. But the Wolverines answered on their second pos- session when junior quarterback Devin Gardner found Roundtree for a 75-yard= catch-and-run and the tyingscore. It was the type oftdynamic play that characterized the Michi- gan attack before halftime. Like last week against Iowa, the team utilized both of its main quarter- backs - Gardner was the tradi- tional passer, and senior Denard Robinson was a running quar- terback. The combination was in sync throughout the first half and a spectacular, 67-yard run by Robinson helped the Wolverines seize a 21-20 lead athalftime. Michigan wouldn't score NE RIN K rVI Daile again. The team gained just 60 yardsin the second half-the two- quarterback system, run with such efficiency for the previous six quarters, ceased to function. "Too many turnovers," Robin- son said of the second-half woes. "We had three turnovers in the second half. In order for you to win this game, you gotta control the ball, hold on to the ball." Robinson and Gardner both lost fumbles, in the third quarter See BUCKEYES, Page 3B ICE HOCKEY Michigan chokes in Big Apple, loses to Cornell By MATT SLOVIN Daily Sports Editor NEW YORK - When Michi- gan and Cornell met in the first round of last year's NCAA Tour- nament, the Big Red fell behind early, giv- ing the MICHIGAN 1 Wolver- CORNELL 5 ines hope of advancing before having the win snatched from their grasp via an overtime goal. In the first period of that con- test, the Wolverines controlled most of the opening period, scor- ing a goal in the game's first two minutes and having one waved off shortly after. Saturday night, however, a 5-1 Cornell victory in The Frozen Apple at Madison Square Gar- den, was a different story, but the same result. "It might be a better Cornell team (compared to the NCAA Tournament game)," said Michi- gan coach Red Berenson. "But it was a worse Michigan team." The Big Red came out of the gate buzzing, and Michigan took four first-period penalties, while Cornell was only penalized once. The Wolverines had finally garnered some momentum at the 13:09 mark when Cornell's Joakim Ryan was sent to the box, but 30 seconds into the Michigan power play, senior captain A.J. Treais was whistled See CORNELL, Page 3B ALDEN REISS/Daily The Michigan men's basketball team celebrates a 71-57 victory over Kansas State and a NIT Season Tip-Off championship. Wolverines capture Tip- Off title in NYC Failure to adjust burns "M' By COLLEEN THOMAS Daily Sports Editor NEW YORK - Minutes into the second half, junior guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. made an ankle- breaking crossover and pulled up for a jump shot. Seconds later, he got a hand on a Kansas KSTATt 57 ~ tt ht MICHIGAN 71 State shot and pulled down the rebound. Madison Square Garden was his stage to shine on. Hardaway paced the fourth- ranked Wolverines (5-0) on Fri- day when they opened the second half on a 14-5 run, pushing their lead to 14 points by the time Wildcats coach Bruce Weber called a timeout to stop the game from getting out of reach. Michi- gan led by five at halftime, but with the early push in the second half and Hardaway's 23 points and seven rebounds, the Wolver- ines sealed their first NIT Season Tip-Off championship, beating Kansas State (4-1), 71-57. "It was one of our first goals to win the NIT Champion- ship," said sophomore guard Trey Burke. "We did a great job of taking it one game at a time. The coaching staff did a good job of preparing us each and every game. We won a hard-fought See TIP-OFF, Page 3B By ZACH HELFAND Daily Sports Editor COLUMBUS - It took Ohio State coach Urban Meyer two quarters, but he had simplified Michigan's offense down to one key: stop Denard Robinson. Michigan's senior quarter- back has been nursing a right- elbow injury that limits his ability to throw. But against the Buckeyes on Saturday, Robin- son broke free several times on long runs in the first half. After the last one, a 67-yard scamper, Meyer sought out his defensive coaches. "My comment was, after Isaw Denard Robinson sneak outta Sophomore tailback Thomas Rawls wasn' the answer against Ohio State. there for a long run, stop the quarterback run," Meyer said. "That's the input I had. Prob- ably the same - I think 107,000 people said that as well." That simple key, and Ohio State's execution, shut out Mich- igan in the second half and gave the Buckeyes the win; 26-21. See FAILURE, Page 3B * WHAT'D YOU EXPECT? An 8-4 season is disappointing, but it was just about exactly what this Michigan team was billed to deliver. Page 2B RACINE BACK HOME Michigan and freshman goalie Steve Racine had a nightmare weekend match- up with Cornell. Page 3B i-