6 — Thursday, November 17, 2022 As former Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown once said: There are some football games, and then there are some football f***ing games. The 2016 Michigan-Ohio State game was cer- tainly the latter. “That was one of the coolest environments I ever played in, one of the best games I ever played in,” former Michigan defensive end Chris Worm- ley told The Daily. “... It just had all the makings of why you go to Michigan, why you go to Ohio State.” The Game in 2016 really did have everything. The Buckeyes were ranked second in the country, and the Wolverines were ranked one spot behind them. It was the first time The Game went to overtime, and — of course — it ended on a contro- versial call that’s still debated to this day. Whatever it is, you name it and the 2016 ren- dition of The Game probably had it. And beyond the physical game that was played on the field that late November afternoon, the result had long-last- ing effects on the rivalry that can be felt to this day. “You lose that game and it costs you a (College Football Playoff) appearance and that narrative about (Michigan coach) Jim Harbaugh spirals for years,” Max Bultman, who covered the 2016 game for The Daily, said. “They were good enough to get there, but they did not get there.” Ultimately for Michigan, simply being good enough on paper to get into the playoff in 2016 was not sufficient. After the dramatic loss, the Wol- verines’ season fell flat. A month later, they lost to Florida State in the Orange Bowl, and the sea- son that could’ve been Harbaugh’s breakthrough came to an unceremonious 10-3 end after a 9-0 beginning. “It killed us,” former Michigan offensive line- man Erik Magnuson told The Daily. “We went from potentially playing in the Playoffs, win- ning the Big Ten championship to playing in the Orange Bowl. … It just killed everything.” There is no telling how much from the last five years came as an aftershock from the 2016 game. Had Michigan not come up an inch short, Harbaugh could’ve gotten a win against Urban Meyer — something he never captured — and he wouldn’t have started 0-5 against the Buckeyes. The Wolverines’ 2016 loss in Columbus sent them down a path of mediocrity for five years, cast in Ohio State’s shadow. And that all came down to one controversial inch — former Ohio State quar- terback J.T. Barrett’s one-yard rush on 4th and 1 at the Michigan 16-yard line in double overtime. “Ultimately, the narrative around the program would’ve been so different if they get the benefit of the doubt on that call or they close it out sooner,” Bultman said. At this point, the spot has been harped on, ana- lyzed and dissected so many times it’s now more of rivalry lore than anything else. Six years later, the debate has never ceased about whether or not Barrett was short on that fabled play. Wormley had a view of the play that altered the course of Michigan’s program for years to come that was a bit better than most — he was right at the first down marker, making the tackle. “When we tackled (Barrett), we thought the game was over, we thought he was short,” Worm- ley said. “Everyone on the Michigan side thought he was short and everyone on the other side thought (Ohio State) got the first down. … There was just so much riding on that one play, and we came up short in the ref’s eyes.” SPENCER RAINES Daily Sports Editor The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Revisiting Revisiting the 2016 the 2016 Michigan Michigan - - Ohio State Ohio State game game READ MORE AT MICHIGANDAIL Y.COM FILE PHOTO/Daily