Ohio State’s Malik Hooker grabs interception for TD vs Michigan

The Ohio State Buckeyes were able to take their first lead of the game on Saturday against Michigan thanks to a pick six from Malik Hooker.

Despite plenty of rivalry games on Friday and Saturday, there wasn’t a more highly anticipated matchup than Saturday’s matchup between the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes in “The Game”.

Saturday’s contest lived up to the hype early on with a very hard fought defensive battle between the Buckeyes and Wolverines. In fact, the first touchdown of the game wasn’t scored until late in the second quarter, and of course it came on a defensive play.

The Buckeyes were able to pin Michigan deep in their own territory with a nice punt. Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to be aggressive on the drive and opened it up with a play action fake to try and make a big play.

Instead, Wolverines quarterback Wilton Speight had pressure in his face and he threw a pass right to Ohio State safety Malik Hooker. Hooker took the interception all the way into the end zone for a touchdown and a 7-3 Buckeyes lead. You can watch the play below.

This was a huge play for the Buckeyes, because their offense had struggled mightily early on. However, even if the Buckeyes are able to win this game, they’re going to need the Penn State Nittany Lions to lose against Michigan State in order to play Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship.

The Buckeyes College Football Playoff hopes are still alive, but they’re going to need to get lucky even with a win over Michigan.