How Michigan beat Ohio State, landed a top recruit and totally changed its vibes

As fireworks cracked above Memorial Stadium and towel-waving fans celebrated Indiana’s first 10-0 start, Michigan players and coaches quietly funneled into their tunnel below.

Despite superb defense in the second half, Michigan fell 20-15 to the Hoosiers on Nov. 9. The only surprise was that the winningest program in FBS history — and defending national champion — had not lost to the losingest program by more, since Indiana entered as a two-touchdown favorite. After Michigan’s fifth defeat, more than its three previous seasons combined, the team entered its second open week with questions swirling — about its quarterback situation, about coach Sherrone Moore’s game management and overall readiness for the job, about the team’s 2025 roster and about the program’s overall outlook, just 10 months after it reached the peak of the sport.

When the team buses left Bloomington that night, few could have envisioned the mood swing for Michigan by the end of the month. The two factors that typically shape sentiment around college football programs, on-field performance and recruiting, both saw significant spikes during a late fall stretch that won’t soon be forgotten in Ann Arbor.

After Michigan recorded its first 50-point game of the season against Northwestern, the team followed with one of its most stunning and heartening wins against Ohio State, in a game in which the Wolverines came in as three-touchdown underdogs. The victory marked Michigan’s fourth straight against the Buckeyes, continuing a stretch that began under Jim Harbaugh and has continued under Moore, the team’s 38-year-old, first-time head coach.