ANN ARBOR — Ohio State was eager to prove itself against mighty Michigan.

The Buckeyes, ranked No. 1 in the country, hadn’t played a ranked team since a 34-16 win over then-No. 17 Illinois on Oct. 11 and hadn’t faced a team in playoff contention since opening the season vs. then-No. 1 Texas. Their last five games came against teams that did and still do have losing records.

No. 15 Michigan was not only still in the hunt for a playoff bid and Big Ten title entering Saturday but had defeated the Buckeyes four straight times.

Ohio State aced Saturday’s test with a 27-9 victory at Michigan Stadium.

“They came out here, at least for (our) defensive side of the ball, and tried to out-physical us,” Ohio State senior linebacker Sonny Styles said. “And we ‘out-physicaled’ them. So it feels good

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