COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer draped his arm around his son on the field of Ohio Stadium and wouldn't let go, reveling in one of the more incredible rivalry games you'll ever see in college football.
Meyer couldn't move beyond the human mosh pit of Buckeyes fans, who chanted his name. Fans raised cell phones in the air, hoping for a selfie with the coach who kept Michigan at arm's length for at least another year.
Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline played over the stadium as Meyer and his son watched highlights on the scoreboard of Curtis Samuel's mesmerizing third-and-9 run and winning touchdown. Meyer mouthed some of the song's words. The smile never left his face.
If Meyer remembers nothing else from the aftermath of No. 2 Ohio State's 30-27 double-overtime victory against No. 3 Michigan, "I remember that Neil Diamond song," he said. "That was great. Weird life, man."
Across the stadium in a cramped room, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh spoke about being "bitterly disappointed" with the officiating. The spot on J.T. Barrett's crucial overtime run on fourth down, the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Harbaugh, the penalties called on Michigan, the penalties not called on Ohio State -- everything was fair game for the losing coach.
"I can remember a few other times [leaving games upset at the officiating], but not to this level," Harbaugh said. "I thought there were some outrageous calls, including the one that would have ended the game."
How do you unpack what transpired in a flawed, but classic Ohio State-Michigan matchup that essentially was a play-in game to the College Football Playoff? How do you know for sure if Barrett got the right spot or not on his first-down conversion in the second overtime? How do you comprehend Samuel's ridiculous run reversing field several times to even give Barrett a chance for that run?
Weird life, man. Embrace the weirdness, assuming you survive it.
This is a sport where Penn State -- not Ohio State or Michigan -- is going to the Big Ten Championship Game next week, and frankly, the Buckeyes are probably just fine with staying home. Why risk losing to Wisconsin or getting players hurt for the playoff?
No matter how much screaming there is -- and don't worry, the screaming is coming -- Ohio State is a lock for the playoff. It doesn't matter if Penn State wins the Big Ten. It doesn't matter that Penn State beat Ohio State. Book it. The committee has made it clear how much it likes the Buckeyes, and that will only get enhanced by a victory against Michigan.
Ohio State's resume: Three top-10 wins (Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan; two of them on the road); another top-25 win (Nebraska), and its only loss coming by three points on a blocked field goal on the road to a top-10 team. Penn State's resume if it beats Wisconsin: Two top-10 wins (Ohio State, Wisconsin), one 39-point loss (Michigan), one three-point loss (unranked Pittsburgh).
That doesn't mean this Big Ten season will end neat and tidy. The Big Ten is staring at the strong likelihood its champion won't make the playoff, including a possible champ that beat the team that does go. But since when is college football neat and tidy?
The Big Ten commissioner, who once complained about Alabama playing for the mythical national title despite not winning its division, now has a non-champion positioned to go. Ohio State, which benefited in 2014 by TCU and Baylor not having a "13th data point" from a conference championship game, is now going to be in the playoff without winning its division.
"That's going to be a committee judgment," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said. "I'm not going to superimpose what I think now or later. That's why we've got the committee we've got -- 12 very good people from various parts of the community. Their reputation and competency are pretty high. We'll see what happens. I don't want to be on the committee. I never will be on the committee. That's their role."
Before we all start screaming about Ohio State-Penn State, let's not lose sight of what just happened at Ohio State-Michigan. Let's not lose sight that the rivalry is back.
"I can't wait until I'm like 35," Ohio State defensive end Jalyn Holmes said. "I can't wait to look back and tell my kids one day, 'I played in that game, man.' It was a special game for both sides. That made the rivalry back to what it used to be and I'm glad to be a part of it."
So much was at stake beyond the playoff. Harbaugh badly wanted to wrest control of the rivalry back to Michigan, which has lost 12 of the past 13 in the series. Meyer badly clung to control of the rivalry with every ounce of his stressed-out body, collapsing on the ground when Samuel scored the winning touchdown.
For a while, it felt like the first team not to totally implode would win. Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight committed three costly turnovers, including a pick-six for a score and a fumble at the Ohio State 1-yard line. Meyer lost his mind by going for a fake punt inside the Ohio State 20-yard line. Normally reliable Buckeyes kicker Tyler Durbin missed two short field goals. Barrett (15 of 32, 124 yards, eight sacks by Michigan) kept missing receivers with inaccurate throws.
Harbaugh personally imploded and got called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing his headset and papers to the ground. The penalty, which occurred with Michigan ahead 17-7, moved Ohio State closer to an eventual touchdown.
"They could have been watching the game rather than being concerned about throwing a hat," Harbaugh said. "Can you throw a hat? Can you throw a script toward your sideline? That's a penalty? I asked [the official] that and he said, 'It is in basketball.' I said, 'This isn't basketball.' He told me that he officiates basketball. I don't know the relevance. He told me it would have been a technical in basketball."
By the end of November, you would think Harbaugh would know college football has been cracking down all year on poor behavior by coaches on the sideline. This was a point of emphasis in the officiating community during the offseason. Did Harbaugh losing his mind late in the third quarter change the game? It's debatable. But it felt like something switched in the game after it happened.
Suddenly, players started making plays in the fourth quarter and overtime. No play was bigger than Samuel's where-the-hell-is-he-going catch-and-run on third-and-9 in the second overtime with Ohio State trailing 27-24. They'll talk about Samuel's mad dash for generations in Ohio.
Samuel caught a swing pass at the Michigan 29, four yards behind the line of scrimmage. Michigan star Jabrill Peppers closed in on him so Samuel stopped on a dime and reversed field to the left. Samuel went all the way back to the 32-yard line -- imagine that field-goal try to tie if he had been tackled there -- and stopped again because Michigan's defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow was approaching.
So Samuel cut back again to the right, but ran into Ohio State offensive lineman Jamarco Jones. With his momentum stilted, Samuel reversed field one more time back to the left, cut inside to avoid additional tacklers, and lunged one yard short of the first down.
"I felt like I had a great shot by going back across the field because there were probably D-linemen over there running," Samuel said. "A bunch of things are going on. I'm running back and forth, but I know the defense is probably tired. I just got to keep on going, keep on moving."
Said Meyer: "It was not designed for a great athlete to run around that way. That's called recruiting."
Facing fourth-and-1 at the Michigan 16, Meyer could have called for a field goal to try to force a third overtime. But Meyer thought back to something Jeremy Foley, his old athletic director at Florida, used to say.
"If you can't get that far, you're not a championship team," Meyer said. "We used to talk about that all the time, and I agree with him. So that actually crossed my mind."
Did Barrett actually get that far to make Ohio State a non-championship team that's headed to the playoff? (See, we told you this game was weird.) Should Michigan have won? There's a case to be made Barrett was short. There's a case to be made there wasn't enough evidence for replay to overturn the call on the field, allowing Samuel's 15-yard touchdown scamper on the next play for the victory.
"My view on the first down was it was that short," Harbaugh said, holding his hands apart a few inches.
"That stopped the heart for a second," Meyer said. "When the official said, 'They're buzzing me for the spot,' and I thought, 'Oh my goodness.' I was standing right there. I thought he had it."
Inches. That's all that separates Ohio State and Michigan. That's all that separates Penn State from going to Indianapolis and Ohio State happy that it gets to stay home this week.
When the madness had ended, no one could move in the mosh pit on the Ohio Stadium field. Gloves, hats, bottles and even a pair of eyeglasses got left behind, lining the field as a reminder of what everyone just witnessed.
And there was Meyer -- not wanting to leave after stealing a victory Michigan was so close to grabbing, not wanting to let go of his son's shoulders, not wanting to let this insanely, joyful moment pass after 3 hours and 51 minutes of stress as Sweet Caroline played.
Where it began
I can't begin to knowin'
But then I know it's growing strong
Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Who'd have believed you'd come along
Hands, touchin' hands
Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Weird life, man.
