Surely the halftime break would be the moment when Michigan football’s feel-good season ended, when the resurgence of a financially kneecapped Jim Harbaugh would expire, as the unbeatable neighbors from the south regained their composure and seized control.

Surely the early minutes of the fourth quarter, after Ohio State pulled within a single score, would mark the end of this dreamlike campaign in Ann Arbor in which the defensive star, Aidan Hutchinson, set a school record for sacks in a single season (13) and the best offensive player, Hassan Haskins, bludgeoned his way to another 100-yard performance and numerous trips to the end zone.

Surely the touchdown from quarterback C.J. Stroud to tailback TreVeyon Henderson with 4:45 remaining — the one that agonizingly arced beyond the outstretched hand of Hutchinson — would be the point when Michigan crumbled, as the Buckeyes drew within a single score and a stadium’s worth of angst beginning to bubble.

But the script was destined to be rewritten by this ferocious bunch fueled by their own shortcomings last season, when a 2-4 record during a pandemic-shortened campaign sickened the stomachs of folks both inside and out of Schembechler Hall. Players and coaches swore this group was different, that the DNA had been re-spliced and the schematic issues solved and the perceived talent gap between Michigan and its arch rival was incorrectly measured on paper, rather than gauging what's between the ears.

Two weeks after scoring his biggest victory since returning to Ann Arbor, Harbaugh defied expectations to stun the Buckeyes, 42-27, in a game the Wolverines dominated more often than not.

"My favorite saying of all time is ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way,'" Harbaugh said, "and the will was very strong with our team. The way it feels now just feels like the beginning."

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And perhaps he's right. The streak of eight consecutive losses to the Buckeyes is snapped. The dream of a Big Ten championship is alive. The Wolverines, who are within a game of the College Football Playoff, will march toward Indianapolis begging anyone else to doubt them.

Running back Hassan Haskins carried 28 times for 169 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Cade McNamara responded from an early turnover with steady play by completing 13 of 19 passes for 159 yards and moving the chains when needed. And the defense — a group maligned, harangued and humiliated at times last season — fueled this remarkable victory by harassing Stroud with four sacks and eight total hits.

"These guys have been disrespecting us, stepping on our jerseys, talking about hanging 100 on us, doing all the rah-rah, doing all the talk," Hutchinson said. "But we were about it today."

A narrow 14-13 halftime lead for Michigan left the stadium divided, with a portion of the energy reserved for optimism but the rest accustomed to broken hearts at the hands of Ohio State. Having clawed within a point at the break, the Buckeyes received the opening kickoff with a chance to assert themselves after two quarters of penalties, failed third downs and a general lack of rhythm on offense amid snow flurries at Michigan Stadium. But inside linebacker Josh Ross shot through the line of scrimmage on third-and-1 to pummel Henderson and force a kick, stifling the OSU offense before it had a chance to warm.

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It was the type of gut-checking response Harbaugh’s club discovered time and again Saturday in what will long be remembered as one of Michigan’s greatest victories in this storied rivalry. Invigorated by Ross' vicious tackle, the Wolverines snatched control right back on a 55-yard run by tailback Blake Corum. That paved the way for another Haskins score to keep the Buckeyes at bay in a game OSU never led in the second half.

"It was dominant," Harbaugh said. "It was dominant in the offensive line. No question about it. There was movement, continual movement up front by the guys. And Hassan Haskins, they might have thought they saw a ghost but they didn’t. It was No. 25, Hassan Haskins. He was running with great determination, great purpose, great ability."

Perceived disparities between the programs fostered a narrative in which the Wolverines, losers in 15 of the last 16 games in this rivalry, needed something close to a perfect game if they wanted to pull the upset. While Ohio State, the perennial College Football Playoff contender, was less likely to be undone by an occasional misstep.

But what unfolded during the first half of a snowy, wind-whipped afternoon was a Michigan team competent enough, talented enough and determined enough to hang with — and lead — the talent-rich Buckeyes despite a performance several degrees removed from perfect. The fortitude it brandished all season continued to surface as the Wolverines remained afloat.

"I told the players, coaches, the defense, don’t be discouraged when they make plays, when they move the ball, when they score touchdowns," Harbaugh said. "They’re going to. And that will be the offense’s job to respond and our offense did. There was really good disguise, really good packages that we made them doubt what they were seeing. They were seeing one thing but they weren’t really seeing that. And it was really effective today."

Michigan surged to a 7-0 lead behind a beautifully scripted 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive on the game’s first possession, invigorating a crowd that was delighted to scream as a means of staying warm. Important runs by Haskins and Donovan Edwards, who took the field ahead of Corum on Saturday, thrust Michigan into the red zone after three consecutive third-down conversions. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis capped the drive with one of his best designs of the season on a 14-yard reverse to wide receiver A.J. Henning after a fake swing to Edwards out of the backfield.

And yet in some respects, the opening drive was Michigan’s only perfect moment of the half, with the remainder filled by the kinds of back-and-forth exchanges many predicted the Wolverines couldn’t withstand. But those are exactly the types of moments Harbaugh savors.

Punch: McNamara makes arguably his worst decision of the season to rifle a pass toward the end zone with three defenders waiting. Safety Bryson Shaw plucks the ball at a time when the Wolverines might have extended their lead to 14.

Counterpunch: Hutchinson beats the right tackle with an inside move to sack Stroud on third down deep in U-M territory to force Ohio State into a field goal.

Punch: A needless special teams penalty on German Green for kick-catch interference gives the Buckeyes the ball at their own 18-yard line instead of the 3. Ohio State flips the field with a punt so that its next possession begins near midfield and ends with a 25-yard touchdown to receiver Garrett Wilson.

Counterpunch: Haskins plunges up the middle on fourth-and-1 to extend a Michigan drive and give McNamara the chance to fire a ball to receiver Cornelius Johnson for 37 yards that set up another score.

Punch: Free safety R.J. Moten, who lost his starting spot earlier this season and was called into action during a period when Daxton Hill remained on the sideline, drops an interception on an ill-conceived heave from Stroud near the goal line.

Counterpunch: Moten responds a few plays later with a terrific open-field tackle on receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to saddle the Buckeyes with another field goal in the closing seconds and ensure Michigan entered the locker room with a lead.

"Time and time again it’s just like however we respond, that’s the most important thing," McNamara said. "I knew that I just had to keep letting it rip and I knew that I had trust in our defense and obviously (Haskins) and the rest of the backs and the O-line. They had our back, and it was really just a physically dominant performance the rest of the way."

The biggest counterpunch belonged to Haskins, whose place in Michigan history is now solidified. His fearless running and selfless demeanor and refusal to be tackled secured another win when this program needed it most.

Beginning with 4:39 remaining, Haskins carried the ball four consecutive times as the Wolverines clung to a one-score lead. He picked up 15, 6, 11 and 27 yards before hurdling out of bounds at the 4.

Then he gathered himself for one final plunge that sent this crowd into a frenzy.

What began as a farfetched dream of winning the Big Ten championship and reaching the CFP feels inexplicably real.

"Our attention switches to the Big Ten championship," right tackle Andrew Stueber said. "That’s what we’re focused on next and that’s only the beginning for this team in terms of championship-level play. I think that’s where this team is and I can’t wait to see us do it."

Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football thumps Ohio State to reach Big Ten title game