Two years after then-Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis called out Ohio State for not being "a tough team," the Buckeyes still have yet to gain the physical edge on their rival.

In fact, after this year's game in Ann Arbor, Michigan receiver Roman Wilson doubled down on the assessment.

"I see guys who wanna put on the (Louis Vuitton) $1,000 outfit, want to act hard," he said before later adding, "You’re not tough.”

While Wilson did have a touchdown catch on one of his three receptions Saturday, it was what Michigan did on the ground that Ohio State coach Ryan Day believed was the difference in a 30-24 loss.

"I feel like when you go into this game, you've got to win the rushing yards " Day said. "That didn't happen. I don't know what the final numbers were, but they had more than we did. ... That and turnover battle. I'd like to say it's more than that, but I'm not sure that it is."

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After taking sacks out of the equation, the final numbers were these:

• Ohio State: 110 yards, 4.1 yards per carry, longest run of 22 yards

• Michigan: 161 yards, 4.2 yards per carry, longest run of 12 yards

Ohio State did muster a 6:06 scoring drive in the third quarter, one that finished with eight straight runs, the shortest of which was TreVeyon Henderson's 3-yard touchdown.

"I felt like we were really rocking off the ball, and we were doing a good job," Day said of that sequence.

Buckeyes struggled at times to run the ball

But outside of that, the Buckeyes could not move the ball consistently on the ground. Given that, Michigan won the time of possession battle (33:28 to 26:32), especially during the fourth quarter when they stymied the Buckeyes' comeback efforts by chewing up 10:28 worth of clock.

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"I think you saw it," defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. "We just didn't get the stops when we had to. Had some guys in position. Just didn't make the plays."

That didn't seem quite as inevitable this year. Ohio State's defense, which has made a point of eliminating explosive plays, didn't allow the kind of back-breaking runs they did in 2022, when Donovan Edwards peeled off an 85-yarder, or in 2021, when Blake Corum broke free for a 55-yard rush.

But in the third quarter, Ohio State gave up three runs of 15 yards or more, and that adds up.

"Ultimately, you've got to win this game," Knowles said, "and I certainly feel like we were a play short, so that's something that I've got to keep working on."

Ohio State had a chance at a Notre Dame-style victory

Ohio State still had a chance to rally, getting the ball back with 1 minute left and needing a touchdown to win.

Quarterback Kyle McCord was asked if that reminded him at all of OSU's final drive at Notre Dame that began with 1:26 left and ended with Chip Trayanum's game-winning touchdown.

"No timeouts, we knew we had to get the ball moving," McCord said.

They did – briefly – with 22- and 21-yard pass plays. But unlike against the Irish, this drive did not end up in the end zone, but rather closed with a Rod Moore interception.

It was after the comeback against Notre Dame that Day proclaimed: "This is a tough team right here. We're proud to be from Ohio, and it's always been Ohio against the world, and it will continue to be Ohio against the world. But I tell you: I love those kids and we have a tough team."

After falling to Michigan, however, Day was practically speechless.

"Hard to describe," he said. "You know, just sick. You work your whole year for it, and we came up short."

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football fails to match Michigan's toughness in 34-20 loss