Afterward, Laurinaitis was among the Buckeyes seniors who lingered on the field, savoring the cheers for a final time. “You want to soak it all in the longest you can,” he said. “I wasn’t in any hurry to get off the field.” His class improved to 43-7, tying the mark for most victories over four years. But it is the clean sweep of the Wolverines that many players said they will remember the most.

“Obviously, to come to Ohio State, you’re kind of embedded with the fact that we don’t like Michigan, and to never lose to a team like that, that says a lot,” Boone said. “You have (former Ohio State players) come back and they talk about how they lost and how it still haunts them to this day.

“I can honestly say it will never haunt me.”

Drive to five turns into a joy ride by Ken Gordon in the Columbus Dispatch