The Spartans were defeated by the Buckeyes, 49-37.
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Urban Meyer says the deciding factor in today’s Ohio State-Michigan State game will be which team controls the line of scrimmage.
If the Buckeyes beat the Spartans, and MI can handle Penn State, there’s a showdown in Ann Arbor next week for the Big Test East crown. Here’s a look at the top 10. Buckeyes have a little too much everywhere else.
After hurting his shoulder and leaving the game last week, Connor Cook will be under center for the Spartans.
Kept waiting for the Buckeyes to go up-tempo on offense in an attempt to shake out of their rut, but not only didn’t it happen, OSU went with an empty backfield at times in the second half with Ezekiel Elliott apparently dealing with a cut on his right calf. The front four for the Spartans are pretty good, but the secondary has holes. The Buckeyes marched 80 yards on their next 15 plays, with Raymont Harris’ 7-yard TD run with 1:06 left giving them the victory. The Buckeyes have held opposing teams to just 13.8 points and 298.4 yards per game this year (2nd and 9th best in the nation, respectively), but they built up those stats against teams much weaker than what lies ahead. Senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun (25 career sacks, including a team-best 8.5 this season) and sophomore nose tackle Malik McDowell (10.5 tackles for losses) are stalwarts of a tough defensive line, while junior middle linebacker Riley Bullough (team-best 79 tackles) and sophomore safety Montae Nicholson (team-high three interceptions) are also key players.
In maybe the defining moment of Meyer’s first season, Ohio State won 17-16 at MI State to go 5-0. A loss puts a huge dent in their conference and national title hopes. He has 94 carries for 519 yards with nine touchdowns. His play is crucial if MSU is to be an upset victor this week. The unit’s 1.6 takeaways per game ranks 63rd nationally. MSU eventually tied the Irish 10-10 in its finale.
“Root for Ohio State to win?” MI and Penn State will each hit the road for a pair of contests this weekend. The snap went directly to fullback Evan Slonac, who handed it to Dorrow, who then pitched it to Tom Yewcic on his right. He told the people, our players, that your generation – with the social media, with the technology – you can use it [to do] very destructive things, the unfortunate and incredible things happening overseas, or you can use it for greatness.
Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett drops back to pass against MI State during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, November 21, 2015, in Columbus, Ohio. Connor Cook can’t throw the ball in the rain. The quarterback passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns, Denicos Allen stopped Braxton Miller on fourth down late in the game, and Jeremy Langford punched the Spartans’ pass to the Rose Bowl with a 26-yard TD run.
If OSU doesn’t have the best defensive line in the Big Ten, then it would be the Spartans.
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Pick: Chris Andrews, our contributing handicapper in Reno, writes Ohio State “is ready to finish the season with everything going its way….The defense has been spectacular all season….” In the receiving end, Michael Thomas had 76 yards and one touchdown in six receptions.
