Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott was so disgusted with his role in No. 3 Ohio State’s 17-14 loss to No. 9 MI State on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, that he said afterward that it was his last game in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry (37) shows his emotion following the Buckeyes’ 17-14 loss to MI State in an NCAA college football game at Ohio Stadium, Saturday, November 21, 2015, in Columbus, Ohio. M…
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Think about it. The Spartans were without an injured Connor Cook – who had a 32-4 record as a starter.
So it will be Baylor at TCU on Friday night and Oklahoma at Oklahoma State on Saturday, with championship implications in both. Ohio State sputtered a few through 10 games but was never really challenged.
“I am concerned about how [the offensive line] affects each other, not in a positive way but in a negative way”, the Gators coach said on ESPN.com.
It’s the first time Ohio State has lost a regular-season conference game since Urban Meyer became coach four seasons ago. When you start playing field position like that – been in a couple of situations in my career where you’re in a blizzard. Elliott had his 15-game consecutive 100-yard per game streak snapped.
Afterward, he ripped his coaches.
With the conditions being less conducive for throwing the ball and more suitable for play-calling heavily predicated on the run, it was the ideal storm for O’Connor and Terry.
“How we lost, I just feel like we weren’t put in the right opportunity to win this game, we weren’t put in the right situations to win this game”.
He also revealed that he was hospitalized Monday through Wednesday with an infection in his left shin while battling a 103-degree fever.
“I didn’t want to pull a Jalen Watts-Jackson”, Geiger said, referring to his teammate who ended up with a broken hip after returning a botched punt for a touchdown to beat MI in October.
But he wanted the ball more. Said he lobbied Meyer on sideline for calls and did not get them. I can’t speak for the play-calling, I don’t know what was going on or what they were seeing, but honestly, it didn’t work out. I don’t know what was going on. In fact, in its wins over Ohio State and MI this season, the only time MI State led those games was with no time left on the clock. “I got to make the most of my time left”.
This week’s rivalry game will be must-see TV, but it will also be very telling about the future of the Ohio State program and the tone of the offseason.
“The first one I kicked it through”, he said. “As soon as he went back to MI, I can’t stand him”.
The game was one of comebacks for the Spartans.
“When you lose a football game, any time you lose a football game, you’ve got to regroup”, MI State coach Mark Dantonio said Sunday. All 13 plays on the drive were runs.
So, if MI beats Ohio State, a New Year’s Six bowl looks to be in order. Replacing quarterback Cardale Jones with J.T. Barrett after he just won him a National Championship isn’t a good look either.
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A win over the Nittany Lions next week would give the Spartans a berth in the Big Ten Championship game where they will face a likely undefeated No. 3 Iowa (11-0 overall, 7-0 Big Ten).
