Andy Anders: Spartans Spurned
There’s a lot of telling data points entering this game to show Michigan State isn’t in the same league as Ohio State this season. One could look at the Spartans’ losses to Washington, Maryland and Minnesota. One could take the result of last year’s matchup between the two schools, a contest billed as a top-10 bout that was over before the first quarter.
Here’s some hard facts: Ohio State finished third in the country for passing yardage per game in 2021, and the Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback that catalyzed that effort, C.J. Stroud is back on this year’s team. He’s been sacked all of two times thus far this year. The Buckeyes boast two former five-star recruits in their starting lineup at wide receiver, the other is the son of a pro football hall of famer.
Michigan State’s passing defense is ranked 115th out of 131 FBS football teams. Last year it ranked dead last.
Perhaps they can slow down Ohio State’s passing attack if they sell out to do so, but that leaves room on the ground for third-year running back Miyan Williams and second-year running back TreVeon Henderson, should he return this week. Fact is, Michigan State’s defense might as well be a fly attempting to break through a brick wall this week.
Ohio State 59, Michigan State 10
Jack Emerson: Buckeyes Pass Road Test
Prior to the beginning of the season, it appeared that Ohio State’s first game away from the comforts of Ohio Stadium would have been a challenging one.
Michigan State was ranked No. 15 in the AP Preseason Poll and coming off a Peach Bowl victory over Pittsburgh last season. While the Spartans stunned plenty of folks last season with a 10-2 regular season, Michigan State brass decided to award then-second-year head coach Mel Tucker with a 10-year, $95 million contract.
In his first season under the new lucrative contract, the Spartans haven’t quite flashed like they did a year ago. Michigan State enters Saturday’s contest on a three-game losing streak with all three losses coming by double-digits. The Spartans’ offense and defense have regressed from a season ago, highlighted by losses on both sides of the ball by way of graduation and professional pursuits, as well as some unlucky injury developments since the start of the season.
The Spartans’ secondary, although improved, is still not quite up to the level it needs to be to stifle Ohio State’s high-powered passing attack. On that point alone, I think the Buckeyes should tee off on the Michigan State defense while the OSU defense will continue its strong start to the season.
Ohio State 52, Michigan State 13
Braden Moles: Déjà Vu For Michigan State
Remember last season how the Spartans were coming into Ohio Stadium as a top-10 squad, ready to take down the Buckeyes behind running back Kenneth Walker III just weeks after knocking off Michigan?
Yeah, we know how that went. It was a 56-7 domination by Ohio State that didn’t feel as close as the 49-point deficit demonstrates. Michigan State was unable to get anything done, with just 158 passing yards and 25 rushing yards courtesy of Walker. Quarterback C.J. Stroud passed for six touchdowns – twice as many as he had incompletions – and the game was, for all intents and purposes, over about six minutes into the contest.
As for this year’s contest, pretty much all of the major contributors return with the exception of Walker. That includes Stroud and Michigan State’s porous pass defense, but there are new factors to consider, such as Ohio State’s revamped defense and the emergence of running back Miyan Williams to complement TreVeyon Henderson.
None of this bodes well for the Spartans, who are looking to avoid a 2-4 start to the season under Tucker. Unfortunately for Michigan State, there’s little on either side of the ball to indicate that this will be a competitive matchup, even with the game being at Spartan Stadium. I’ll go out on a limb and say we get the same final as last season.
Ohio State 56, Michigan State 7
