In a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship Game, the Ohio State Buckeyes exacted some revenge on the Michigan State Spartans behind five touchdowns from quarterback J.T. Barrett
Ohio State remains alive in the College Football Playoff picture and control their destiny in the Big Ten with a convincing offensive performance from quarterback J.T. Barrett who accounted for five touchdowns and 386 yards of offense in the Buckeyes 49-37 win over Michigan State.
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The first quarter began with an inauspicious start for the Buckeyes as Sean Neurnberger missed a 47-yard field goal on the team’s first series and five plays later Michigan State was on the board with Connor Cook connecting with Mumphrey for a 15-yard touchdown. Mumphrey caught a 44-yard pass earlier on the drive to get the Spartans in position to score and take the early 7-0 lead.
Ohio State would respond just as fast as Michigan State scored on their previous possession as Ezekiel Elliott ran for 19 and 47 yards on successive runs to get the Buckeyes to the MSU 5 where J.T. Barrett would run it in to tie the game.
Scarlet and Game
Following a sack of Cook by Michael Bennett resulted in a punt from Michigan State, Jeff Greene fumbled the punt and was recovered by the Spartans who would take over at the OSU 33 and on the first play of the drive would see Jeremy Langford race to the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown as Michigan State retook the lead at 14-7 where the score would remain at the end of the first quarter.
With Ohio State facing a 3rd-and-23 at the OSU 33, Barrett hit Devin Smith for a 43 yard gain and after Jalin Marshall would get the ball to the doorstep of the goal line, Barrett scored from one yard out for his second rushing touchdown of the game to tie it at 14.
On the ensuing possession, Michigan State would march down the field for a methodical 14-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that took 7:50 off the clock with Langford getting in the end zone for his second rushing score of the evening as Michigan State went up 21-14.
Spartan Avenue
Dontre Wilson fumbled the ensuing kickoff for the Buckeyes second lost fumble on special teams but Michigan State was unable to capitalize on the miscue as Michael Geiger was unsuccessful on his 39-yard field goal try.
Barrett delivered a dime to Michael Thomas on the next play for a 79-yard touchdown to take the air out of Spartan Stadium as the Buckeyes tied the game with 3:19 remaining in the first half and minutes later after a Michigan State punt, Barrett would strike again with a deep pass against the stout Spartans secondary.
With 56 seconds left in the first half Barrett connected on the bomb with Smith from 44 yards out to take a 28-21 lead into half with momentum on their side.
Michigan State came out of the break looking to establish the ground game with Langford and regain momentum but their opening drive stalled at the OSU 23 and a 40-yard field goal from Geiger made it a 28-24 ball game.
However, the Spartans defense had no answer for Barrett on the night as he led the Buckeyes on a 13-play, 67-yard drive that took 6:20 off the clock and had the Spartans wondering what hit them.
The combination of Barrett and Elliott kept the Spartans defense off balance all night long and when Barrett hit Wilson from seven yards out 2:53 into the fourth quarter to put Ohio State up 42-24, this game was all but official as Ohio State exacted a bit of revenge on Michigan State who handed Ohio State their first loss in the Urban Meyer era in last year’s conference title game.
Elliott finished with a game-high 154 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries while his counterpart Langford had his 13th straight game with more than 100 yards rushing in a Big Ten game with 137 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Cook finished with 310 yards and two touchdowns, but he was upstaged by the redshirt freshman Barrett who is an interesting dark horse Heisman candidate if the Buckeyes can win out.
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