Ohio State escaped East Lansing with a one-point win over the Michigan State Spartans in their final tune-up before The Game.
Michigan State recently snapped a seven-game losing streak, but when these two teams play, records go out the window. They knew their best chance to win was if Ohio State was looking ahead to Michigan. When LJ Scott scored a 64-yard touchdown off of a misdirection, it looked like that was the case. Then on the Buckeyes’ ensuing drive, Shane Jones recorded the Spartans’ first sack in four games.
The Buckeyes would eventually tie the game after Curtis Samuel did Curtis Samuel things, but it was clear that Michigan State came to play. J.T. Barrett got sacked for a second time, while Scott picked up a big 61-yard gain to set up a field goal. He finished the first quarter with 135 yards from scrimmage.
The defensive linemen played extremely well for both teams, but especially for Michigan State considering they didn’t have Malik McDowell. Barrett was pressured throughout and finished the first half with 120 total yards and 6-of-12 passing. Tyler O’Connor didn’t fare much better, putting up 87 yards on 3-of-8 passing, with 64 of those yards coming off of the opening touchdown.
O’Connor’s poor stats led to Mark Dantonio bringing in Damion Terry to start the second half. That only meant they were going to go to Scott more often. But despite how good the run game is for these two teams, going back to that well repeatedly isn’t enough to push the ball downfield. That led to the offense stalling, although how many times have we said that during Big Ten games?
After Mike Weber struggled in the first half, he broke out in a big way by picking up a 52-yard gain. That led to a four-yard touchdown run, while he also became just the third Ohio State freshman to reach 1,000 yards on the season.
But LJ Scott would not be denied. He led the Spartans all the way down the field, then punched in his second score of the game. But with Michigan State’s season already over, Mark Dantonio went for the two-point conversion to take the lead. It wasn’t the wrong call, but O’Connor’s pass got picked off, and their defense gave them another chance to win by forcing a punt. But a poor read by Tyler O’Connor led to a game-sealing pick by Gareon Conley.
The Buckeyes may have a high-powered offense, but they won this contest with their defense, although prescription for heart medication just went way up in Columbus. And a win’s a win, but a tight contest against a 3-7 team won’t bode well for Ohio State’s playoff hopes, especially since it looks like they won’t be playing in the Conference Championship Game. Come Tuesday, we’ll see how much the Playoff Committee decides to punish them.
Three stars
LJ Scott – He went off for big plays all game long and set a career high for rushing yards with 160. His explosiveness on the ground and power running style has already got people drawing comparisons to a certain Pittsburgh Steelers running back who used to attend Michigan State. Don’t forget that it was Scott who won the Spartans the Big Ten Championship last year.
Gareon Conley – The Silver Bullets had an exceptional game, and they powered the Buckeyes to this win. While it looked Gareon Conley would be remembered for being on the receiving end of an L.J. Scott hurdle, he came back and got the game-sealing pick.
Mike Weber – Weber’s a true freshman, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he’s been playing. He reached 1,000 rushing yards in this contest and scored what would prove to be the winning touchdown. Ohio State may be the only school that can lay claim to both DBU and RBU.
Highlights
What’s next
Ohio State takes on Michigan next week in the 113th edition of The Game. So long as the Wolverines hold up their end of the bargain and beat Indiana, we’ll be treated to an incredible contest.
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Michigan State will travel to Beaver Stadium to take on Penn State. If they can somehow win that game, they would do Ohio State a big favor provided that they beat Michigan.