Ohio State blows out Michigan State to take control of Big Ten East: 3 takeaways

Here’s what we learned from the No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes taking down the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans, 48-3, on Saturday afternoon in Columbus.

Even as the Big Ten’s Playoff hopes got decimated last week, Michigan State vs. Ohio State still went a long way in determining the East Division’s representative in the Big Ten Championship Game. With Ohio State reeling from a 31-point loss to Iowa and Michigan State riding the high of their incredible win over Penn State, these two teams were trending in opposite directions. But in Week 11, they flipped the script.

Despite how the Buckeyes played last week, we knew that Urban Meyer would have his team prepared for a crucial matchup at home. Similarly, we should’ve known that they’d win considering Urban Meyer has never lost consecutive games in his Ohio State tenure.

When Vegas set the point spread at 16 points for Ohio State, it seemed crazy considering how close these two teams are. But after seeing this game play out, perhaps Vegas knows more than we think. However, this game has more or less typified the Buckeyes season. When they win, they look like one of the most invincible teams in the country. When they lose, they look utterly hopeless.

Given how dramatically different they’ve looked their last two results, there’s no idea which Buckeyes team will show up next week.

Don’t throw the ball to Damon Webb

When Ohio State’s secondary from last year got depleted due to the draft, many expected that to be their biggest weakness. That was the case at the start of the season, but they’ve only gotten stronger as it’s gone on. The biggest standouts of the bunch are the two guys named Damon, Webb and Arnette.

Brian Lewerke may have only been picked off twice, but it felt like it was 10. Both Webb and Arnette came down with the interceptions, who had nice bounce-back games after the Iowa loss. While Webb took away the deep threat all game long, his fourth-quarter interception showed off the type of range Ohio State fans came to expect from Malik Hooker:

As a senior, Webb was counted on to be one of the leaders of the Buckeyes defense. This game proved why he’s so invaluable to this team.

One step forward, 10 steps backward

It feels as though all the progress made by Michigan State this season has been undone with this game. The Spartans team we had seen all year was unrecognizable in this game.

Brian Lewerke may have entered this game as the hottest quarterback in the Big Ten, but he looked worse than John O’Korn. Of course, the Buckeyes defense deserves credit for shutting him out. Not only did the aforementioned Webb have his best game of the season, the defensive line also pressured him with ease. He’s not the only one on offense that deserves criticism, as they crossed midfield twice during the first half.

On defense, they gave up big plays all game long. Their run defense got gashed, while the Buckeyes’ pass-catchers weren’t scared to challenge Josiah Scott and Justin Layne — although the latter’s interception in the fourth quarter was the lone highlight of this miserable performance. The Spartans may have gotten two interceptions, but the final tally of 525 yards given up is the more telling stat.

Beating the Buckeyes on the road was always going to be a tall task for Sparty, but they could’ve at least showed up. It’s hard to believe that a 3-9 Michigan State team that had nothing to play for played a tighter game than a 7-2 team that had a shot at the Big Ten Championship. Questions must be asked of Mark Dantonio’s preparation coming into this game.

Buckeyes offense is built out of the backfield

For all the attention J.T. Barrett got all year long, especially after the Penn State win, the backfield is what makes the Buckeyes offense go. That was proven in this game when they went up against the third-best run defense in the country and made it look like Maryland. Mike Weber’s 47-yard touchdown to open the scoring set the tone while his 82-yard score put the game on ice. And J.K. Dobbins got almost as many carries as he did in the last two games combined.

By the end of it, the Buckeyes averaged 8.7 yards per attempt on the ground and scored four TDs. Both backs crossed the 100-yard mark, too, while Dobbins became the fourth freshman running back to run for 1,000 yards on the season — second in a row, too after Weber did it a year ago.

Next: Ranking The 30 Best Traditions In College Football

While they’ve been a big part of the offense all year long, the Buckeyes perform much better the more their running backs are involved. Look for Dobbins and Weber to be used more often down the stretch of Ohio State’s schedule.