COLUMBUS, Ohio – In their first ranked matchup of the season, the Buckeyes were able to put together a solid performance in a 34-10 victory against a hungry Michigan State team.
The Spartans were not intimidated by the Buckeyes, and they were able to keep the game to close for most of the first half. The Ohio State offense struggled in the first quarter, but a trio of big plays was able to put the game out of reach and move the Buckeyes to 6-0 on the season.
This team is human.
With an average margin of victory of 43.8 points coming into the game against Michigan State, the Ohio State football team felt more like a machine than a collection of college football players. In the first quarter against the Spartans, however, the Buckeyes struggled to move the ball.
Ohio State could not get anything going in its first four drives against Michigan State. The only points produced by the Buckeyes came off a Michigan State fumble that set the Ohio State offense up inside the 25-yard line.
The Buckeyes would gain only 16 total yards and two first downs in the first quarter. The Michigan State defensive line was able to dominate the Ohio State offensive line early, as the Buckeyes would have no rushing yards after the first quarter. The Buckeyes were able to right the ship in the second quarter, but this team showed that it is not immune to tough stretches against talented teams.
Ohio State owns the second quarter.
The second quarter has been kind to the Buckeyes the entire year. They entered the game with a 110-10 advantage in points in the second quarter, and the offense was able to find itself in the second quarter against Michigan State.
With only a three-point lead to start the quarter, the Ohio State offense was able to come alive to balloon the lead to 17 points by halftime. The Buckeyes would possess the ball four times in the second quarter, and they would convert those possessions into 24 points.
The first three drives would result in touchdowns for the Buckeyes, and a drive late would set up Blake Haubeil for a 43-yard field goal before the end of the half. The Buckeyes would finish the quarter with 296 total yards, 163 yards of which came on the ground.
Even in a struggle, the offense can rely on the big play.
The Buckeyes were unable to produce a single touchdown in their first 18 offensive plays. In their ensuing 15 plays, they would score three touchdowns. The longest touchdown drive was only seven plays long, and it ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Luke Farrell.
The Buckeyes were first able to break through the Michigan State defense when Justin Fields rolled to the right and found a wide-open Binjimen Victor, who finished most of the 60-yard touchdown with his legs, to give the Buckeyes a 10-0 advantage.
This play would be topped two drives later when J.K. Dobbins was able to find an opening and scamper for a 67-yard touchdown to put the Buckeyes back up two possessions. The three touchdown plays accounted for 47.4 percent of Ohio State’s offensive yards in the first half, and they were enough to blow the game wide open.
The defense will remain reliable.
This game was by no means the defense’s best performance of the year, but it was another step in the maturation of a successful defense. Michigan State came to Ohio Stadium prepared to move the ball on the Buckeyes, and they were able to do that to the tune of 285 total yards.
Ohio State’s defense was stingy, however. They were able to force the Spartans into two turnovers after their first four plays of the game. Once the second quarter began, the Spartans found some success moving the ball. On their first two drives of the quarter, the Spartans would pick up 109 total yards, en route to 10 points.
The defense was able to respond, holding Michigan State to no points in the final 38 minutes of the game. Michigan State would gain only 107 total yards in the second half and finish with a third down conversion percentage of only 30.8 percent.
