Ohio State met Michigan State in a key Big Ten East matchup, and the Buckeyes soared past the Spartans winning 56-7.
Coming into this game, Michigan State had the worst passing defense in the country. Ohio State’s high-flying air attack capitalized on this matchup.
Michigan State won the coin toss, but that was the last thing they won. They deferred the first possession, which was a risky decision that didn’t pay off for Mel Tucker. Ohio State scored on their first possession and only compounded their lead.
Ohio State took a 49-0 lead at halftime, but Michigan State was able to tack on a touchdown of their own in the fourth quarter against the second-string defense. The Buckeyes would only add one more touchdown to their total in the second half, resulting in a final score of 56-7.
If Michigan can take care of business against Maryland, then Ohio State will move on to play for the Big Ten Championship Game. Beyond that, the Buckeyes’ playoff hopes are still very much alive after a convincing win over the number seven team in the nation.
Ohio State Obliterates Michigan State
Chris Olave Makes Ohio State History
Chris Olave came back to Ohio State for his senior year, so it was fitting that he made history on Senior Day.
Olave had over a hundred yards and a pair of touchdowns before halftime. He ended the game with seven receptions, 140 yards, and a pair of scores. Olave got into the end zone with touchdowns number 34 and 35 in his career.
Olave’s two touchdowns came in the first quarter. With those two touchdowns, he passed Dave Boston for the most touchdowns in Ohio State history.
The new number to beat is 35, but with one game left on the regular-season schedule, a potential Conference Championship Game, and a possible College Football Playoff berth, Olave could add quite a few more to the total before his season is done.
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C.J. Stroud
The player throwing the ball to Olave had a great game as well.
C.J. Stroud had nearly 400 yards and 6 touchdowns, in the first half, while only throwing two incompletions. By the time he was done, he completed 32 of his passes for 432 yards. He only played one series into the second half, and Kyle McCord took over.
McCord only completed four of his eight passes for 18 yards.
In the final minute and a half of this game, Quinn Ewers made his Ohio State debut. He only snapped the ball twice, and both plays were handoffs.
Stroud joined Justin Fields, Dwayne Haskins, J.T. Barrett, and Kenny Guiton as the only quarterbacks in Ohio State history to throw six touchdown passes in a single game. Olave was not the only receiver to have an outstanding game. Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba joined him in the 100-yard club. Wilson added two touchdowns to his box score, and Smith-Njigba received a single score.
Stroud also set the record for consecutive passes completed in a single game, passing Barrett with 17 straight completions.
Ohio State’s Defense
Kenneth Walker‘s Heisman hopes took a hit in this game. Walker ranked second in our Heisman Poll last week, but his six carries, 25 performance will undoubtedly sink his standing in the Heisman race.
He only had one carry for one yard in the second half before Tucker decided to rest him. With the game so far out of hand, Tucker opted to preserve his running back for next week’s tussle against Penn State.
For as many explosive runs as Walker had, he also had negative runs. His two longest runs of the day were of 10 and 15 yards, but those came in the same drive (that ended in a missed field goal). Without those two runs, he had zero yards on the ground.
As Ohio State wanted, Payton Thorne had to air it out. Thorne completed only 14 of his 36 passes and only threw for 158 yards. His best drive came in garbage time against Ohio State’s second-string defense. On that drive, Thorne completed four of his six passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Apart from that drive, Thorne, along with the rest of Michigan State’s offense, was held in check.
Several individuals stood out for Ohio State on this defensive effort. Haskell Garrett and Tyreke Smith led the charge upfront, keeping Walker from finding holes and pressuring the quarterback. Zack Harrison also made his mark upfront by batting down passes at the line.
On the back end, Denzel Burke continued his strong freshman campaign. Burke only allowed one completion and batted away three other passes. He left the game early with an injury, but for the time he was in, he shut down Michigan State’s passing game.
