EAST LANSING, Mich. — Before the ball was snapped, Michael Thomas knew he was going to score.
Ohio State had just fallen behind Michigan State, 21-14, with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. The Spartans were set to get the ball after halftime, so it was a pivotal point in the game as Michigan State had seized the momentum.
But on the very first play from scrimmage following the Spartans' go-ahead touchdown, Thomas ran a quick slant, caught the ball from quarterback J.T. Barrett, broke a tackle and went the distance — 79 yards to the house to tie the game at 21-all.
“Before the play came, I knew I was gonna score," Thomas said.
But why did he know?
"My confidence," he said. "I watch film on them. I know what they do.”
It seemed like that was a common theme among the Buckeyes' offense, too. They played with an offensive swagger like they knew it was going to score every time they had the ball.
Ohio State torched the Michigan State defense for 568 yards of total offense: 300 through the air and 268 on the ground. It was an onslaught of offensive firepower against a team that came in ranked fifth in the country in total defense, allowing only 279.4 yards per game.
Ohio State, however, made it look easy.
“No disrespect to their team, but I felt all night they couldn’t hang with us," wide receiver Devin Smith said. "I told Coach constantly that they couldn’t hang with none of us. Mike broke a long one. Dontre, Evan and Jalin had some key plays and I just felt the whole game they really couldn’t hang with us."
After being slowed by the two best defenses they had played — Virginia Tech and Penn State — it was hard to imagine the Buckeyes having such success against Michigan State.
But the offensive line played one of its best games of the season and Barrett was nearly flawless, going 16 for 26 for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball 14 times for 86 yards and two scores.
"We didn’t wanna come in here and be conservative," Barrett said. "We wanted to go out swinging, you know what I’m saying? So, that’s just how we approached this game this week.”
For a team that had been written off by many after its Week 2 loss to Virginia Tech, the win over the Spartans has suddenly launched Ohio State back into the national picture.
The Buckeyes are still on the outside looking in for a spot in the College Football Playoff, but Saturday night's showing was certainly a statement.
“A young team grew up tonight," head coach Urban Meyer said. "I told them in there the future is extremely bright here at Ohio State. We’ve got a bunch of young players out there playing that acted like older players and I’m really, really proud of them.”
