EAST LANSING, Mich. — There was no doubt in Chris Worley’s mind who made the interception.
“Did you see the play?” Ohio State’s redshirt junior linebacker asked.
Somebody intercepted Tyler O’Connor’s two-point conversion attempt pass in the end zone. It was either Worley or Malik Hooker. Worley stated his case after the Buckeyes’ 17-16 victory against Michigan State; Hooker didn’t have the chance to do the same.
Either way, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer didn’t really care who came down with it.
“Buckeye ball,” he joked.
After L.J. Scott pulled the Spartans within one with just under five minutes to play, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio opted to go for two to try and take the lead on second-ranked Ohio State. O’Connor took the snap out of the shotgun and fired a pass intended for tight end Josiah Price. It was picked off.
“That was just kind of spying on the quarterback," Worley said of the two-point conversion play. "I saw it in his eyes he didn't really want to run the ball so I just kind of zoned off a bit and played the passing lane."
The Buckeyes’ offense punted on the ensuing drive, but Ohio State’s defense shut the door from there. The great interception debate remains unsettled.
Unbalanced Attack
Ohio State recorded 310 yards of total offense in the win over Michigan State — a number well below its season average. The Buckeyes were rather unbalanced, too, with 224 of those yards coming on the ground and just 86 coming through the air.
Meyer knows that’s not a recipe for success.
“It’ll be tough to win [against Michigan] if we’re not,” he said. “We have to be balanced.”
Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was just 10-for-22 passing for those 86 yards with one touchdown. The Buckeyes’ redshirt junior signal caller looked out of sync all afternoon and Ohio State’s wide receivers didn’t do him any favors with a couple of dropped passes.
It was an unpleasant afternoon weather-wise at Spartan Stadium, but Barrett said he felt prepared for the conditions. It was just a lack of execution in challenging circumstances.
“I missed some throws that I normally should have,” Barrett said. “But I think, for the most part, I did my best to try and make the right decisions and do the best I can with the conditions.”
Inclement weather or not, Ohio State knows it simply must have a more balanced offensive attack next week against Michigan.
Weber Overcomes Fumble, Tops 1,000-Yard Mark
Remember when Meyer never coached a running back who topped the 1,000-yard mark for a season? Those were the days.
After Carlos Hyde became the first and Ezekiel Elliott did it in back-to-back seasons, Mike Weber became the latest Meyer-coached running back to reach that mark Saturday as his 111 rushing yards against the Spartans puts him at 1,046 for the season.
Weber needed just 14 carries to get those 111 yards against Michigan State and he also ripped off a 52-yard run that led to a 4-yard touchdown run which wound up being the game-winner.
“It means a lot,” Weber said after the game. “It’s a goal that I had set at the beginning of the year. I owe my offensive line a lot and we executed to make it happen.”
But what was perhaps even more impressive about Weber’s performance against the Spartans was most of the damage came after he coughed up a fumble in the second quarter with Ohio State in the red zone.
For a redshirt freshman, fumbling in a big game could be backbreaking. Weber responded exactly the way Meyer wanted.
“I talked to him like we always do and you say the play is behind you, chin-chin-chin ball we call it and let’s go,” Meyer said. “He’s over 1,000 yards as a freshman which is a great accomplishment for him. With three new starters on the offensive line, we’re very pleased.”
