For a while there, it seemed as if neither team planned on scoring the whole game. Thankfully, Ohio State took it upon themselves to break the deadlock with a one yard Dwayne Haskins touchdown pass to Parris Campbell late in the second quarter. The Buckeyes would go on to secure a 26-6 victory over the Spartans.
How did Ohio State come out on top? Read on for the three key statistics that led to Saturday's outcome.
Buckeye Defense Capitalizes on Spartan Miscues, forces 3 turnovers
Interestingly, while the Buckeye defense did force three turnovers, all three came in the fourth quarter. The first turnover came very early in the quarter. With the Spartans snapping the ball inside their own end zone, miscommunication between Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi and his center led to the ball hitting the turf. Buckeye Dre'Mont Jones was there to recover the ball in the end zone, increasing OSU's lead by six.
Michigan State would fumble the ball once again on their very next possession. Running an option play to the right side, Lombardi's pitch to his running back would not reach it's target, and the ball would hit the turf once again. Jonathan Cooper would be there to recover the ball this time, with the Buckeyes gaining possession of the ball in Spartan territory. Unfortunately, the Ohio State offense would be unable to move the ball, and would settle for a 35 yard field goal.
The final turnover came late in the quarter with Michigan State doing everything possible to spark a comeback. Fortunately, the Buckeye defense would have something to say about that. After several completions, Brian Lewerke would be hit as he threw, allowing Shaun Wade to intercept the errant pass, effectively squashing any hope of a MSU rally.
Mike Weber rushes for over 100 yards against Michigan State's top ranked rushing defense
Ohio State's ground game was riding high last week after a great performance versus Nebraska, and the momentum definitely carried over to this week in East Lansing. Against Michigan State's No. 1 ranked rushing defense, the Buckeyes were able to generate 120 rushing yards on a tenacious 45 attempts.
While credit must be given to all aspects of Ohio State's rushing attack, Mike Weber was undoubtably the centerpiece of the rushing unit today. Totaling 104 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, Mike Weber was the workhorse the Buckeyes needed to carry them out of East Lansing with a win. It may not have been flashy or eye catching, but it got the job done against a top ranked rushing defense. At this point in the season, it would be hard to ask for much more than that.
Drue Chrisman shows off the importance of special teams, pins MSU deep five times
Under normal circumstances, the punter is no one's favorite player. After all, their entire purpose is essentially to give the ball to the other team. Today, however, the punter was everybody's favorite player. Outside of his historically bad four yard punt, Drue Chrisman played lights out. His remaining first half punts were all 46 yards or above, and all five of his second half punts pinned Michigan State inside their own six yard line. When it came to field positioning, the Buckeyes could count on Chrisman.
Chrisman played an excellent game today, but this is just one game on top of a great overall season in regards to punting. With 14 punts pinned inside the 10 yard line, Ohio State should feel extremely confident whenever they have to punt the ball...but lets hope they don't have to do that very often.
