Five Things: Buckeyes Cruise Past Spartans in East Lansing

By Chris Lauderback on September 29, 2024 at 10:10 am
Caleb Downs
Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK
73 Comments

No. 3 Ohio State kicked off Big Ten play with a 38-7 win over Michigan State last night in East Lansing as Ryan Day became the second-fastest OSU head coach to reach 60 wins (60-8). 

The win improved the Buckeyes to 4-0 on the young season. 

It was a bit of a struggle early as Ohio State's defense yielded some chunk plays and allowed Michigan State to consistently drive into OSU territory but big plays by the defense kept the Spartans largely off the scoreboard before the Silver Bullets became increasingly dominant as the game wore on. 

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard threw for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception that set up the lone Spartans points while also adding a rushing touchdown to cap the scoring. Through the air, Howard connected with Emeka Egbuka seven times for 96 yards and a touchdown but the story in the receiving corps was all-world freshman Jeremiah Smith. The manchild found the end zone twice - giving him five touchdowns in four games - and recorded two elite catches. 

The victory provided much to feel good about and plenty of tape for coaches to push improvement before the Buckeyes host Iowa next Saturday at 3:30 in Ohio Stadium. 

Before we flip the focus to the Hawkeyes, here are Five Things from yesterday's 31-point win in East Lansing. 

JEREMIAH SMITH IS HIM

Playing on the road in the B1G for the first time, Jeremiah Smith shined on the big stage with six touches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. 

All six of his catches went for either first downs or a touchdown - with two grabs in particular showcasing his elite ball skills - while his lone rush reached the end zone as well. 

One chain-mover, a 6-yard snag on 3rd-and-5, set up Ohio State's first touchdown to take a 10-0 lead via a Gee Scott Jr. catch but Smith was just getting warmed up. 

With Ohio State holding a slim 10-7 lead, Smith began a possession with a 20-yard catch from Will Howard. Three plays later, he capped the 75-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown jaunt on a slick end-around play dialed up by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. The burst gave the Buckeyes a 17-7 lead with 7:22 left in the second quarter. 

Two possessions later, with 1:13 left in the half, Smith keyed another touchdown drive. On 1st-and-10 from the Spartans 44-yard line, Smith raced up the right sideline and corralled a jump ball with one-hand between two defenders for a 27-yard gain. 

Three plays later, Smith again ran up the right sideline and outstretched his paw for another one-handed grab and galloped into the end zone for a 17-yard score giving OSU a 24-7 lead with 29 ticks left in the half. 

This kid has played four college games and it's not hyperbole to say he's a top-5 receiver in college football right now. Might be a good idea to start passing a collection plate across the aisles of the Shoe. If all goes well, we've got 2.5 more years of this insanity. 

THE MIDDLE EIGHT

I already had this queued up as a Thing and damn if Day didn't bring it up multiple times in his post game comments talking about how effective Ohio State was across what he calls the "middle eight" - the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. 

My framing was more about the final two possessions of the opening half and the first two of the second which is where Ohio State turned a 17-7 game into a 31-7 cushion with 4:57 left in the third quarter. 

Holding that 17-7 lead with 1:48 left in the first half, Ohio State's defense saw J.T. Tuimoloau record a sack for a 6-yard loss on 2nd-and-5 and Caleb Downs blow up a short toss on third down for a 1-yard loss to force a punt. Michigan State helped the Buckeyes with a 27-yard shank giving OSU the ball at its own 40 with 1:13 left. 

Quarterback Will Howard hit Carnell Tate for 16 yards and connected with Smith on the aforementioned freakshow catch for 27 before Devin Brown replaced an injured Howard for a play and saw Smith reel in his toss for a 17-yard highlight reel touchdown on 3rd-and-10 to give Ohio State the 24-7 lead heading into the locker room. 

The Silver Bullets took the field coming out of the half and forced a quick punt on the strength of a Ty Hamilton TFL for -4 yards and a Cody Simon near-interception on 3rd-and-14. 

Ohio State's offense started its ensuing drive with 12:06 left in the third quarter and went on a 13-play, 76-yard march, covering 7:09 of clock to choke out the Spartans. The drive wasn't gorgeous at times but the Buckeyes converted a 3rd-and-1 and two fourth downs. TreVeyon Henderson gained nine yards after picking up a fumbled snap and Emeka Egbuka recorded two catches for 53 yards including a 33-yard touchdown on fourth down pushing the OSU lead to 31-7 with 4:57 left in the quarter. 

Game. Set. Match. 

THE DOWNS DIFFERENCE

Alabama All-American transfer safety Caleb Downs played just fine his first three games as a Buckeye but he was a next level factor against the Spartans. 

Protecting Ohio State's back line while also showcasing his ridiculous ability to quickly diagnose plays and crash down toward the line of scrimmage with not just lighting quick pace but total body control, Downs tallied six tackles including one for loss in about three quarters of action. 

His noted crash on 3rd-and-11 to force the punt that started the game-deciding "middle eight" run was such an elite play. He did nearly the exact same thing on the first play of Michigan State's next possession which resulted in a punt. 

Day certainly felt Downs did the damn thing. "I thought Caleb played great tonight. ... He was all over the place tonight, made a huge difference."

No doubt his well-rounded skill set is also empowering his fellow secondary mates, especially safety Lathan Ransom, who has had a solid start to the season including forcing a fumble last night to thwart a Spartans drive deep in OSU territory.

DEFENSE TIGHTENS UP AFTER UNWIELDY START  

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles saw his defense start slow for a second-straight week as Michigan State generated 186 yards on 6.9 yards per play in the first half. 

That said, despite allowing six chunk plays - five catches for between 15-26 yards and one rush for 19 yards - his defense came up with two turnovers in the red zone to surrender a respectable seven points in the opening 30 minutes. Those seven came on a short field after Will Howard's interception set MSU up that the Buckeyes 12-yard line. 

The big 3-and-out to set up Ohio State's late first half touchdown served as a catapult to a dominant performance in the third quarter as the Silver Bullets allowed just 19 yards on 11 Sparty snaps. A Denzel Burke interception and return to the MSU 12-yard line late in the third quarter set up a Will Howard 6-yard touchdown to make it 38-7 good guys. 

Through the three quarters featuring the starters, Ohio State allowed 205 total yards including just 38 rushing on 2.0 yards per carry while coming up with three turnovers and a turnover on downs. 

Eight of 12 MSU possessions covered 16 yards or less (though one was a 12-yard touchdown 'drive' following the Howard interception into double coverage). Michigan State only ran two plays in OSU territory in the second half - the game's final two meaningless snaps with under a minute to play. 

Ohio State failed to generate much pressure on MSU quarterback Aidan Chiles early but ultimately registered four sacks and two hurries while shutting down the ground game. 

A larger concern is the ongoing gaps in linebacker play, particularly Sonny Styles as he continues the transition from safety. He again had issues filling holes and quickly locating ball carriers, and was beat on an early 26-yard slant. Jordan Hancock bailed him out on the play, forcing a fumble that Sonny would alertly scoop up but even the biggest homer has to see some opportunities for improvement in his play right now even as he leads OSU in tackles with 23 through four games. 

RUN GAME ANSWERS THE BELL

Even after chewing up Western Michigan for 273 rushing yards on 7 yards per carry before overwhelming Marshall for 280 rushing yards on 9 yards per try, Ohio State's run game needed to show it could meet a much greater challenge. 

Against Michigan State's 13th-ranked yards per carry defense (2.6) and 29th-ranked rushing defense (96.8 ypg), Justin Frye's offensive line paved the way for 185 rushing yards on 5.3 yards per attempt with two touchdowns. 

Removing the fourth quarter numbers, given those were generated by reserves, the OSU run game tallied 156 yards on 6.2 a pop. TreVeyon Henderson led the attack with seven rushes for 69 yards (9.9 ypc) and Quinshon Judkins had a more modest performance with 11-for-54, giving the pair a combined 123 yards on 6.8 per try. 

The line and perimeter blockers also paved a path for Jeremiah Smith's 19-yard end-around touchdown run and a 6-yard QB draw for six. 

At season's end I don't think we'll be talking about Michigan State's front seven as the next coming of the Steel Curtain but they provided a decent test for Ohio State's group and you have to okay about how the offensive line held up in the run game and in pass pro yielding one sack and three TFL for eight yards across 75 snaps. 

Ohio State Game Coverage
73 Comments

Ohio State Makes Statement, Blows Out Tennessee 42-17 in First Round of College Football Playoff

Jeremiah Smith

Nick Saban Calls On Buckeye Fans to Support Ryan Day, Ohio State Entering College Football Playoff: “Quit All This Negative Bullshit”

Nick Saban
View 73 Comments