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JXC
17-4 since 2001
Season Analysis for both Ohio State and Michigan State
So people seem so nervous of Michigan State. Now anything can happen on a field. I mean who knows what will really happen, but we know what has happened. So since this is such a big game, and everybody is stressing about it, I figured I'd go back and seen how both teams have gotten to where they are now, and how each was feeling and looking as they moved through their schedule. See if we can I can grade out each game, see any trends, and see if I can show what we will see this Saturday.
Week 1:
Michigan State goes west to play a scrappy Cal team. The Michigan State offense doesn't look good in the first three quarters. They get 14 points. A INT return for a TD, and a blocked punt which gave MSU the ball at the 12 yard line, and they were able to punch it in. The defense had forced turnovers, but had also given up some big drives. MSU's offense got going in the 4th quarter, but they still couldn't stop Cal, and did have a chance to tie it at the end, but Hoyer threw 4 straight incomplete passes to end the game. Ringer looked average. 81 yards on 27 carries, but got 2 TDs. Hoyer threw for a lot of yards 321, but had 1td and 1int. They gave up 38 points to Cal. Speical teams looked bad for Sparty. It wasn't a great start. But it's tough to go west.
Ohio State plays YSU at home. Ohio State's offense doesn't look amazing, put up 43 points and almost 500 yards on a bad YSU team. OSU kicks 5 FGs and has lots of good drives stall. Beanie looks great until he gets hurt. Boeckman and Pryor both look good. The defense did look great. Maybe it was YSU, but YSU couldn't move the ball at all. They pitch a shutout and great donig it.
Overall, Ohio State didn't find out much, other than that Wells was hurt, since they were playing such a bad team. Michigan State did find out that they have a soft rushing defense, giving up 200 yards (two 100 yard rushers), and that it was too tough for them to go on the road and win. Ringer looks good, but not great. Not nearly as good of a start as they'd had hoped.
Rushing offense: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B-
Passing offense: Ohio State B, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense: Ohio State A+, Michigan State D-
Passing defense: Ohio State A, Michigan State C
OVERALL: Ohio State A-, Michigan State D+
So far in the season Ohio State has been a lot more impressive.
Week 2:
Michigan State's turn to host a cupcake and get a win. The defense doesn't look great, again, giving up some big runs and a rushing TD against a team that should not be moving the ball on the ground against a Big Ten team in Eastern Michigan. Hoyer barely throws the ball at all, and doesn't need to. He only gets 148 yards, but is efficant. No TDs and No INTs. Ringer gets 34 carried and Andre Anderson gets 8. Anderson has the big carry of the day for 32 yards, and did really well when he got the ball. Ringer had 135 yards and though he never had a huge gain, he just kept moving the ball and moving the chains and seeing the endzone. He gets FIVE touchdowns. He just is able to always get a small chunk of yards every carry. Again though, it's against Eastern Michigan, so you can't tell how good it really is. The defense only gives up 10 points, but you'd hope they would be better at stopping the run against a team like Eastern Michigan.
Ohio State stays home to play another cupcake, Ohio...and it doesn't go as easy. Ohio State struggles badly on offense. They struggle moving the ball at all, and a huge bad snap gives OU a big TD. The running game is not good without Beanie. OU holds the Buckeyes in check in the air as well. Boom Herron looks decent and does get a big score in the 3rd. Up until then Ohio State had again had to settle for field goals. They stall out when they get close to the goaline. Finishing drives seems to be a problem. The Buckeye defense again looks good, but against a not so good team. They only allow one TD drive, and hold OU in check other than that. In the end, special teams and a turnover by the defense help the Buckeyes win, but it is a game the offense should have done better in.
Overall, Ohio State finds out that they aren't as good on offense without Beanie, but that their defense can win games for them, even when the offense is not good. Michigan State finds out that Ringer can just keep running and getting TDs and first downs all day, and that they can be successful on the ground without throwing the ball, when they play against a bad team that is. Ohio State's offense is starting to look very suspect, but their defense looks ready to lead the team. Michigan State's passing game and rushing defense still looks suspect, but their running game looks like it can control games and help them win.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State A
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B+
Passing offense today: Ohio State D-, Michigan State C
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C, Michigan State C
Rushing defense today: Ohio State C+, Michigan State C+
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State C-
Passing defense today: Ohio State A+, Michigan State B-
Passing defense for season: Ohio State A+, Michigan State C+
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State C-, Michigan State B-
So far in the season Ohio State has been a little bit more impressive.
Week 3:
Michigan State plays another cupcake, this time FAU. FAU stinks, and Michigan racks up the yards on the ground against them, but other than that, doesn't do too much offensively. Ringer gets 282 rushing yards and 2 TDs. The offense was all him, almost every play, and he kept the chains moving for the most part. Hoyer was bad. 33% completion and an INT. It was by far his worst game against a team that doesn't have a strong defense. The defense plays well and shuts out FAU. They rushing defense gets better, and the pass defense looks steller.
Ohio State goes out west and plays USC. A early drive using both Pryor and Boeckman looks good. Ohio State moves the ball, but again stalls out and has to settle for 3. After then it was all USC. USC passed efficiantly, and ran when they needed to. They didn't put up big yards on Ohio State, but they scored TDs on 5 good drives, and even though OSU could move the ball some, they never could put another drive together and get in the endzone.
Overall, Michigan State now knows that Ringer is going to be strong this year and can carry the team on his back since the passing game just does not exist. They know their defense won't win them games, but is getting better. Ohio State now knows that without Beanie, the offense really does struggle. The defense may have just looked good against bad teams, and reallly not be that great.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State C, Michigan State A+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State C+, Michigan State A-
Passing offense today: Ohio State D, Michigan State D-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C-, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State B+
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State C+
Passing defense today: Ohio State D+, Michigan State A
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State D+, Michigan State B
So far this season neither team looks more impressive.
Week 4:
Ringer is the difference against Notre Dame. That's all there is to it. A big run late in the game, and getting two touchdowns was all the offense needed. The defense has some big picks, but did give up some yards through the air, but they completely stop Notre Dame on the ground. The rush defense is now coming together. Hoyer and the passing defense again looks average at best. Mark Dell is pretty much the only threat through the air, and that's how it has been all year. Without Ringer, this offense is not good at all, but Ringer makes a huge difference in this offense.
Ohio State has to come off a loss and play a better than people realize Troy team. They play well. Pryor gets his first start and throws 4 TD passes and is VERY efficient. Pryor and Herron look decent on the ground. Even though Ohio State doesn't put up the yards, they put up the points and don't stall out on drives. The defense plays well. They keep forcing turnovers through the air, and they play decent against the run, not letting any big plays get them. Troy moves the ball a little bit in the first half, but is completely shut down in the second half.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State B, Michigan State A+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State A
Passing offense today: Ohio State A, Michigan State C-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C+, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense today: Ohio State B, Michigan State A+
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B
Passing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State A-
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B+
Overall, Michigan State looks like Ringer State, and their defense is getting better. Ohio State bounces back well, and Pryor looks good. The defense looks like it still can dominate games.
So far this season neither team looks more impressive.
Week 5:
Michigan State goes to Indiana to open up Big Ten play. Indiana may be the worst team in the Big Ten and they made Michigan State's offense looked really balanced. Hoyer has his best day, throwing for 2 TDs and good yardage, but barely completes over 50% of his passes against a soft pass defense. Ringer does his thing...getting tons of yards and TDs. Michigan State's defense doesn't look great. A holding call keeps Indiana from getting a 97 yard TD pass, and isntead leads to a saftey. Thigpen goes for over 100 yards against Sparty, and even though Sparty does pick a couple off, they look soft on pass defense at times.
Ohio State opens up Big Ten play at home against a Minnesota team which hadn't lost the game, and still hasn't other than this one. The final score is 34-21, but it wasn't near that close, with Minnesota getting late scores against with 2nd stringers in Ohio State's front seven after it was 34-6 Buckeyes. Pryor doesn't throw much, and Boeckman gets some time, but doesn't throw for much either. They both throw TDs and don't make mistakes. But there isn't much yardage gained in the passing game. The offense stalls a couple times again, instead of putting it in the endzone for 6. The running games sees Beanie back, and he gets over 100 yards on 14 carries. Pryor runs the ball for almost 100 yards as well, and it's the running game that runs all over the Gophers. The defense plays extremely well, Minnesota struggles moving the ball or scoring until very late in the game. For a team that has scored a bunch of points, Ohio State sure makes them look pretty bad on offense.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State A+, Michigan State A+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State A
Passing offense today: Ohio State B-, Michigan State A-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State C
Rushing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State C
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State B-
Passing defense today: Ohio State A, Michigan State C+
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B
Overall, Michigan State becomes more balanced against a bad Indiana defense, and again shows that their defense is suspect. Ohio State plays very well and is very balanced, and is starting to gel on all sides of the ball.
At this point Ohio State looks slightly more impressive than Michigan State overall.
Week 6:
Michigan State again plays one of the lesser Big Ten teams in Iowa at home. And this time, it's not as easy. On 4th and 1, Iowa decides not to go for a 38 yard field goal to tie, and tries to run the ball, and is stopped giving MSU the win. This though, was one of the few times that Iowa was stopped on the ground, as Shonn Green, not Ringer, is the leading rusher on the field with 157 yards. He does not get in the endzone though, but neither did Ringer. The Michigan State defense created 3 turnovers, and that was a big difference in this game, as Ringer was held under 100 yards and Hoyer completed 13/24 passes for only 184 yards with a score and a pick. MSU's offense stalled a lot, and settled for field goals. But Field Goals were enough today.
Ohio State goes on the road for the first time in Big Ten play against Wisconsin. This game is close throughout, but in the end Terrelle Pryor finds a way to lead the Buckeyes to game winning TD drive. But Ohio State does find itself stalling on drives again early in the game, and struggle to get yards through the air. Pressure on the QB is a problem, as it has been for a lot of the season. The running game looks good though, as both Pryor and Beanie have a TD, and Beanie runs for 168 yards. The defense plays well, especially forcing two big turnovers, especially the game ender with Malcom Jenkins. They hold PJ Hill in check, and do give up some rushing yards but not any huge plays. The defense played soft in the second quarter, but got very strong in the second half, similar to what we saw against Troy.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State C
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State A-
Passing offense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State C+
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C+, Michigan State C
Rushing defense today: Ohio State B, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State C+
Passing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State A-
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State B, Michigan State C+
Overall, Michigan State is lucky to come away with a win, as we see the defense can step up and win one for them when the offense has an off day. Ohio State is also lucky to come away with a win, as Pryor shows he has what it takes to win.
At this point Ohio State looks somewhat more impressive than Michigan State.
Week 7:
Michigan State goes to Northwestern to play a believe it or not undefeated and ranked Wildcat team. After a tough close game at home against Iowa, Michigan State comes together and takes advantage of Northwestern turnovers and good field position. Michigan State starts with the ball in Northwestern territory many times, and score 3 TDs out of those short field situations. They have another 80 yards drive and 3 FGs to throw up 37 points. With all the short fields, they don't put up the yards, but the don't need to. Ringer runs 35 times for 124 yards. It is obvious now that he is going to get the ball a ton, especially when MSU is in the lead. Hoyer has a great game, while not putting up yards, he completes 70% of his passes and gets 2 TDs. The Michigan State defense gives up a lot of yards, but forces key turnovers. Sutton runs for over 100 yards, and Bacher gets a lot of yards, but throws the ball 61 times. Northwestern gets 27 first downs, but only 20 points, and that's where it matters.
Ohio State plays it's easiest Big Ten foe yet, in Purdue, at home. The Buckeyes go ahead early on a blocked punt and that's all they would need. And all they would see of the end zone. Ohio State again has problems with drives stalling out, and struggles in the redzone. Pryor does not make any mistakes, but does not make any big plays either. Beanie has some good runs, but falls short of 100 yards. In the worst effort by the offense since the USC game, they still don't turn the ball over and play with the lead for the whole game, eating up a lot of clock by running the ball most of the time. The defense plays lights out, only allowing a 50+ yard field goal. Purdue stuggles running the ball, and has to turn to Painter to throw over 50 times. Ohio State's pass defense ends up just being too good to allow Purdue to move the ball much, and make stop after stop.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State C+, Michigan State B+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State A-
Passing offense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State A-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C, Michigan State C+
Rushing defense today: Ohio State A, Michigan State B-
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State C+
Passing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B
Passing defense for season: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B+
Overall, Michigan State shows that they are all about Ringer, and that their defensive performance against Iowa may have just been Iowa playing bad, and that overall they haven't been that great anywhere except for running the ball. Ohio State shows that the offense can play horrible, but the defense and special teams can win games for them.
OVERALL FOR SEASON: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B-
At this point both teams look just about equally as impressive. Both teams grade out at a B- for the season. Ohio State has an edge in defense, and Michigan State has an edge on offense. Ohio State's offense is less consistant than Michigan State's. It looks like you know that you are going to see a lot of Ringer, and he will run well, and Hoyer will be okay at best. But who knows how good Pryor will look, or how affective Ohio State will be in moving the ball from week to week. Our defense has been pretty consistant, and so has Michigan State's, but just not as good. So I think it shows that the big X-factor in this game is the Ohio State offense, with the passing game in particular. If they play well, Ohio State will win. If they struggle, Michigan State will win. Michigan State played against Iowa like we did against Purdue. Both teams look like they are having similar seasons, but Ohio State has played a stronger schedule.
From what i've seen, I think Ohio State will be able to be productive, but I think will turn the ball over a couple times. Hoyer will suck, and Ringer will be good, but not great. Ohio State has played tougher teams this year, and that will help them in this game, and that will overcome the homefield advantage Michigan State would have. If this game were in Columbus, I think Ohio State would win hands down, but with the game in East Lansing, I say it is much closer. Ohio State wins 20-17.
So people seem so nervous of Michigan State. Now anything can happen on a field. I mean who knows what will really happen, but we know what has happened. So since this is such a big game, and everybody is stressing about it, I figured I'd go back and seen how both teams have gotten to where they are now, and how each was feeling and looking as they moved through their schedule. See if we can I can grade out each game, see any trends, and see if I can show what we will see this Saturday.
Week 1:
Michigan State goes west to play a scrappy Cal team. The Michigan State offense doesn't look good in the first three quarters. They get 14 points. A INT return for a TD, and a blocked punt which gave MSU the ball at the 12 yard line, and they were able to punch it in. The defense had forced turnovers, but had also given up some big drives. MSU's offense got going in the 4th quarter, but they still couldn't stop Cal, and did have a chance to tie it at the end, but Hoyer threw 4 straight incomplete passes to end the game. Ringer looked average. 81 yards on 27 carries, but got 2 TDs. Hoyer threw for a lot of yards 321, but had 1td and 1int. They gave up 38 points to Cal. Speical teams looked bad for Sparty. It wasn't a great start. But it's tough to go west.
Ohio State plays YSU at home. Ohio State's offense doesn't look amazing, put up 43 points and almost 500 yards on a bad YSU team. OSU kicks 5 FGs and has lots of good drives stall. Beanie looks great until he gets hurt. Boeckman and Pryor both look good. The defense did look great. Maybe it was YSU, but YSU couldn't move the ball at all. They pitch a shutout and great donig it.
Overall, Ohio State didn't find out much, other than that Wells was hurt, since they were playing such a bad team. Michigan State did find out that they have a soft rushing defense, giving up 200 yards (two 100 yard rushers), and that it was too tough for them to go on the road and win. Ringer looks good, but not great. Not nearly as good of a start as they'd had hoped.
Rushing offense: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B-
Passing offense: Ohio State B, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense: Ohio State A+, Michigan State D-
Passing defense: Ohio State A, Michigan State C
OVERALL: Ohio State A-, Michigan State D+
So far in the season Ohio State has been a lot more impressive.
Week 2:
Michigan State's turn to host a cupcake and get a win. The defense doesn't look great, again, giving up some big runs and a rushing TD against a team that should not be moving the ball on the ground against a Big Ten team in Eastern Michigan. Hoyer barely throws the ball at all, and doesn't need to. He only gets 148 yards, but is efficant. No TDs and No INTs. Ringer gets 34 carried and Andre Anderson gets 8. Anderson has the big carry of the day for 32 yards, and did really well when he got the ball. Ringer had 135 yards and though he never had a huge gain, he just kept moving the ball and moving the chains and seeing the endzone. He gets FIVE touchdowns. He just is able to always get a small chunk of yards every carry. Again though, it's against Eastern Michigan, so you can't tell how good it really is. The defense only gives up 10 points, but you'd hope they would be better at stopping the run against a team like Eastern Michigan.
Ohio State stays home to play another cupcake, Ohio...and it doesn't go as easy. Ohio State struggles badly on offense. They struggle moving the ball at all, and a huge bad snap gives OU a big TD. The running game is not good without Beanie. OU holds the Buckeyes in check in the air as well. Boom Herron looks decent and does get a big score in the 3rd. Up until then Ohio State had again had to settle for field goals. They stall out when they get close to the goaline. Finishing drives seems to be a problem. The Buckeye defense again looks good, but against a not so good team. They only allow one TD drive, and hold OU in check other than that. In the end, special teams and a turnover by the defense help the Buckeyes win, but it is a game the offense should have done better in.
Overall, Ohio State finds out that they aren't as good on offense without Beanie, but that their defense can win games for them, even when the offense is not good. Michigan State finds out that Ringer can just keep running and getting TDs and first downs all day, and that they can be successful on the ground without throwing the ball, when they play against a bad team that is. Ohio State's offense is starting to look very suspect, but their defense looks ready to lead the team. Michigan State's passing game and rushing defense still looks suspect, but their running game looks like it can control games and help them win.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State A
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B+
Passing offense today: Ohio State D-, Michigan State C
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C, Michigan State C
Rushing defense today: Ohio State C+, Michigan State C+
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State C-
Passing defense today: Ohio State A+, Michigan State B-
Passing defense for season: Ohio State A+, Michigan State C+
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State C-, Michigan State B-
So far in the season Ohio State has been a little bit more impressive.
Week 3:
Michigan State plays another cupcake, this time FAU. FAU stinks, and Michigan racks up the yards on the ground against them, but other than that, doesn't do too much offensively. Ringer gets 282 rushing yards and 2 TDs. The offense was all him, almost every play, and he kept the chains moving for the most part. Hoyer was bad. 33% completion and an INT. It was by far his worst game against a team that doesn't have a strong defense. The defense plays well and shuts out FAU. They rushing defense gets better, and the pass defense looks steller.
Ohio State goes out west and plays USC. A early drive using both Pryor and Boeckman looks good. Ohio State moves the ball, but again stalls out and has to settle for 3. After then it was all USC. USC passed efficiantly, and ran when they needed to. They didn't put up big yards on Ohio State, but they scored TDs on 5 good drives, and even though OSU could move the ball some, they never could put another drive together and get in the endzone.
Overall, Michigan State now knows that Ringer is going to be strong this year and can carry the team on his back since the passing game just does not exist. They know their defense won't win them games, but is getting better. Ohio State now knows that without Beanie, the offense really does struggle. The defense may have just looked good against bad teams, and reallly not be that great.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State C, Michigan State A+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State C+, Michigan State A-
Passing offense today: Ohio State D, Michigan State D-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C-, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State B+
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State C+
Passing defense today: Ohio State D+, Michigan State A
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State D+, Michigan State B
So far this season neither team looks more impressive.
Week 4:
Ringer is the difference against Notre Dame. That's all there is to it. A big run late in the game, and getting two touchdowns was all the offense needed. The defense has some big picks, but did give up some yards through the air, but they completely stop Notre Dame on the ground. The rush defense is now coming together. Hoyer and the passing defense again looks average at best. Mark Dell is pretty much the only threat through the air, and that's how it has been all year. Without Ringer, this offense is not good at all, but Ringer makes a huge difference in this offense.
Ohio State has to come off a loss and play a better than people realize Troy team. They play well. Pryor gets his first start and throws 4 TD passes and is VERY efficient. Pryor and Herron look decent on the ground. Even though Ohio State doesn't put up the yards, they put up the points and don't stall out on drives. The defense plays well. They keep forcing turnovers through the air, and they play decent against the run, not letting any big plays get them. Troy moves the ball a little bit in the first half, but is completely shut down in the second half.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State B, Michigan State A+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State A
Passing offense today: Ohio State A, Michigan State C-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C+, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense today: Ohio State B, Michigan State A+
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B
Passing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State A-
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B+
Overall, Michigan State looks like Ringer State, and their defense is getting better. Ohio State bounces back well, and Pryor looks good. The defense looks like it still can dominate games.
So far this season neither team looks more impressive.
Week 5:
Michigan State goes to Indiana to open up Big Ten play. Indiana may be the worst team in the Big Ten and they made Michigan State's offense looked really balanced. Hoyer has his best day, throwing for 2 TDs and good yardage, but barely completes over 50% of his passes against a soft pass defense. Ringer does his thing...getting tons of yards and TDs. Michigan State's defense doesn't look great. A holding call keeps Indiana from getting a 97 yard TD pass, and isntead leads to a saftey. Thigpen goes for over 100 yards against Sparty, and even though Sparty does pick a couple off, they look soft on pass defense at times.
Ohio State opens up Big Ten play at home against a Minnesota team which hadn't lost the game, and still hasn't other than this one. The final score is 34-21, but it wasn't near that close, with Minnesota getting late scores against with 2nd stringers in Ohio State's front seven after it was 34-6 Buckeyes. Pryor doesn't throw much, and Boeckman gets some time, but doesn't throw for much either. They both throw TDs and don't make mistakes. But there isn't much yardage gained in the passing game. The offense stalls a couple times again, instead of putting it in the endzone for 6. The running games sees Beanie back, and he gets over 100 yards on 14 carries. Pryor runs the ball for almost 100 yards as well, and it's the running game that runs all over the Gophers. The defense plays extremely well, Minnesota struggles moving the ball or scoring until very late in the game. For a team that has scored a bunch of points, Ohio State sure makes them look pretty bad on offense.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State A+, Michigan State A+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State A
Passing offense today: Ohio State B-, Michigan State A-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State C
Rushing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State C
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State B-
Passing defense today: Ohio State A, Michigan State C+
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B
Overall, Michigan State becomes more balanced against a bad Indiana defense, and again shows that their defense is suspect. Ohio State plays very well and is very balanced, and is starting to gel on all sides of the ball.
At this point Ohio State looks slightly more impressive than Michigan State overall.
Week 6:
Michigan State again plays one of the lesser Big Ten teams in Iowa at home. And this time, it's not as easy. On 4th and 1, Iowa decides not to go for a 38 yard field goal to tie, and tries to run the ball, and is stopped giving MSU the win. This though, was one of the few times that Iowa was stopped on the ground, as Shonn Green, not Ringer, is the leading rusher on the field with 157 yards. He does not get in the endzone though, but neither did Ringer. The Michigan State defense created 3 turnovers, and that was a big difference in this game, as Ringer was held under 100 yards and Hoyer completed 13/24 passes for only 184 yards with a score and a pick. MSU's offense stalled a lot, and settled for field goals. But Field Goals were enough today.
Ohio State goes on the road for the first time in Big Ten play against Wisconsin. This game is close throughout, but in the end Terrelle Pryor finds a way to lead the Buckeyes to game winning TD drive. But Ohio State does find itself stalling on drives again early in the game, and struggle to get yards through the air. Pressure on the QB is a problem, as it has been for a lot of the season. The running game looks good though, as both Pryor and Beanie have a TD, and Beanie runs for 168 yards. The defense plays well, especially forcing two big turnovers, especially the game ender with Malcom Jenkins. They hold PJ Hill in check, and do give up some rushing yards but not any huge plays. The defense played soft in the second quarter, but got very strong in the second half, similar to what we saw against Troy.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State C
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State A-
Passing offense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State C+
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C+, Michigan State C
Rushing defense today: Ohio State B, Michigan State C-
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State C+
Passing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State A-
Passing defense for season: Ohio State B+, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State B, Michigan State C+
Overall, Michigan State is lucky to come away with a win, as we see the defense can step up and win one for them when the offense has an off day. Ohio State is also lucky to come away with a win, as Pryor shows he has what it takes to win.
At this point Ohio State looks somewhat more impressive than Michigan State.
Week 7:
Michigan State goes to Northwestern to play a believe it or not undefeated and ranked Wildcat team. After a tough close game at home against Iowa, Michigan State comes together and takes advantage of Northwestern turnovers and good field position. Michigan State starts with the ball in Northwestern territory many times, and score 3 TDs out of those short field situations. They have another 80 yards drive and 3 FGs to throw up 37 points. With all the short fields, they don't put up the yards, but the don't need to. Ringer runs 35 times for 124 yards. It is obvious now that he is going to get the ball a ton, especially when MSU is in the lead. Hoyer has a great game, while not putting up yards, he completes 70% of his passes and gets 2 TDs. The Michigan State defense gives up a lot of yards, but forces key turnovers. Sutton runs for over 100 yards, and Bacher gets a lot of yards, but throws the ball 61 times. Northwestern gets 27 first downs, but only 20 points, and that's where it matters.
Ohio State plays it's easiest Big Ten foe yet, in Purdue, at home. The Buckeyes go ahead early on a blocked punt and that's all they would need. And all they would see of the end zone. Ohio State again has problems with drives stalling out, and struggles in the redzone. Pryor does not make any mistakes, but does not make any big plays either. Beanie has some good runs, but falls short of 100 yards. In the worst effort by the offense since the USC game, they still don't turn the ball over and play with the lead for the whole game, eating up a lot of clock by running the ball most of the time. The defense plays lights out, only allowing a 50+ yard field goal. Purdue stuggles running the ball, and has to turn to Painter to throw over 50 times. Ohio State's pass defense ends up just being too good to allow Purdue to move the ball much, and make stop after stop.
Rushing offense today: Ohio State C+, Michigan State B+
Rushing offense for season: Ohio State B-, Michigan State A-
Passing offense today: Ohio State C-, Michigan State A-
Passing offense for season: Ohio State C, Michigan State C+
Rushing defense today: Ohio State A, Michigan State B-
Rushing defense for season: Ohio State B, Michigan State C+
Passing defense today: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B
Passing defense for season: Ohio State A-, Michigan State B
OVERALL TODAY: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B+
Overall, Michigan State shows that they are all about Ringer, and that their defensive performance against Iowa may have just been Iowa playing bad, and that overall they haven't been that great anywhere except for running the ball. Ohio State shows that the offense can play horrible, but the defense and special teams can win games for them.
OVERALL FOR SEASON: Ohio State B-, Michigan State B-
At this point both teams look just about equally as impressive. Both teams grade out at a B- for the season. Ohio State has an edge in defense, and Michigan State has an edge on offense. Ohio State's offense is less consistant than Michigan State's. It looks like you know that you are going to see a lot of Ringer, and he will run well, and Hoyer will be okay at best. But who knows how good Pryor will look, or how affective Ohio State will be in moving the ball from week to week. Our defense has been pretty consistant, and so has Michigan State's, but just not as good. So I think it shows that the big X-factor in this game is the Ohio State offense, with the passing game in particular. If they play well, Ohio State will win. If they struggle, Michigan State will win. Michigan State played against Iowa like we did against Purdue. Both teams look like they are having similar seasons, but Ohio State has played a stronger schedule.
From what i've seen, I think Ohio State will be able to be productive, but I think will turn the ball over a couple times. Hoyer will suck, and Ringer will be good, but not great. Ohio State has played tougher teams this year, and that will help them in this game, and that will overcome the homefield advantage Michigan State would have. If this game were in Columbus, I think Ohio State would win hands down, but with the game in East Lansing, I say it is much closer. Ohio State wins 20-17.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
JXC;1290150; said:
Very good analysis. (Besides the obvious key to the game; whoever scores the most points will win) It probably will be close and come down to turnovers and/or special teams play.
Hmmmm......Ohio State wins 20-17; where have I seen that before?
(i.e. Buckeyes Comeback to Defeat Badgers, 20-17)
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jimotis4heisman
Banned
major key to the game: the team who scores more points will win this game...
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rocketman
flying low
Keep them from getting 3rd and short. If they have to settle for 3rd and 6 consistently our defense is doing their job. However, mediocre QB's tend to play the game of their lives against us, so I hope Jenkins and Co. build off of their monstrous game last week and make the Spartans pay with INT's.
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cincibuck
You kids stay off my lawn!
Uggggg. What I saw from C deck wasn't pretty. Without Boom Herron, there is no back up for Beanie. Sain's hamstring must be hurting and Mo Wells looks like he can do something if you pass the ball to him, but running is another matter. Small appears to have been dropped from the receiver set, but Posey is coming on.
But what really concerns me is line play. There's little to no pressure on the passer and the LBs are not getting clean shots on runners the way they have the previous five years. On offense... it's taking me a long time to get used to the idea that the only way we can run is when we have a back of Beanie/Pittman/MoC quality. Is it the backs, or is it an O line that can't hold blocks?
Realize that until late in the third quarter Purdue was out rushing us and had more total offense. that's Purdue, not Michigan State, not Penn State, Purdue.
But what really concerns me is line play. There's little to no pressure on the passer and the LBs are not getting clean shots on runners the way they have the previous five years. On offense... it's taking me a long time to get used to the idea that the only way we can run is when we have a back of Beanie/Pittman/MoC quality. Is it the backs, or is it an O line that can't hold blocks?
Realize that until late in the third quarter Purdue was out rushing us and had more total offense. that's Purdue, not Michigan State, not Penn State, Purdue.
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buckeyesin07
Veni. Vidi. Vici.
To me, this game all comes down to how our d-line plays. If we can get a push and free up our LBs to make plays on Ringer to force Hoyer to beat us, we'll win. If their o-line can get to the second level and occupy our LBs (which I saw a decent amount of in the Purdue game), Ringer will beat us by himself.
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JXC
17-4 since 2001
Ringer is great, don't get me wrong...but I don't believe he is as much of a game changer as Beanie Wells. MSU hasn't seen a defense like ours yet this year. Beanie has seen better fronts than MSU has for sure. He saw one two weeks ago in Wisconsins. I'd be more worried of Beanie than Ringer. And Pryor is playing mistake free football, and can run. Hoyer isn't that good. He isn't asked to do much, and he doesn't. So really, I don't see why their offense should be any better than ours? And as far as defense...give me a break. I'd take our defense over theirs at every position any day. They have allowed some pretty big rushing days from weak opponents. So i'm not sure how they beat us unless we play poorly. If we are ready for the game, and play our best football, it won't matter how good they play, it won't be good enough. Our best beats their best every day. So as long as we can bring the A game, we'll be fine.
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schwab
Donkey Punch Ann Arbor
My gut feeling is this is the type of offense that our D craves. Do what you can to send a message early that Ringer will not do as he pleases, and watch the panic set in. I understand that Dantonio rules the roost now, and we can't plan on the inevitable Johnelle meltdown, but this still seems more of a 'line-em up and hit-em', straight forward game that doesn't make our team overthink things.
At the same time, I also realize it took one helluva game by Ted Ginn a few years back to come up with a win here, but we still have that type of gamebreaker on our offense, in more than one spot. I think OSU sends a message early, and to some of your dismay, punishes the MSU offense and wins a low scoring game. So damn ugly its pretty.
At the same time, I also realize it took one helluva game by Ted Ginn a few years back to come up with a win here, but we still have that type of gamebreaker on our offense, in more than one spot. I think OSU sends a message early, and to some of your dismay, punishes the MSU offense and wins a low scoring game. So damn ugly its pretty.
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scott91575
Resident hater
by the way, there are still tickets available for this game at msuspartans.com.
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