Game Thread Ohio State 45, Michigan State 7 (Oct. 18)

[osugrad21]

BN Free:

Buckeyes Barrel Over Michigan State 45-7

Offensive Notes: OSU Scores Early, Often

Babb: Ohio State-Michigan State Thoughts

Ohio State-Michigan State Photo Gallery

 

[osugrad21]

BSB:

Pryor, Buckeyes make a statement in East Lansing

Ball bounces right for the Bucks

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Terrelle Pryor's Poise Proves to Be Too Much For Michigan State Spartans

It's widely known that Ohio State fans have lofty expectations, but apparently these aspirations are dwarfed by Terrelle Pryor's belief of how he should perform on the field...


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...too-much-for-michigan-state-spartans#comments 22 reads
Editorial
October 18, 2008

It's widely known that Ohio State fans have lofty expectations, but apparently these aspirations are dwarfed by Terrelle Pryor's belief of how he should perform on the field.
Pryor told Tressel on Friday that if the offense stalled with him at the helm, he should be benched to allow another quarterback to spark the anemic offense. Not only did Pryor prevent Tressel from having to make a change, he dismantled the Spartan defense and jump-started the Buckeyes to a decisive victory.
This was expected to be a tightly contested battle in East Lansing between the two squads, but it took only 15 minutes to alleviate any doubt about who would move forward with their Big Ten title hopes.
This was the type of game Buckeye fans needed to see to restore faith in Tressel and the offense. They accomplished that and more, making the ensuing match-up with No. 3 Penn State even more mouth watering.
Penn State struggled against a weak Michigan squad for more than half of the game before turning the tables and routing a Wolverine squad that is in a downward spiral. It appears as though both PSU and OSU are firing on all cylinders as they get ready to prepare for the prime time face-off.
As for Ohio State, there were numerous questions that needed to be answered after a uninspired effort against a Purdue team that was outclassed by Northwestern earlier in the day. None of these questions revolved around the defense, which has looked stout after USC had their way offensively against the Bucks.

 

[cincibuck]

They looked like the team I thought we'd have. First time this year I could say that. The D-line got after folks allowing Laurnitius and Freeman to make some big plays. Limiting Ringer to 67 is a huge deal.

The O-line looked better, and that's as far as I'll go with that.

Any word on Heron? Are the bells still ringing?

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Sunday, October 19, 2008
GOOD AND PLENTY
6 TDs for Buckeyes, including 2 on defense
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
EAST LANSING, Mich. - They had just about worn out the worry beads at Ohio State, fretting over an underperforming offense that had the Buckeyes spinning their wheels, even as they were winning Big Ten games. But a series of brilliant defensive plays can make one forget all that, and even disguise the fact there might be a little punch coming back to that offense. No. 12 Ohio State forced five turnovers by Michigan State and held the nation's No. 2 runner Javon Ringer to 67 yards while humbling the Spartans 45-7 here yesterday. "We always preach that good defenses play well, and great defenses score, and it was great to see our defense out there putting points on the board," Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis said. The Buckeyes got defensive touchdowns on two long fumble returns and set up another score with a lengthy return. Chris "Beanie" wells rushed for 140 yards on 31 carries, while a number of jaunts by freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor produced almost 100 yards more, and the Buckeyes went all afternoon without a turnover.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Blade

Article published Sunday, October 19, 2008
Buckeyes expose MSU as frauds

EAST LANSING, Mich. - It is that time of year when, historically, Ohio State starts to nail it down and Michigan State starts to mail it in. Yesterday's game at Spartan Stadium didn't figure to follow that long-established trend because the Buckeyes had been looking like anything but a long-established power. And the Spartans, with a string of six wins and the nation's best runner, were supposed to be different this time around. Tougher. More determined. Not frauds. Not the same six-week wonders that end up in the Champs Sports Bowl, or some such place, wondering where it all went wrong. Well, here's where it all went wrong: Terrelle Pryor. Beanie Wells. An Ohio State offensive line that hadn't been itself and knew it had to prove otherwise. The Buckeyes' 45-7 win, by far their most impressive to date, sets up the biggest game of the season next Saturday when Penn State comes to Ohio Stadium for a meeting of the Big Ten's only unbeaten teams. "This sure feels better than last week," OSU coach Jim Tressel said, referring to a 16-3 sleep-walk past Purdue. "But we can't walk out of here with our heads in the clouds because that team coming in next week is good. I don't know exactly where our team is, but we'll find out next Saturday night against the Nittany Lions. We've got a long way to go and only have until next Saturday to get there." Do you get the impression that Tress has Penn State on his mind? Well, it's not like Sparty preyed on his mind for long. It was 21-0 by the end of the first quarter. Pryor ran 18 yards for the first score, he threw to Brian Robiskie for the second, and Wells went one yard for the third after a 56-yard hookup between Pryor and Brian Hartline, who made a marvelous catch between two defenders, was foiled just short of the end zone. Another Wells run made it 28-0 at halftime, by which time the Bucks had 274 total yards and the Frauds had 60 yards and two of their eventual five turnovers.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Reality check ? MSU crushed by Ohio State


By Rick Shepich
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
? October 19, 2008


EAST LANSING ? The Michigan State football team's biggest game in at least five years turned into a big disappointment in less than a quarter.

Saturday, the Spartans' defense couldn't contain Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor or running back Chris "Beanie" Wells, and Michigan State's offense largely sputtered in a 45-7 loss to the Buckeyes.
It was either an embarrassing loss for Michigan State, or an illustration of just how wide the gap is between Penn State and Ohio State and the rest of the Big Ten.
"Really, it's embarrassing," MSU quarterback Brian Hoyer said. "Going into the game we had a great attitude and they kind of jumped up on us quick."
In front of a sell-out crowd at Spartan Stadium ? which included a good portion of scarlet and gray ? the 12th-ranked Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0) manhandled the 20th-ranked Spartans (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten).
It was Michigan State's most lopsided loss since 2002, when it lost 61-7 at Penn State to close the season, and it was the Spartans' worst home loss since falling to Nebraska 50-10 to open the 1995 season.
A number of missed tackles, five turnovers and a largely ineffective offense left Michigan State trailing 21-0 a little over 12 minutes into the game.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Ohio State Buckeyes take out frustration on Michigan State with a 45-7 whooping

Agitated Buckeyes show MSU, Big Ten potency is there
Sunday, October 19, 2008 Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter

East Lansing, Mich.- They started angry and ended smiling, started as a defrocked conference favorite with offensive woes and ended as a defending Big Ten champion coming home to guard the home turf.
No. 12 Ohio State began Saturday afternoon as an upset special and after a 45-7 dismantling of No. 20 Michigan State ended Saturday evening, it looked for the first time this season like a team that might scare somebody.
"People asked me all week what my biggest fear was," Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said, "and my biggest fear was that they would click. Everybody has been on them and coach Tressel did a great job getting them ready."
With No. 3 Penn State headed for Ohio State next Saturday night, the Buckeyes couldn't afford to wait any longer. No offensive touchdowns in a 16-3 slog against Purdue last week wasn't going to keep Penn State coach Joe Paterno up at night. And it wasn't just the outsiders that wondered about the Buckeye offense. The players could see they weren't what they could be.
"There's kind of a lot of pressure on you, is this the right thing we're doing, do we have the right personnel in the game, is there something wrong with us?" OSU receiver Brian Hartline admitted. "You start doubting your ability. You kind of hear it through the media and everything else. And for us to come out as a team and perform as a team, I think it said a lot."

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

ON THE CLOCK WITH DOUG LESMERISES
Flapping lips, spry legs, stiff-arms

Sunday, October 19, 2008
East Lansing, Mich.-
12:55 p.m.
On ESPN radio, an analyst picks Michigan State over Ohio State as his upset of the day, citing dissension in the ranks among the Buckeyes and their open questioning of Jim Tressel's play calling. Players did talk about throwing the ball more, and a few agreed that playing Todd Boeckman some might be an idea to consider. But the alleged dissension story took on a life of its own by the end of the week, primarily among media that weren't in the room when the questions were asked and answered.
2:48:

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Sparty smarting: OSU feeds off Ringer's comments

Sunday, October 19, 2008 1:48 AM EDT
By Jason Lloyd
Journal Register News Service
EAST LANSING, Mich. ? This is the type of punch line Ohio State had become not only nationally, but around the Big Ten.

Javon Ringer, an Ohio native who had never done much in his career against the Buckeyes, playing for a school that has accomplished little in his time there, was throwing water balloons at the three-time defending Big Ten champions.

Hours before Saturday?s 45-7 clubbing of the Spartans at Michigan State, ESPN ?College GameDay? aired a piece on Ringer talking about beating Ohio State by 20 or 30, about getting the last laugh on the hometown school that bypassed him coming out of Dayton.

It didn?t take long for word to travel to Ohio State?s locker room. Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock gathered the defensive players before kickoff and relayed Ringer?s message.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Re: So on Friday, Pryor stopped into coach Jim Tressel's office.
"I said, 'Coach, if I don't move the ball within the first quarter, sit me down,' " Pryor recalled. " 'You'd better sit me down and put Todd in, because Todd will do it.' "
Tressel said in 23 years as a coach, he's never had a player say such a thing.

The kid sure has class along with maturity beyond his years.
:osu:

 

[osugrad21]

Link

'It's disappointing and really embarrassing'

Spartans' offense proves no match for ferocious Buckeyes

Chris Solari ? [email protected] ? October 19, 200

EAST LANSING - It's understandable if Michigan State offensive players snapped awake overnight in a cold sweat.

They did, after all, suffer through a bad case of scarlet fever in Saturday's 45-7 loss to Ohio State.
Led by James Laurinaitis' pile-driving tackles and a variety of blitzes that sent MSU players sprawling to the Spartan Stadium turf all afternoon, the Buckeyes forced five turnovers and disrupted any offensive continuity the Spartans had developed in the past few weeks.
"We did not perform as well as you need to in order to compete against Ohio State," MSU offensive coordinator Don Treadwell said. "They are a tremendous defense, and you can't spot them anything - even a three-and-out, let alone have turnovers and a few things that we had."
The Spartans went three-and-out five times in the game, four of them in the first half as Ohio State built a four-touchdown cushion. They had just three drives of more than five plays in the game and twice had fumbles returned for OSU scores, with another recovery returned deep into MSU territory to set up another touchdown.
"It's nothing (Ohio State) did - we beat ourselves out there today," offensive lineman Rocco Cironi said. "I don't know how many turnovers we had, but two got taken back for touchdowns. When that happens, it's tough to come back and win a game."
Ohio State, in keeping pace with Penn State at 4-0 in Big Ten play, also neutralized all the weapons MSU had featured in its 6-1 start.
Javon Ringer, second in the nation in rushing, managed season lows with 67 yards and 16 carries and rarely had a chance to get into the second level of the Buckeye defense.
Cont...

 

[morbitzerker]

I haven't watched my recording of the game yet, so I'm not sure if this was shown on TV.

TBDBITL was on the field, not in the stands, for the entire game. They were near one corner of the end zone. It was odd to see sousaphones about three yards away from the back of the end zone, and made me wonder about player safety - it was a good reason to not call fade patterns in that corner. :tongue2:

You could see the band on the sidelines on TV. There were multiple plays where I saw Buckeye players being caught or picked up by fellow band memebers. Also, on the Hartline catch and big gain, you could see the band EXPLODE as he was running by them.

Pretty cool to see, glad no one got hurt.

 

[cincibuck]

You could see the band on the sidelines on TV. There were multiple plays where I saw Buckeye players being caught or picked up by fellow band memebers. Also, on the Hartline catch and big gain, you could see the band EXPLODE as he was running by them.

Pretty cool to see, glad no one got hurt.

I agree, but I think it's an issue only waiting to happen. MSU is not the only program that sets the visiting band on the field. ND, Michigan, and Penn State come to mind. I don't think anyone bothers to send a band to Bloomington other than Purdue. First time a trumpet player has a leg broken (or worse) the practice will be stopped. Too bad, because I think having two bands at a game adds to the atmosphere.

 

[scooter1369]

Ohio State has always given great seats the opposing teams' bands. OSU's tradition of respecting the band extends beyond TBDBITL.