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

[osugrad21]

Blade

Buckeyes face stampede against MSU
Ringer a gazelle behind Spartans' water buffalo line
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Maybe Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger has been watching too much Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, but after Michigan State's Javon Ringer chewed up his team for 282 rushing yards, Schnellenberger went Serengeti on us. "When they [the Spartan offensive line] all came off at one time, they looked like a herd of water buffalo stampeding at you, and then there's a gazelle somewhere behind them," Schnellenberger said. "He's very good, persistent, and you can see how strong he is." Ringer, who is concern No. 1 for No. 12 Ohio State as it gets ready to face the 20th-ranked Spartans tomorrow, has pretty much stampeded over everyone. While most running backs can take an accounting in late November and consider 1,000 yards a darn good season, Ringer passed that mark 11 days into October. He is second in the nation with 1,112 yards. "He's a little, slippery guy, but he's a tough runner," Ohio State senior linebacker James Laurinaitis said about Ringer, a 5-9, 200-pounder. "It might look like there's no space, but he'll slide through there. And even if you think you have the play stopped, unless you have his knees down he's going to lunge forward. He will fight until the end of the game looking for yards."
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

BN Free--Offensive Notes: OSU Looks To Right Ship In East Lansing

 

[osugrad21]

BN Free--Tressel Thursday Update: Teacher Vs. Pupil

 

[osugrad21]

Link

First test ? MSU facing a buzzsaw in Ohio State


By Rick Shepich
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
? October 17, 2008

EAST LANSING ? There isn't a player on the Michigan State football team that has played in a game with as much on the line as there will be Saturday.

That's when the No. 20/17-ranked Spartans will welcome No. 12/11 Ohio State to East Lansing for a 3:30 p.m. kick off. The game will be broadcast by ABC (Ch. 7, 12, 53).
Both teams are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten and are early contenders for the conference crown. Ohio State was expected to be there. Michigan State was not.
"Ohio State is very respected around the country," MSU's Javon Ringer said. "For us to be able to get a win over them would just help this program tremendously. So, this game is, by far, one of the most important that we'll play this year."
There is little doubt that the Buckeyes are the better team. They've got the proven coach. They've got the reputation. They've got NFL-caliber talent all over the field.
Still, Ohio State hasn't been quite as dominant as many thought it would be at the start of the season. In relatively close wins over Ohio and Troy, the Buckeyes at least appeared to be beatable.
"They're a good Big Ten team, but they're nothing spectacular, nothing that we haven't seen before," said MSU defensive end Justin Kershaw, who is from Columbus, Ohio.
While that comment may seem to speak to Kershaw's observations this season, the attitude behind it was likely developed last season.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

DFP

Buckeye State-bred Spartans pumped for matchup with OSU

BY SHANNON SHELTON ? FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER ? October 17, 2008

EAST LANSING -- When Mark Dantonio became Michigan State's football coach in November 2006, he was cheered by one group of MSU players in particular -- his fellow Ohioans.
"He's the person I wanted to be the head coach here," said senior defensive tackle Justin Kershaw, who is from Columbus. "I was happy. I was real close to going to the school that Coach Dantonio was at. ... It was a strange coincidence, but I'm glad it happened, and a lot of the other guys he recruited in high school were, too."
Dantonio, from Zanesville, Ohio, coached at the University of Cincinnati before joining the Spartans. Twenty-four MSU players are from Ohio, including seniors such as Kershaw, defensive end Brandon Long, running back Javon Ringer and quarterback Brian Hoyer.
But on Saturday, when No. 20 MSU (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) hosts No. 12 Ohio State (6-1, 3-0), they'll all bleed green -- or, better yet, make the Buckeyes bleed scarlet.
MSU has its best opportunity in close to a decade to beat Ohio State, and the Ohio-bred Spartans have an extra sense of motivation to win the game.
"Being from Columbus, you hear a lot about Ohio State," Kershaw said. "They have a good program, but I'm a Spartan. ... They are the best team in the Big Ten, and in order to get that championship we have to go through them. I'm excited for this game. This is the biggest game that I think this senior class has played in since we've been here."
Cont...

 

[morbitzerker]

Link

"Ohio State is very respected around the country," MSU's Javon Ringer said.

Please.

TGIF though, because tomorrow's Saturday.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Link

No. 12 Ohio State brings flaws to Spartan Stadium


Friday, October 17, 2008 By David Mayo
The Grand Rapids Press

EAST LANSING -- We expected all season to see a stable picture of consistency Saturday at Spartan Stadium, just not necessarily that it would be the home team.
Ohio State is not exactly a house divided, but there are grumblings from within, with the offense handed over to a kid,quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who is showing both signs of brilliance and signs of the freshman he is.
The Buckeyes struggle to pass. Even running back Beanie Wells said they must commit more to it.
They struggle to score. They did not have an offensive touchdown last week against Purdue.
They struggle from within, because some players want answers, while the coach does not agree with the premise of the questions.
Where they are headed this season remains to be seen, but this does not:
Ohio State and Michigan State went to the far west this season and lost a game each was expected to lose, after which the Spartans, not the Buckeyes, have recovered more completely; after which MSU's Mark Dantonio, not Ohio State's Jim Tressel, did the better coaching job; after which the Spartans' defensive questions, not the Buckeyes' offensive questions, have been better resolved.
The Buckeyes are a three-point favorite. Clearly, their reputation precedes them.
By that, I mean they kick a lot of field goals.

Continued............

 

[Zurp]

I'm actually not worried about this game. Ohio State will give up a lot of yards to Ringer, and I'd be surprised if they hold him short of two touchdowns. But the defense will be tough against Michigan State, and 17-23 points seems about right, as far as Michigan State's score goes.

Offensively, I don't know that they NEED to open up the playcalling. They can run Wells a couple times, run Pryor a few times, throw in some short passes, and the offense will be ok. My only issue is inside the red-zone. I don't remember this happening last week, but a couple of times this season, they've had the ball inside the 5 on first down. Run Beanie 4 times out of the "I", and if he still isn't in the endzone, they don't deserve points. But none of the times I remember did they try that.

33-20.

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

More junk sports writing in the GR article by David Mayo... "after a long line of utter failures against top opponents, Ohio State's reputation has been dented"...

Jees, he makes the Buckeyes sound like Notre Dame or something.

Florida, Illinoi, LSU, USC. Long line of utter failures? four losses in three years? Yeah, that sucks.

The best thing about this game is it would be our second victory on the road over a ranked team (wiscy).

If it's decisive enough (say, 34-13?) then maybe we even move into the top ten - 10th? - in place of BYU.

Please for all the Buckeye fans living up here, let's go Buckeyes!

 

[rocketman]

I'm actually not worried about this game. Ohio State will give up a lot of yards to Ringer, and I'd be surprised if they hold him short of two touchdowns. But the defense will be tough against Michigan State, and 17-23 points seems about right, as far as Michigan State's score goes.

Offensively, I don't know that they NEED to open up the playcalling. They can run Wells a couple times, run Pryor a few times, throw in some short passes, and the offense will be ok. My only issue is inside the red-zone. I don't remember this happening last week, but a couple of times this season, they've had the ball inside the 5 on first down. Run Beanie 4 times out of the "I", and if he still isn't in the endzone, they don't deserve points. But none of the times I remember did they try that.

33-20.

More than running Beanie in the red zone, we were running the option in the red zone, and Purdue was able to snuff it. Our option run game in general hasn't been very effective.

 

[MD Buckeye]

 

[st8ofmind]

More junk sports writing in the GR article by David Mayo... "after a long line of utter failures against top opponents, Ohio State's reputation has been dented"...

Jees, he makes the Buckeyes sound like Notre Dame or something.

Florida, Illinoi, LSU, USC. Long line of utter failures? four losses in three years? Yeah, that sucks.

The best thing about this game is it would be our second victory on the road over a ranked team (wiscy).

If it's decisive enough (say, 34-13?) then maybe we even move into the top ten - 10th? - in place of BYU.

Please for all the Buckeye fans living up here, let's go Buckeyes!

Mayo is a horrible journalist, and a moran, on top of that he's written nothing but backhanded articles about MSU all season, despite winning every game since the 7 point competitive opening loss.

 

[jwinslow]

and a moran

Intentional or no?

 

[st8ofmind]

Intentional or no?

very intentional.

per the classic...

 

[osugrad21]

BN Free--MSU Hopes To Stay In Big Ten Lead With Win Over OSU