Gene Ross
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Ohio State’s 38-3 win over Michigan State
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
The Buckeyes got off to a fast start and never looked back.
Ohio State was looking to get out to a fast start against Michigan State, and it did that emphatically by taking a 21-0 lead one play into the second quarter. The Buckeyes went on to win a 38-3 laugher, enabling them to rest their starters for the second half as they continue their quest for an undefeated regular season. It was a great day for the stars of the offense, while a shorthanded defensive group more than got the job done against a largely overmatched Spartans squad.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s win over Michigan State.
Marvin Harrison Jr.
If there was a ‘The Ridiculous’ portion of this column, Marvin Harrison Jr. would be listed there instead. The best wide receiver and likely best overall player in all of college football had a monster performance against the Spartans, catching seven passes for 149 yards and scoring three total touchdowns — all coming before halftime as he sat the final two quarters in a blowout. He did a little bit of everything in the game, showcasing his ability to both make the long receptions over the top and also catch it short and pick up yards after the catch. He is the first Ohio State wide receiver ever to record two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and did so this year with still two games remaining in the regular season.
Kyle McCord
There has been a lot of back and forth about Ohio State’s starting quarterback this season, with much of it surrounding Kyle McCord’s slow first halves. McCord had his best game of the year against Michigan State, completing 24-of-31 pass attempts for a career-high 335 yards and three TDs. The first-year starter really couldn’t have put together a better first half on Saturday, going into the break having completed 21-of-25 passes for 263 yards and the three scores. While the Spartan defense isn’t exactly elite, it was great to see McCord looking on-point and confident out there. This was definitely the type of performance he will look to build off of, with one more game to fine tune things ahead of Michigan.
TreVeyon Henderson
Ohio State’s rushing attack simply looks different when TreVeyon Henderson is healthy. His numbers against Michigan State don't jump off the page like they did against Wisconsin and Rutgers, but it was another efficient night for the junior running back: 13 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown before sitting out the second half of a runaway game. Over his last three games, Henderson has ran for over 350 yards on just under six yards per carry, while also adding 139 yards through the air on 11 receptions. While Harrison Jr. is the star of the show and a ton of eyes are on McCord each week, Henderson is the lynchpin of the entire Ohio State offense.
Fast Starts
The Buckeyes came into the night looking to get off to a fast start, as they have had trouble all season long getting into a rhythm before halftime. The last three weeks especially had really been a struggle offensively through the first two quarters, and even more glaringly in the first quarter. Ohio State scored just three points in the first quarter against Penn State, three in the first quarter against Wisconsin, and only seven in the entire first half against Rutgers. Against Michigan State, the Buckeyes put up 200 yards in the first quarter and got out to an almost immediate 14-0 lead, adding a third score to make it 21-0 on the first play of the second quarter. You won’t be able to put together that kind of opener too often, but it was exactly the kind of start Ryan Day was looking for this week.
The Second Half (as a viewer)
Ohio State didn’t necessarily do anything bad in the second half. Taking a 35-3 lead into halftime, the Buckeyes really just sat on the football for the rest of the contest. Harrison Jr. and Henderson came out of the game to start the third quarter, and it wasn’t too long after that the majority of the other starters on both sides of the ball were out as well. It would have been fun to run up the score a little against an overmatched opponent, but the main goal here was to make sure you left the game without racking up any additional injuries. Unfortunately, that just meant a really boring half of football to watch as a viewer — which I will gladly take if it means Ohio State is up big.
Parker Fleming
Sticking to my word that Ohio State’s special teams coach will be listed on this part of the postgame column every week until he is fired. While the group didn’t do anything absolutely egregious this week for the first time in what felt like forever, there were still a handful of minor mistakes that shouldn’t happen if you are choosing to waste a coaching position on special teams. The funniest one was failing to get lined up on a punt, leading to Ryan Day needing to waste a time out and looking exacerbated on the sideline as a result. The Buckeyes also missed a field goal, which isn’t entirely Fleming fault, but once again: it’s his unit. With the Michigan game coming up, one that is likely going to be played on the slimmest of margins, having an actively bad special teams coordinator could be the difference in winning or losing.
Injuries
It flew under the radar a bit because the broadcast never mentioned it, but Mike Hall Jr. exited the game and went to the locker room with a trainer early in the second quarter. It is unclear the severity of whatever ailed him, but injuries continue to plague this Ohio State team. The Buckeyes were already without Lathan Ransom, Josh Proctor and Tommy Eichenberg in this game, although it sounds like Proctor and Eichenberg were held out more for precautionary reasons. Ransom’s injury is more concerning, as the safety was seen on a scooter with a boot on his foot prior to the game. While Ohio State still needs to win against Minnesota next weekend, the main priority before the trip to Ann Arbor has to be getting as healthy as possible.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
The Buckeyes got off to a fast start and never looked back.
Ohio State was looking to get out to a fast start against Michigan State, and it did that emphatically by taking a 21-0 lead one play into the second quarter. The Buckeyes went on to win a 38-3 laugher, enabling them to rest their starters for the second half as they continue their quest for an undefeated regular season. It was a great day for the stars of the offense, while a shorthanded defensive group more than got the job done against a largely overmatched Spartans squad.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s win over Michigan State.
The Good
Marvin Harrison Jr.
If there was a ‘The Ridiculous’ portion of this column, Marvin Harrison Jr. would be listed there instead. The best wide receiver and likely best overall player in all of college football had a monster performance against the Spartans, catching seven passes for 149 yards and scoring three total touchdowns — all coming before halftime as he sat the final two quarters in a blowout. He did a little bit of everything in the game, showcasing his ability to both make the long receptions over the top and also catch it short and pick up yards after the catch. He is the first Ohio State wide receiver ever to record two 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and did so this year with still two games remaining in the regular season.
Kyle McCord
There has been a lot of back and forth about Ohio State’s starting quarterback this season, with much of it surrounding Kyle McCord’s slow first halves. McCord had his best game of the year against Michigan State, completing 24-of-31 pass attempts for a career-high 335 yards and three TDs. The first-year starter really couldn’t have put together a better first half on Saturday, going into the break having completed 21-of-25 passes for 263 yards and the three scores. While the Spartan defense isn’t exactly elite, it was great to see McCord looking on-point and confident out there. This was definitely the type of performance he will look to build off of, with one more game to fine tune things ahead of Michigan.
TreVeyon Henderson
Ohio State’s rushing attack simply looks different when TreVeyon Henderson is healthy. His numbers against Michigan State don't jump off the page like they did against Wisconsin and Rutgers, but it was another efficient night for the junior running back: 13 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown before sitting out the second half of a runaway game. Over his last three games, Henderson has ran for over 350 yards on just under six yards per carry, while also adding 139 yards through the air on 11 receptions. While Harrison Jr. is the star of the show and a ton of eyes are on McCord each week, Henderson is the lynchpin of the entire Ohio State offense.
Fast Starts
The Buckeyes came into the night looking to get off to a fast start, as they have had trouble all season long getting into a rhythm before halftime. The last three weeks especially had really been a struggle offensively through the first two quarters, and even more glaringly in the first quarter. Ohio State scored just three points in the first quarter against Penn State, three in the first quarter against Wisconsin, and only seven in the entire first half against Rutgers. Against Michigan State, the Buckeyes put up 200 yards in the first quarter and got out to an almost immediate 14-0 lead, adding a third score to make it 21-0 on the first play of the second quarter. You won’t be able to put together that kind of opener too often, but it was exactly the kind of start Ryan Day was looking for this week.
The Bad
The Second Half (as a viewer)
Ohio State didn’t necessarily do anything bad in the second half. Taking a 35-3 lead into halftime, the Buckeyes really just sat on the football for the rest of the contest. Harrison Jr. and Henderson came out of the game to start the third quarter, and it wasn’t too long after that the majority of the other starters on both sides of the ball were out as well. It would have been fun to run up the score a little against an overmatched opponent, but the main goal here was to make sure you left the game without racking up any additional injuries. Unfortunately, that just meant a really boring half of football to watch as a viewer — which I will gladly take if it means Ohio State is up big.
The Ugly
Parker Fleming
Sticking to my word that Ohio State’s special teams coach will be listed on this part of the postgame column every week until he is fired. While the group didn’t do anything absolutely egregious this week for the first time in what felt like forever, there were still a handful of minor mistakes that shouldn’t happen if you are choosing to waste a coaching position on special teams. The funniest one was failing to get lined up on a punt, leading to Ryan Day needing to waste a time out and looking exacerbated on the sideline as a result. The Buckeyes also missed a field goal, which isn’t entirely Fleming fault, but once again: it’s his unit. With the Michigan game coming up, one that is likely going to be played on the slimmest of margins, having an actively bad special teams coordinator could be the difference in winning or losing.
Injuries
It flew under the radar a bit because the broadcast never mentioned it, but Mike Hall Jr. exited the game and went to the locker room with a trainer early in the second quarter. It is unclear the severity of whatever ailed him, but injuries continue to plague this Ohio State team. The Buckeyes were already without Lathan Ransom, Josh Proctor and Tommy Eichenberg in this game, although it sounds like Proctor and Eichenberg were held out more for precautionary reasons. Ransom’s injury is more concerning, as the safety was seen on a scooter with a boot on his foot prior to the game. While Ohio State still needs to win against Minnesota next weekend, the main priority before the trip to Ann Arbor has to be getting as healthy as possible.
Continue reading...