Michigan State Recap
1. If you just look at the stats, it's crystal clear that the Buckeye defense played an excellent game last night, holding Michigan State to 7 points, 246 total yards, 13 first downs, and 2/10 on 3rd and 4th downs conversions. Those of us who actually watched the game, however, probably saw a slightly murkier picture. Sparty racked up 190 of their 246 total yards (77.2%) on their first four drives, which went as follows:
First drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, turnover on downs at tOSU 20-yard line
Second drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, fumble at tOSU 11-yard line
Third drive: 1 play, 12 yards, touchdown (after a tOSU interception)
Fourth drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, fumble at tOSU 16-yard line
So Michigan State had no problem moving the football throughout most of the first half, gaining an average of 8.64 yards per play on their first four drives but netting only 7 points due to risky play calling and poor ball security. If Sparty scores on their first and fourth drives of the game, then they go into the locker room with at least 13 points, probably 17, possibly 21, and the Buckeyes are on upset alert in the second half. (On the other hand, if Will Howard doesn't throw a very ill-advised interception – more on that later – then the Buckeye defense might have pitched a shut out.) Often times the difference between winning and losing – or a blowout and a nail-biter – comes down to a few key plays, and in the end the Ohio State defense made three key plays to kill Michigan State drives, and that combined with a relentless Buckeye offense caused Sparty to tap out at halftime.
2. The Buckeye pass defense was particularly suspect in the first half. Sparty quarterback Aidan Chiles entered the contest completing just 54.3% of his passes for 7.7 yards per attempt while throwing an FBS-leading 7 interceptions. In the first four drives of last night's game, Chiles completed 9 of 10 passes for 143 yards (14.3 yards per attempt, with 4 completions of at least 19 yards) and a touchdown. Thereafter, the Buckeye defense began to tighten, and Chiles began to revert to the mean, as he completed just 4 of his final 9 passes for 24 yards (2.67 yards per attempt) and an interception.
3. Buckeye quarterback Will Howard posted some nice numbers (21/31 for 244 yards, 2 TD, INT) but many of completions were on one-read passes. When the Sparty defense forced Howard to make decisions, he often made bad ones. Twice Howard threw into obvious double (or triple) coverage, the first of which was dropped by a Sparty defender in the end zone, and the second of which gave Michigan State the ball at the Ohio State 12-yard line and lead to Sparty's only score of the game. Ironically, Howard's two best passes of the game came on fourth down: the first to tight end Gee Scott Jr. for a 3-yard touchdown, which was the next play after the dropped interception mentioned above; the second to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka for a 33-yard touchdown on 4th-and-5 to give Ohio State an insurmountable 31-7 lead.
4. Four games into his college career, Jeremiah Smith is already playing at a different level. Many people have commented that Smith is NFL ready but I'll take it one step further – he's the next Calvin Johnson. When Smith made his first one-handed catch of the game, towering over a pair of defenders to snatch the ball out of the air, he reminded me of Lebron James going up for a rebound, someone who is simply bigger, faster, stronger, and more athletic than the everybody else on the field/court, but who also has the drive and determination to impose his will on the opponent – "That ball is MINE!!!" Smith's second one-handed reception, just three plays later, was a true thing of beauty, equally amazing for his ability to make the catch in stride and to keep his feet as he raced to paydirt. For the game, Smith had 5 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown, together with one rush for 19 yards and a second score.
5. Running back TreVeyon Henderson had 7 carries for 69 yards and perhaps more importantly he looked very Zeke-like in pass protection, on at least two occasions making key blocks that gave the Buckeye quarterback time to complete a pass.
1. If you just look at the stats, it's crystal clear that the Buckeye defense played an excellent game last night, holding Michigan State to 7 points, 246 total yards, 13 first downs, and 2/10 on 3rd and 4th downs conversions. Those of us who actually watched the game, however, probably saw a slightly murkier picture. Sparty racked up 190 of their 246 total yards (77.2%) on their first four drives, which went as follows:
First drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, turnover on downs at tOSU 20-yard line
Second drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, fumble at tOSU 11-yard line
Third drive: 1 play, 12 yards, touchdown (after a tOSU interception)
Fourth drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, fumble at tOSU 16-yard line
So Michigan State had no problem moving the football throughout most of the first half, gaining an average of 8.64 yards per play on their first four drives but netting only 7 points due to risky play calling and poor ball security. If Sparty scores on their first and fourth drives of the game, then they go into the locker room with at least 13 points, probably 17, possibly 21, and the Buckeyes are on upset alert in the second half. (On the other hand, if Will Howard doesn't throw a very ill-advised interception – more on that later – then the Buckeye defense might have pitched a shut out.) Often times the difference between winning and losing – or a blowout and a nail-biter – comes down to a few key plays, and in the end the Ohio State defense made three key plays to kill Michigan State drives, and that combined with a relentless Buckeye offense caused Sparty to tap out at halftime.
2. The Buckeye pass defense was particularly suspect in the first half. Sparty quarterback Aidan Chiles entered the contest completing just 54.3% of his passes for 7.7 yards per attempt while throwing an FBS-leading 7 interceptions. In the first four drives of last night's game, Chiles completed 9 of 10 passes for 143 yards (14.3 yards per attempt, with 4 completions of at least 19 yards) and a touchdown. Thereafter, the Buckeye defense began to tighten, and Chiles began to revert to the mean, as he completed just 4 of his final 9 passes for 24 yards (2.67 yards per attempt) and an interception.
3. Buckeye quarterback Will Howard posted some nice numbers (21/31 for 244 yards, 2 TD, INT) but many of completions were on one-read passes. When the Sparty defense forced Howard to make decisions, he often made bad ones. Twice Howard threw into obvious double (or triple) coverage, the first of which was dropped by a Sparty defender in the end zone, and the second of which gave Michigan State the ball at the Ohio State 12-yard line and lead to Sparty's only score of the game. Ironically, Howard's two best passes of the game came on fourth down: the first to tight end Gee Scott Jr. for a 3-yard touchdown, which was the next play after the dropped interception mentioned above; the second to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka for a 33-yard touchdown on 4th-and-5 to give Ohio State an insurmountable 31-7 lead.
4. Four games into his college career, Jeremiah Smith is already playing at a different level. Many people have commented that Smith is NFL ready but I'll take it one step further – he's the next Calvin Johnson. When Smith made his first one-handed catch of the game, towering over a pair of defenders to snatch the ball out of the air, he reminded me of Lebron James going up for a rebound, someone who is simply bigger, faster, stronger, and more athletic than the everybody else on the field/court, but who also has the drive and determination to impose his will on the opponent – "That ball is MINE!!!" Smith's second one-handed reception, just three plays later, was a true thing of beauty, equally amazing for his ability to make the catch in stride and to keep his feet as he raced to paydirt. For the game, Smith had 5 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown, together with one rush for 19 yards and a second score.
5. Running back TreVeyon Henderson had 7 carries for 69 yards and perhaps more importantly he looked very Zeke-like in pass protection, on at least two occasions making key blocks that gave the Buckeye quarterback time to complete a pass.
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