Game 9 OHIO
STATE v MICHIGAN STATE
November 8, 2014 Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI
Michigan
State Spartans
Location:
East Lansing, MI
Stadium:
Spartan Stadium (75,005)
Coach: Mark Dantonio
(8th year): 71-30 at MSU/89-47 overall, 42-21 v B1G, 2-5 v OSU
Series: OSU 28, MSU 14
Last Meeting:
12/7/2013: MSU 34, OSU 24 (B1G Championship Game: Indianapolis)
Last OSU win:
9/29/2012: OSU 17, MSU 16
Coach Meyer:
31-3 at OSU, 135-26 overall, 23-2 v B1G, 1-1 v MSU
2013
Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2)(8-1) 2013 Michigan State
Spartans (13-1)(9-0)
40 Buffalo 20 26 Western Michigan 13
42 San
Diego State 7 21 South Florida 6
52 at
California 34 55 Youngstown State 17
76 Florida
A&M 0 13 at Notre Dame 17
31 Wisconsin 24 26 at
Iowa 14
40 at
Northwestern 30 42 Indiana 28
34 Iowa 24 14 Purdue 0
63 Penn
State 14 42 at Illinois
3
56 at
Purdue 0 29 Michigan 6
60 at
Illinois 35 41 at Nebraska 28
42 Indiana 14 30 at Northwestern 6
42 at
Michigan 41 14 Minnesota
3
24 Michigan
State 34 34 Ohio
State 24
(B1G
Championship) (B1G
Championship)
35 Clemson 40 24 Stanford 20
(Orange Bowl) (Rose
Bowl)
2014
Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1)(4-0) 2014 Michigan State
Spartans (7-1)(4-0)
34 at
Navy (Baltimore) 17 45 Jacksonville State 7
21 Virginia
Tech 35 27 at Oregon 46
66 Kent
State 0
S20 73 Eastern Michigan 14
50 Cincinnati 28 56 Wyoming 14
52 at
Maryland 24 27 Nebraska 22
O11 45 at Purdue 31
56 Rutgers 17 56 at Indiana 17
31 at
Penn State 24 (2OT) 35 Michigan 11
55 Illinois 14
N8 at
Michigan State Ohio
State
N15 at
Minnesota at
Maryland
N22 Indiana Rutgers
N29 Michigan at Penn State
The game of the year (and the de
facto championship game for the B1G East Division) will take place on Saturday
as Ohio State faces the toughest test on their schedule in Spartan Stadium
against Michigan State. The Buckeyes and Spartans are very similar, heading into the
game. The two teams rank near the top of the Big Ten in almost every
statistical category and, thus, are the only two remaining Big Ten teams
without a conference loss.
Michigan State Offense v Ohio State
defense: It is no secret Michigan State has
made their greatest improvement on the offensive side of the ball. Heading into Saturday's showdown with the
Buckeyes, Michigan State leads the Big Ten in total offense and is ninth in the
country, racking up over 515 yards per game. MSU is one of just
three teams in the FBS, along with Mississippi State and Marshall, to average
more than 250 yards in both rushing and passing. The Spartans are averaging
254.9 yards rushing with 28 TDs and 260.4 yards passing with 19 TDs. Twelve
different offensive players have scored touchdowns this season for the
Spartans, including 10 with at least two touchdowns and it is no secret at the heart of this offensive
resurgence is quarterback Connor Cook. Cook
has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award,
which is given annually to the collegiate player of the year. Cook ranks second
in the Big Ten and seventh in the NCAA FBS in passing efficiency with a 163.1
rating. He also ranks among the Big Ten leaders in touchdown passes (second
with 17), passing (second with 233.5 ypg.), total offense (fourth with 239.0
ypg.) and completion percentage (fourth at .606). Cook has thrown TD passes in
each of his last 15 games. Cook also has
Tony Lippett back as his favorite target.
A legitimate Bilitnikoff Award candidate, Lippett ranks first in the Big
Ten and ninth in the FBS with 111.1 receiving yards per game. He leads the Big
Ten and ranks tied for fourth in the FBS with nine TD receptions this season. But, if Ohio State overloads against Lippett,
Cook can go to dependable senior wideout Keith Mumphrey, who has hauled in 10
catches for 151 yards and one touchdown and has also carried four times on
reverses for 68 yards and a score.
Mumphrey also is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. Jeremy Langford is merely the latest in a
long line of outstanding running backs the Spartans have been fortunate to
have. A punishing runner with good
cut-back ability, Langford has run for over 100 yards in five straight games,
including his season high two weeks ago against Michigan (177), and ranks fifth
in the conference in rushing with 105.1 yards per game. A great contributor to Cook and Langford’s
success has been an experienced line, as the Spartans returned all but one of
the offensive line that helped them to the B1G Title and Rose Bowl victory last
year. Senior guard Connor Kruse and his
classmate guard Travis Jackson pave the way for this explosive offense.
This offense will
be going up a significantly improved Ohio State defense, which is fourth in the Big Ten and 17th nationally in scoring defense
at 19.9 points per game and is giving up 300 yards per game — good for fourth
in the Big Ten and eighth nationally The gradual emergence of DE Steve Miller as a
steady playmaker will help prevent the Spartans from double-teaming Joey Bosa
and help slow down Langford. The
Spartans will more than likely attempt to run Langford around 30 times in this
game and utilize the medium and deep routes to keep Ohio State from stacking
the box. Critical for the Buckeye
defense will be their ability to pressure Cook with their front four. If they can, they have a chance to slow down
this entire offense, but if they have to rely on blitzes, it will leave Doran
Grant or Vonn Bell one-on-one deep with Lippett and the Spartans will take that
matchup.
Ohio
State offense v Michigan State defense: The defending Big Ten champion Spartans have long been known
for their stingy defense and this year is no exception. Michigan State ranks
third in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in total defense, allowing 279.4
yards per game. The Spartans are also sixth in the Big Ten and 22nd
nationally in scoring defense at 20.3 points per game. Michigan State leads the conference and is
seventh nationally with 28 sacks on the year and it has also forced 22
turnovers, tops in the Big Ten and eighth in the country. Leading the way up
front for the Spartan defense is four-year starter DE Marcus Rush, who has
started in 48 consecutive games. This
year, he has 28 tackles, which include 6.5 for loss for 40 yards and 3.5 sacks
(34 yards), with 11 tackles in their only loss at Oregon. One of the most improved defensive players is
the other book end Shilique Calhoun with 25 tackles. Calhoun has improved as a pass rushing end
and has already racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and a fumble
recovery. He and Rush have shown they
can be a headache for any offensive line.
The Spartans have had great men in the middle and this year is no
exception. Taking over for the departed
outstanding MLB Max Bullough is Taiwan Jones, who moved to the middle from an
OLB position in the spring. Jones has
shown he can play the middle just as well, standing second on the team in
tackles with 38 which includes a whopping 9.5 tackles for loss for 35 yards and
four sacks (19 yards). He compiled eight
tackles, two TFLs, a sack, and his first career interception in their win over
Michigan. Darien Harris and Ed Davis add
quickness and experience at the OLB positions.
As if this tough front seven wasn’t enough to deal with, the Spartans
still have fifth-year senior Kurtis Drummond at free safety. A legitimate All-American and Thorpe Award candidate,
Drummond leads Michigan State in tackles with 39 and also has six pass break
ups. His speed and nose for the ball
makes him a receiver’s nightmare. Strong
safety RJ Williamson has shown to be hard to deal with in run support and
covering the short and medium routes.
Williamson has two picks to go along with 34 tackles, third on the
team. Darian Hicks and Trae Waynes have
also been tough in the run support role.
Ohio State should have a completely healthy J.T. Barrett for this game,
and they will need him to produce some running yardage, which should be the key
if they are going to move the ball against this defense. The more running threats (Barrett, Elliott,
Samuel) that the Buckeyes can bring to bear, the better their chances of
pulling the upset. It would also prevent
the Michigan State front four from pinning their ears back and going after
Barrett on every second and third down play.
In order to accomplish that and allow Barrett time to find Devin Smith
and Michael Thomas on the middle and deep routes, the Ohio State offensive line
will have to have a better game than they did against Penn State two weeks ago.
Special Teams:
Michael Geiger has improved since last year, making 7 out of 12 field goals
(long of 42), while dependable Mike Sadler handles MSU’s punting chores,
averaging 40.3 yards per punt with a long of 55.
SUMMARY: Ohio
State has been pointing to this game ever since they lost to the Spartans in
last year’s conference championship game.
These two teams are easily heads-and-shoulders above every other team in
the conference and the long-anticipated matchup is finally here. As I mentioned above, the ability of J.T.
Barrett to function and contribute like he has since the Virginia Tech loss is,
I believe, essential to Ohio State’s hopes on this titanic tilt. Barrett will have enough success to keep the
outcome of this game up for grabs until very late. However, the Spartans manage to make just one
more big play than the Buckeyes and pull this one out on their home field.
MICHIGAN
STATE 31, OHIO STATE 23
No comments:
Post a Comment