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Michigan State collapses after an early chance and loses 38-7 to Ohio State

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Michigan State collapses after an early chance and loses 38-7 to Ohio State

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EAST LANSING – Jonathan Smith showed that Michigan State football has changed. A lot.

Even though the gap between the Spartans and No. 3 Ohio State remains extremely large.

MSU absorbed the Buckeyes' attacks early and countered with a promising offense that resulted in costly turnovers. Ultimately, the disparity in skill and talent wore down the Spartans, and Ohio State prevailed with a 38-7 win on Saturday night.

It was the Buckeyes' ninth straight win over the Spartans by a combined score of 358-84.

Quarterback Aidan Chiles finished the game 13 of 19 for 167 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the third quarter. MSU (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) managed just 47 rushing yards and was outrebounded by the Buckeyes 483-246.

The Spartans got there early, matching their firepower offensively with the Chileans before their mistakes and lack of depth repeatedly caught up with them.

“This is a good football team, well coached. I thought she played hard. Talented, just as we expected,” Smith said of Ohio State. “I do think we didn’t help ourselves in the first half. It was just self-inflicted.”

“I told our team that I don't feel like there are so many snaps out there that we're just overwhelmed. 'Oh, they have too much talent, they are too physical.' This is a really good team, one of the best teams in the country. But I'm trying to encourage our guys that we can compete – if we can finish some things and get back to some details about ball security and getting off the field on third down.

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OSU quarterback Will Howard was 21 of 31 for 244 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Star freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith had a touchdown catch and another scoring run, while Emeka Egbuka caught seven passes for 96 yards and another score for the Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0).

Ohio State finished the game with a 35-41-24-19 possession advantage, a 3-1 lead and a 5-5 red zone victory over MSU's 1-3 record. The Buckeyes also converted 8 of 17 times on third down and 3 of 4 times on fourth down. They also sacked the Chileans four times, while the Spartans had none of those and struggled to build pressure throughout the game.

“I think we did what we wanted to do: get them moving up the pitch. And they just made too many plays,” linebacker Cal Haladay said. “And we also have to make some plays on defense.”

MSU now has a short week to prepare for its next game, a cross-country road trip to No. 7 Oregon for a 9 p.m. ET kickoff at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. (Fox).

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Keep it close

The twists and turns of the first half showed that MSU could be far more competitive and aggressive than the previous four meetings. But it also showed how little the Spartans' margin for error is with this team.

The MSU defense kept the Buckeyes out of the end zone on the first drive, forcing a 30-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding after a time-consuming 11-play, 63-yard drive.

The Spartans quickly countered on offense and moved into Ohio State territory. Chiles' pass to Jaron Glover fell one yard short on third down at the 20, and the offense quickly got back into the fight. Chiles tried to sneak over the pile, but Buckeyes linebacker Cody Simon caught him in the air and stuffed him for no gain and a turnover on downs.

That's when things started to get weird.

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With the help of a questionable late hit out of bounds on MSU safety Malik Spencer, Howard once again marched deep into Spartan territory. The first oddity occurred between quarters when the referees checked and determined that the Buckeyes did not get their first down play before time expired. That negated MSU's defensive strategy of running back Quinshon Judkins for no gain and gave OSU a first-and-goal instead of a second down early in the second quarter.

Cornerback Ed Woods hit a second-down pass that was ruled incomplete at the goal line, and Spencer dropped a possible interception in the end zone on the next play. The free down benefited the Buckeyes as Howard hit tight end Gee Scott Jr. for a 3-yard touchdown on fourth down to Spencer for a 10-0 lead just 56 seconds into the quarter.

Chiles put MSU into OSU territory again, hitting Jack Velling on a slant and the tight end fired to the Buckeyes' 10. But before he went to the ground, Velling was picked off from behind by OSU's Jordan Hancock and Sonny Styles recovered him to end the Spartans' threat.

Linebacker Jordan Turner then made a nice play to take out Howard and bring him back deep into OSU territory. The Spartans took advantage when Glover caught Chiles' quick throw and outran a defender at the left cone. Jonathan Kim's extra point cut the deficit to 10-7.

After an 18-yard touchdown run by Jeremiah Smith on an end-around, the Buckeyes rebuilt the 10-point lead and Chiles once again led the Spartans into OSU territory.

But Chiles fumbled and the Buckeyes recovered at their own 16, although the referees missed a grab by Ohio State's Tywone Malone on Chiles' facemask before the ball came loose.

Two plays later, Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson appeared to fumble after a catch deep in his own territory, and Turner recovered for MSU. But a replay confirmed that Henderson's forearm was down before he fumbled, and the Buckeyes retained possession.

Pull away

The Spartans forced a punt but made a three-pointer on the next drive, giving the ball back to OSU with good field position and 1:13 left. Freshman phenom Smith made two one-handed catches on the ensuing drive, including a 17-yard highlight-reel touchdown from backup QB Devin Brown that sent the Buckeyes into halftime with a hard-fought 24-7 lead.

The Spartans were outscored 319-186 and allowed OSU to convert four of eight third downs and the fourth down TD. But at halftime it was much closer than MSU's previous four meetings with the Buckeyes, winning 147-26 in the first half and 205-42 overall.

It didn't take long after halftime for Ohio State to win the game.

Chiles was nearly intercepted on the first drive of the third quarter, and the Buckeyes turned their ensuing drive after a punt into a 7-minute, 9-second drive that went 13 plays and 76 yards, with Howard's 33-yard TD pass Egbuka was crowned on a fourth-and-five crossing route. Chiles was intercepted deep in OSU territory on MSU's ensuing drive, and Howard needed just three plays to rush for a 6-yard TD run that made it 38-7 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.

The Buckeyes converted 6 of 12 third-down attempts and attempted fourth down all three times in the first three quarters before the backups took over for both teams.

Glover, who caught four passes for 53 yards, missed the last two games due to injury. MSU offensive lineman Stanton Ramil was questionable and dressed but did not play, and the Spartans used true freshman Rakeem Johnson and classmate Rustin Young as backups for much of the game.

Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.

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