Indians Spring Training schedule and reporting dates
November 24, 2015Johnny Manziel may not start on Monday night; Pettine “disappointed”
November 24, 2015For the first time in 24 games (and 31 regular season Big Ten games), the Ohio State Buckeyes lost. Against a very good Michigan State team, the Buckeyes struggled in almost every aspect of the game. Filled with a lot of bad and ugly, let’s dig into the Spartans upset over the scarlet and gray, on what was Senior Day in Columbus.
The Good
Red zone offense
A perfect 2-for-2 in the red zone for the Buckeyes, both opportunties finishing with touchdowns. While both of Ohio State’s touchdowns came in the red zone, the Buckeyes were not able to beat the fact Michigan State was bigger and better, at least on this day.
Whether or not their offensive philosophy changed at times in the red zone is a whole new story, but it’s obvious that the Ohio State offense is much better inside the 20-yard line.
Joshua Perry
One of the few bright spots. Perry finished with a team-high 15 tackles (next best was eight) and 0.5 tackles for loss. The senior, who played his last game in The Shoe, did all he could do to try and help the Buckeyes beat the Spartans.
It was fourth game of the season (and seventh of his career) that Perry had at least 10 tackles.
The Bad
Joey Bosa
He may have had four tackles, but for the first time this season, Joey Bosa struggled.
With three offsides calls Saturday night, including one on fourth-and-8 that led to a Michigan State first down and touchdown to tied the game, Bosa was not himself Saturday night. Whether it was due to the fact that it was (most likely) his last game in Ohio Stadium or his mind was focused elsewhere.
One of the best defensive lineman in the country, Bosa sure didn’t look like it with his mental mistakes against Michigan State.
The Ugly
The Offense
Twenty-one minutes and fifty seconds of possession, a total of 45 plays, five first downs, and 132 yards (just 46 passing yards), the Ohio State offense couldn’t have looked much worse in Saturday night’s loss to Michigan State. This was the least amount of yards an Urban Meyer-coached offense has ever produced. Not only was the offense dominated by the Spartans defense, but considering Michigan State had the ball for 38 minutes and 10 seconds, they controlled the entire game and eventually wore down the Silver Bullets.
J.T. Barrett
Weather conditions played a factor, but the quarterback completed just 9-of-16 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. (He added 15 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown.)
With a few overthrows and way too many quarterback scrambles, Barrett and company struggled against Sparty. Barrett’s 46 yards through the air was also the lowest total by any Urban Meyer-coached team.
Ezekiel Elliott
Zeke finished with just 12 carries for 33 yards and a touchdown, snapping an FBS-leading streak of 15 consecutive games with at least 100 yards on the ground. His 12 carries were his fewest since the season opener at Virginia Tech, where he only had 11.
Elliott’s lone touchdown was his 17th of the season and 37th of career, which ties him for fourth amongst all-time Ohio State running backs.
Michael Thomas
With just two catches for eight yards, Thomas had by far his worst game of the season. Whether it was because of the fact that Michigan State’s cornerbacks were all over the future first-round pick or the weather conditions played a factor, Thomas had his worst game of the season and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Even with his struggles, Thomas still finishd with a catch, something he has done in 27 consecutive games.
Third-down offense
The Buckeyes converted just four of their 14 red-zone opportunities. Ohio State needed every first down they could possibly get, but couldn’t come up with any yardage on the majority of their third-down opportunities. It was this inability to convert third downs that allowed Michigan State to dominate.
2 Comments
The signs have been there all along.
1. AP picked OSU the preseason No. 1, and the previous eight or nine times that’s happened, we never finished No. 1.
2. SI also picked OSU No. 1, and we know how SI predictions work out. (They also picked the Ravens to beat the Seahawks in the SB this season. And, unfortunately, they picked the Cavs to take the NBA title this year, but they’ve got to hit on one of these predictions sooner or later, right? Law of averages and all.)
3. Then for the kiss of death, Bill Clinton showed up at practice to spread around some of his noxious essence.
Yeah, we never had a chance.