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Michigan State Must Find Offense to Stay With Ohio State

Spartans' upset bid has no chance if they can't generate points vs. OSU
Bruce Hooley|
Michigan State Must Find Offense to Stay With Ohio State
Michigan State Must Find Offense to Stay With Ohio State

His sad-sack, sourpuss countenance to the contrary, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio actually has a pretty solid resume as the purveyor of a well-timed trick play.

He's won a few big games among his 111 victories at MSU by zigging when an opponent zagged, but that's not likely to work for the Spartans Saturday night (7:30 p.m., ABC-TV) in Ohio Stadium against fourth-ranked Ohio State.

"At some point in time, you've got to win your battles," Dantonio said. "They're a good football team. That's part of it. You've got to win your individual battles. You've got to block and tackle and catch the football and deliver it on time and all those types of things."

Defenses for OSU, MSU have stingy numbers

For MSU, that means find a way to run the football against an Ohio State defense allowing only 85 yards per-game on the ground, and only 223 yards overall, second in the nation.

The Spartans can stop people, too, of course, having allowed only 55 yards rushing per-game and ranking seventh overall in defense.

So the hope for them is to slow down an Ohio State offense that's ripped each of its five opponents, while putting up more than 50 points per-game, and to generate at least some threat offensively, if only to keep the MSU defense rested enough to perform at peak levels.

MSU just wore out in the fourth quarter last year in East Lansing because its offense couldn't generate anything against an Ohio State defense woeful by comparison to this year's version.

That's how OSU bolted from a 9-6 struggle after three quarters to a 26-6 win.

Combined with a 48-3 loss at Ohio State in 2017, that's two consecutive games against the Buckeyes where Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke has generated all of three field goals.

"I think you've got to be opportunistic on the offensive side of the ball,' Dantonio said. "You can't take negative yardage plays. You can't get the ball knocked off you. You can't take sacks. You can't throw interceptions. You've got to play mistake free, opportunistic. We've got to make plays, whether special teams, defensively, and we've got to be able to run the ball somewhat. There's all of that."

Ohio State offense poses threat rushing, throwing

It sounds do-able, but doing it is a different matter against OSU defensive end Chase Young, who has eight sacks and leads a unit second in the nation in that category, one sack off the national lead.

The Buckeyes are similarly daunting on the offensive side, ranking among the top seven teams in the country in scoring, passing efficiency and rushing offense.

Quarterback Justin Fields has combined for 23 touchdowns -- 16 passing and seven rushing -- and has yet to throw an interception. He's completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 218 yards per game, and OSU hasn't really explored the full measure of his running skills yet.

But however daunting MSU's task appears, former Ohio State All-American Chris Spielman cites Dantonio's three wins against Ohio State this decade as proof the Spartans won't lack confidence coming in.

I think Ohio State is that much better, but the one thing going in…(Dantonio) is not going to let his guys be intimidated by the fact that he’s playing Ohio State," Spielman said. "He does a great job of getting them to believe that they can beat Ohio State."

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Bruce Hooley
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