Michigan State couldn't find the stops on defense and couldn't avoid critical mistakes on offense in a lopsided 38-7 loss to No. 3 Ohio State Saturday night. MSU was shut out in the second half as it managed just 246 yards of offense on the night while committing three turnovers.

The Spartans fall to 3-2 overall and drop to 1-1 in Big Ten play. A Friday night matchup in Eugene awaits the team next against the No. 8 Oregon Ducks.

MSU finished the night with 246 total yards of offense, Aidan Chiles accounting for 167 of those through the air on 13-for-19 passing and one touchdown against one interception. Chiles also was assessed a fumble that was a blown call by the officials.

Jaron Glover led the receiving corps with four catches and 53 yards alongside a touchdown. Nick Marsh added 30 yards on two catches and ended the night with the team's long that retained MSU possession through to the end of the 24-yard gain.

On the ground, Kay'ron Lynch-Adams led the team with 35 yards on nine carries, while Nate Carter finished with 27 on six. Carter also had the team long for the night with 19.

On the defensive side, Jordan Turner paced MSU with nine tackles, including six solo and 0.5 for loss, adding one interception and two quarterback hurries, all team highs. Malik Spencer added seven tackles, five of them solo, and had a pass break up along with Charles Brantley.

After entering Week Five leading the Big Ten in sacks with 15, MSU failed to get to the OSU quarterback all night to finish with zero.

As for Ohio State, Will Howard finished the game with 244 yards in the air on 21-for-31 passing with two touchdowns and one interception. The Buckeyes finished the night with 483 total yards of offense, including 185 on the ground on 35 carries. Emeka Egbuka led the OSU receiving corps, tallying seven catches for 96 yards, coming just short of the century mark on yardage.

The Spartans once again won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half. The Buckeyes marched it down the field seemingly with ease on their opening drive, but were called for unnecessary roughness on first-and-10 at the MSU 10-yard line. The penalty backed OSU up to the MSU 21 and stalled the drive, forcing a 30-yard field goal on an 11-play drive to take an early 3-0 lead.

Michigan State responded with a strong drive of its own, immediately grabbing a 19-yard gain by Carter and two plays later another 19-yard gain on a pass to Brennan Parachek to advance to OSU's 29-yard line. The drive proceeded to stall out as Glover was brought down on third-and-9 just a yard shy of the sticks, but Smith opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the OSU 20. The Spartans failed to convert and turned it over on downs. Smith was asked at the decision at the quarter break and stated MSU needed touchdowns to win rather than trading field goals.

The quarter would end with Ohio State having advanced to the MSU nine-yard line 10 plays later. There was a bit of confusion coming back from the break, though, as OSU was allowed to run a play despite time expiring on the game clock the officials missed whistling dead. However, the replay room negated the play and it was restarted as if it hadn't been run when play resumed.

While that was playing out at Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois, MSU commemorated former head coach Mark Dantonio's induction into the National College Football Foundation's Hall of Fame and his name being added to the Spartan Stadium Ring of Honor.

The Buckeyes started the second quarter first-and-goal from the MSU nine-yard line, restarting how play should have ended when OSU didn't get the snap off in time to end the prior stanza. The Spartans managed to make a huge third-down play as Malik Spencer broke up the would-be touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith and it seemed perhaps OSU might settle for another field goal. Instead the Buckeyes went for it on fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line and converted for the touchdown to take a 10-0 lead after the PAT.

MSU's offense looked to get on the board with its second drive of the game starting with 14:04 on the clock in the first half. Quick gains of nine, five, and then 24 yards respectively saw the Spartans march onto Buckeye turf at the OSU 37-yard line, capped off by a big catch up the middle to Glover. Two plays later and the Spartans were seemingly in the red zone this time as Velling made a 26-yard gain, the team high for the night, but poor ball security allowed Jodan Hancock to knock it loose at the OSU 10-yard line and it was recovered by Sonny Styles for Ohio State who returned it to the OSU 19.

Four plays later, the Spartan defense returned the favor as Howard found himself under pressure and was picked off by Jordan Turner on a pass intended for Egbuka. Turner mounted a 36-yard return to the OSU 12-yard line to set up MSU's offense more or less where it would have been prior to the MSU turnover.

Chiles connected with Glover on the opening play of the drive for a Spartan touchdown to cut OSU's lead to 10-7 after the PAT.

Ohio State would respond with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to make it 17-7. During the drive, defensive tackle Maverick Hanses left the game with an apparent left-leg injury. The sixth-year super senior was playing in his 46th game as a Spartan and was originally recruited by Dantonio.

Michigan State mounted another promising drive as the offense returned to the field, including back-to-back big gains on a 15-yard catch by Aziah Johnson and then a 25-yard catch by Marsh to advance into Buckeye territory. The Spartans drive was derailed by a combination of yet another blown officiating mistake and the turnover bug inside the red zone.

On third-and-3 from the OSU 16, Lathan Ransom blatantly yanks Chiles' facemask on a keeper by the MSU QB, but the officials somehow miss it. The penalty results in Chiles losing control of the ball and fumbling, allowing OSU's Jack Sawyer to fall on the ball. Even the announcing crew highlighted the blown no-call by the officials by replaying the facemask several times after the play. Had the flag been thrown and MSU accepted, the Spartans would have retained the ball inside the red zone on yet another strong drive.

Instead, OSU took over and almost returned the favor with a fourth turnover in the matchup on second down. However, on video review the apparent fumble by TreVeyon Henderson that was recovered by Jordan Hall was overturned as his arm was down before the ball came loose.

Regardless, the Spartans held the Buckeyes to a three-and-out, forcing the first punt of the game with 1:55 remaining. MSU took over on its 35-yard line but was held to a three-and-out of its own. Ryan Eckley struggled with the punt, managing just 27 yards before it would sail out of bounds at the OSU 40.

The Buckeyes made use of the shortened field to score six plays later and make it 24-7 after the PAT and just :29 remaining. The Spartans would eventually kneel it to end the half.

Things quickly went downhill for Michigan State in the third quarter and never turned around to end the game. MSU managed just one first down in the third quarter, coming on its opening drive. Chiles converted for a second fresh set of downs, but offsetting penalties resulted in the play being called back on the second-and-14 scramble to set up third down. The Spartans failed to convert and were forced to punt it away.

Ohio State scored on the ensuing possession, making it 37-7 with the Buckeyes eating 7:09 off the clock with the drive. MSU would proceed to throw an interception on its next offensive series, Denzel Burke picking off Chiles on a pass intended for Velling that Burke returned 31 yards to the MSU 12-yard line before Carter forced him out of bounds. The Buckeyes would pile on with another touchdown three plays later to make it 38-7 after the PAT.

The Spartans would end the quarter on offense, forced into a three-and-out by OSU as time expired. The defense would hold Ohio State to a punt from the MSU 49 and Tommy Schuster took the field for MSU on the next series for Michigan State's offense. Neither team would score again, each punting it away until time expired.

The Spartans return to Autzen Stadium for the first time in 10 years. The No. 8 Ducks host MSU in a Friday primetime matchup with kickoff set for 9 p.m. Eastern Time, 6 p.m. locally in the Pacific time zone. The game will be broadcast on FOX.

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