Michigan State falls to Ohio State in Columbus, 38-3

After one short week of good feelings for Spartan fans, a trip to Columbus, Ohio was all it took to end Michigan State’s one-game win streak. The Spartans came into the game as huge underdogs (32.5 points), and the result on the field was as expected.

Michigan State fell to Ohio State on Saturday night by a score of 38-3.

OSU piled up 177 yards on the ground and 353 yards through the air. The Buckeyes burned the Spartans for multiple explosive plays, including seven pass plays of at least 18 yards and five running plays of at least 10 yards.

MSU managed just 182 total yards, 94 on the ground and 88 through the air.

The flow of the first half followed a remarkable pattern. First, Ohio State would get the ball and methodically march down the field to score a touchdown, including one or two explosive plays. Then, Michigan State would get the ball, drive into Buckeye territory, and stall around the 35-yard line.

Ohio State’s first three touchdowns were scored by wide receiver and Heisman candidate Marvin Harrison, Jr. His first touchdown came on an end around, the second came on a fade route, and third on a slant pattern. Just seconds into the second quarter, the Spartans trailed 21-0.

The Spartans picked up at least 30 yards on each of their first three possessions, but they only had a missed 56-yard field goal to show for it.

Michigan State had a brief spark in the second quarter, as the Green and White pinned the Buckeyes deep in their own territory and forced a three-and-out. MSU would take advantage of the flip in field position by driving 19 yards and kicking a 53-yard field goal to trim OSU's lead to 21-3.

Unfortunately, the Spartans would not pick up another first down in the first half while the Buckeyes would add two more touchdowns, including one with just 15 seconds remaining, to bring the score to 35-3 at the break.

In contrast to OSU's success early in the game, MSU failed to pick up a third-down conversion in the first 30 minutes. The Spartans finished the game just two-for-14 on third down.

The Spartans received the ball to open the second half but failed to get a first down. Ohio State proceeded to drive the ball 59 yards down the field, but the MSU defense finally got a redzone stop to force a 36-yard field goal.

After making the score 38-3, Ohio State started inserting many of its back-up players, and the remainder of the game was uneventful with no additional scoring.

Throughout the game, the defense played hard, but ultimately struggled to string enough good plays in a row to consistently get off the field. Cal Haladay led all Spartans with nine tackles.

On offense, the Spartans had some success running the ball. At one point in the second quarter, Michigan State was averaging over five yards per carry.

Graduate student Jared Mangham saw his first significant action of the season. He finished the game with 35 yards on nine carries. He also picked up a first down on a fake punt in the first half that was a bright spot in an otherwise tough night for the Spartans.

Not to be outdone, Nathan Carter also ran well, finishing with 52 yards on 11 carries. Katin Houser finished the game with 92 yards passing, going 12-for-24.

The loss drops Michigan State to 3-7 on the season with just two games remaining. There is still a slim chance that the Spartans could qualify for a bowl game with a 5-7 record if not enough 6-6 teams are available.

But, in order to make this a possibility, Michigan State would need to win next week at Indiana, and then again at Ford Field in the season finale against Penn State. It’s not over until it’s over.

Around the start of the matchup against Ohio State, the announcement came down that the Indiana game will start at Noon. Previously, it was pending a final start time but would be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

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