On paper, Ohio State dominated Michigan State 38-7 on Saturday in East Lansing while holding the Spartans to 246 total yards. However, the Spartans were moving the football, especially in the first half.
Michigan State had drives of 55 yards, 64 yards, 12 yards (on a short field following an interception) and 59 yards the first four times it had the ball. Two of those drives resulted in fumbles, one ended in a turnover on downs, and the 12-yard drive finished in the end zone for a touchdown.
“It was pretty frustrating,” offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren said this week about not cashing in on the opportunities. “I thought we did a lot of good things against one of the top defenses in the country. It was good to see. I felt like our guys came out, started fast, were making some plays, mixing it up, executing at a high level. Get down there, fourth-and-1, we get stopped on that drive and then two turnovers in the low red zone. It crushes you. I just think if we’re able to push some of those in then it’s a totally different game coming out of half.”
If Michigan State were to grab just three points from the three long drives where it didn’t score, the Spartans would have only trailed by one score heading into the locker room for halftime.
Nevertheless, putting together a full drive and not making pivotal mistakes is what it takes to win the game.
“It’s really cool to show those guys on the film how it’s there — and how close we are — but the bottom line is we (have) to execute more consistently at a high level and we (have) to take care of the football,” Lindgren said.
Michigan State had 186 total yards in the first half. The Spartans offense fell apart in the second half, totaling only 60 yards in the final two quarters.
“First half, I just thought we executed at a high level,” Lindgren said. “We had a good mix of calls, trying to keep them off balance. We were running the ball a little bit, mixed in the screen, some play-action, some movements, keeping them off balance a little bit.”
In the second half the execution wasn’t there. Quarterback Aidan Chiles threw an interception on the second possession of the half and the backups took over early in the fourth quarter.
Chiles arguably had his best moments as Michigan State’s quarterback in the first half against Ohio State. He was accurate with the football early and that resulted in the offense establishing a good rhythm. Chiles was a perfect 6-for-6 on passing attempts to open the game. He also completed nine of his first 10 passes.
After he started 9-for-10, Chiles finished the game on a 4-for-9 stretch with an interception.
