Ohio State is Sacked by Michigan State at Home
A poorly performing Michigan State team did just enough on offense to win a 10-7 match this weekend in Ohio Stadium against an untraditionally bad Ohio State Buckeye team. MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins turned the ball over 3 times, giving Ohio State every opportunity to win the Big Ten conference opener, but pathetic offensive line play and poor play selection by the Buckeyes made it impossible to move the ball at all on offensive.
After the game head coach Luke Fickell told the media that the entire team is going to re-examined. He wants to focus on quarterback play and how they run the football, or don’t run the football. But it has become very difficult to move the ball on the ground when opposing teams understand the Buckeye’s inability to pass the ball. Michigan State consistently pressured the quarterback and made contact on running backs at the line of scrimmage or behind. To Ohio State’s credit they did begin to throw the ball more as time progressed and they realized that running the ball was not possible without a passing threat.
A late change from starting quarterback Braxton Miller to Joe Bauserman was made for Bauserman’s better understanding of the offensive but he too found too much pressure from the defensive to be effective. Nine sacks total on the day for the Spartans, something the Buckeyes have not seen in years. Short term fixes are not what the coaching staff is looking for now that the game is complete and the season appears to be a difficult climb to something worthwhile.
The coaching staff wants to focus on running the football and feels they can win games with a strong ground game. They will meet Nebraska this weekend on the road followed by Illinois and Wisconsin, all currently ranked opponents. The NCAA is still looking at the eligibility of a number of players that Ohio State thought they would have back for the Nebraska game. Fans are hoping the team can find something on the offensive side of the ball before they end October with a very ugly record.