BUCKEYES vs. SPARTANS

No. 12/11 Ohio State (6-1, 3-0) vs. No. 20/17 Michigan State (6-1, 3-0)

Date: Saturday, October 18

Time: 3:30 PM ET

Place: Spartan Stadium – capacity 75,005

TV: ABC will televise the game with Brad Nessler handling the play-by-play, Bob Griese and Paul Maguire providing color commentary, and Stacey Dales serving as the sideline reporter.

Radio: WBNS-AM 1460 The Fan in Columbus is the flagship station for the 73-station Ohio State Radio Network. The Jim Tressel Pregame Show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. “Big Daddy” Paul Keels will call the play-by-play and will be assisted by former Buckeye Jim Lachey in the booth and Marty Bannister on the sidelines.

Weather from AccuWeather.com: Sunny skies and a game time temperature of 58 degrees.

Latest Line: Ohio State is an 3 1/2-point favorite. The Over & Under is 42.5.

Series History: This is the 39th meeting between the two schools. Ohio State owns a 26-12 record against Michigan State, and the Buckeyes are 12-5 in games played at Spartan Stadium.

Last Season: Beanie Wells ran 221 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown while the Buckeye defense held the Spartans to just 185 yards of total offense as Ohio State won 24-17. The Buckeyes took a 24-0 lead midway through the third quarter when Todd Boeckman connected with Brian Robiskie on a 50-yard touchdown pass. The Spartans scored 17 unanswered points, with 14 of those coming off of two miscues by Boeckman, a poorly thrown pass that was intercepted by Otis Wiley and returned 54 yards for a touchdown, and a fumble as he was sacked by Jonal Saint-Dic that was recovered by SirDarean Adams and returned 25 yards for another score. On the plus side, the Buckeyes held the Spartan offense to just three points and limited running back Javon Ringer to only 49 yards on 18 carries.

Analysis and Prediction: This going to to be a knockdown, drag-out brawl similar to what the Buckeyes encountered in Madison two weeks ago. Both Wisconsin and Michigan State feature run-first offenses, and the Spartans rely heavily on Ringer, who has 1,112 yards on 247 carries with 14 touchdowns. So the key for the Buckeyes will be stopping Ringer, which they were able to do last year. If OSU can stop the run, MSU quarterback Brian Hoyer has completed only 50.3 percent of his passes, so it might be a good idea to crowd the box and make the Spartans beat you by throwing the football. The question is, will the Ohio State offense score any points this week? The good news is, Northwestern racked up 459 total yards against Michigan State last weekend and was 15-of-24 on third down conversions. The Spartans yielded 5.5 yards per carry on the ground, but the Wildcats did have three turnovers. As long as the Buckeyes can stop the run, move the chains offensively and don’t turn the ball over, they should come way with a win. Of course, the Buckeyes offense will have to play a lot better than they did last week against Purdue. It would also be a good idea to pass the ball a little more than they have in previous games, too. Ohio State 23, Michigan State 17

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off

Right: Senior Javon Ringer is the best running back in the Big Ten not nicknamed “Beanie.”
Athlon Sports Photo

During the 2007 season under first-year head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans won their first four games before limping to an overall record of 7-6. But Michigan State did earn a bowl invite, their first in four years, to the Champs Sports Bowl losing to Boston College 24-21.

Of Michigan State’s six losses last season, no team beat them by more than a touchdown margin, and that includes games against Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and the aforementioned Boston College. The Spartans other two losses came in overtime.

This season, the Spartans lone blemish on their record is a 38-31 loss to California in the season-opener for both teams in Berkeley. Since then, Michigan State has rattled off six-straight wins, though none have come against a team ranked in both polls. (Note: Northwestern was ranked 22nd in the coaches poll, but not in the AP poll when the two teams met last week.)

As the architect of the rebuilding project in East Lansing, Dantonio, who is a native of Zanesville, Ohio, was also a graduate assistant at Ohio State from 1983-84, and later served as the defensive backs coach at Youngstown State from 1986-90 under current Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel.

Dantonio also served as an assistant at Michigan State under former head coaches Nick Saban and Bobby Williams from 1995 through the 2000 seasons.

In 2001, Dantonio reunited with his former Youngstown State boss and good friend at Ohio State for three seasons as defensive coordinator. His defense became known as one of the stingiest in the country. During the Buckeyes’ 2002 National Championship season, Ohio State ranked second nationally in scoring defense and third in rushing defense.

In the 2003 season, his defense ranked number one in the country in rushing defense and ninth in total defense, which led the Buckeyes to an 11-2 record and No. 4 national ranking and a BCS bowl invite.

Six Buckeye defenders were named first team All-Big Ten during Dantonio’s tenure at Ohio State and thirteen were drafted into the NFL, including two first round picks in Chris Gamble and Will Smith.

After leaving Ohio State, Dantonio went on the guide the Cincinnati Bearcats for three seasons compiling a record of 18-17 before being named head coach at Michigan State to replace John L. Smith.

Dantonio had seven starters returning from the 2007 season on offense, which include 5-foot-9, 202-pound senior running back Javon Ringer, and 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Ringer, a Heisman Trophy candidate, has rushed for 1,112 yards on 247 carries (4.5 yards per attempt) and 14 touchdowns. He is averaging 158.9 yards per game.

Hoyer has passed for 1,314 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions, but has completed 50.3 percent (86-of-171) of his throws.

Hoyer’s favorite targets are 6-foot-2, 188-pound sophomore wide receiver Mark Dell, who has 20 receptions for 443 yards with two touchdowns, and 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt freshman B.J Cunningham has 19 catches for 322 yards.

Three starting offensive lineman returned from last year with senior right tackle Jesse Miller (6-6, 318), senior left guard Roland Martin (6-5, 330), and junior center Joel Nitchman (6-3, 297). Rounding out the starters are junior left tackle Rocco Cironi (6-6, 308) and redshirt freshman left guard Joel Foreman (6-3, 308).

While the offense is averaging 29.7 points per game, good for fourth place in the Big Ten, the defense is allowing 16.7 points per outing, ranking the Spartans fifth in the conference. Last season, the Spartans surrendered 26.6 points per game, so the defense has vastly improved under Dantonio.

When Dantonio came in last year, he eliminated the bandit linebacker and moved the Spartans into a more traditional 4-3 scheme just like the one he implemented at Ohio State.

Five starters returned on the defensive side of the ball, including the Spartans’ leading tackler, sophomore SAM linebacker Greg Jones with 52 stops.

Joining Jones as another returning starter from last season is sophomore WILL linebacker Eric Gordon (not the Indiana basketball player), who’s second on the team with 45 tackles.

Leading the team in tackles for loss and sacks is 6-foot-2, 250-pound junior defensive end Trevor Anderson with 6.5 TFLs and five sacks.

Anchoring the secondary is 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior strong safety Otis Wiley, who leads the team with four interceptions.

Aug. 30 at California, Lost 38-31
Sept. 6, vs. Eastern Michigan, Won 42-10
Sept. 13, vs. Florida Atlantic, Won 17-0
Sept. 20, vs. Notre Dame, Won 23-7
Sept. 27 at Indiana, Won 42-29
Oct. 4 vs. Iowa, Won 16-13
Oct. 11 at Northwestern, Won 37-20

Tags: Football by Matt Barker, Publisher & Editor of BuckeyeBanter.com
Comments Off