Football Friday: Spartan Edition
Posted on October 17, 2008 by Matt Barker
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BUCKEYES vs. SPARTANS
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No. 12/11 Ohio State (6-1, 3-0) vs. No. 20/17 Michigan State (6-1, 3-0)
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| 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 |
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STATISTICS
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE |
OHIO STATE
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MICHIGAN STATE
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Statistical
Average |
Big Ten
Rank |
NCAA
Rank |
Statistical
Average |
Big Ten
Rank |
NCAA
Rank |
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| Scoring Offense |
24.3
|
7
|
70
|
29.7
|
4
|
44
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|
| Total Offense |
320.9
|
10
|
94
|
368.9
|
7
|
62
|
|
| Rushing Offense |
177.3
|
6
|
37
|
176.6
|
7
|
38
|
|
| Passing Offense |
143.6
|
11
|
108
|
192.3
|
8
|
85
|
|
| DEFENSE |
OHIO STATE
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MICHIGAN STATE
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|||||
|
Statistical
Average |
Big Ten
Rank |
NCAA
Rank |
Statistical
Average |
Big Ten
Rank |
NCAA
Rank |
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| Scoring Defense |
14.3
|
3
|
13
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16.7
|
5
|
25
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| Total Defense |
269.0
|
2
|
12
|
361.9
|
9
|
68
|
|
| Rushing Defense |
103.6
|
4
|
23
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134.9
|
8
|
60
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| Passing Defense |
165.4
|
1
|
16
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227.0
|
9
|
87
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STARTING LINEUPS |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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OHIO STATE Offense |
MICHIGAN STATE Defense |
MICHIGAN STATE Offense |
OHIO STATE Defense |
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|
75
Alex Boone 6-8, 312, Sr. |
L
T |
D
E |
58
Trevor Anderson 6-2, 250, Jr. |
57
Rocco Cironi 6-6, 308, Jr. |
L
T |
D
E |
9
Robert Rose 6-5, 285, Jr. |
|
64
Jim Cordle 6-4, 297, Jr. |
L
G |
D
T |
97
Justin Kershaw 6-5, 273, Sr. |
67
Joel Foreman 6-3, 308, Fr. |
L
G |
D
T |
97
Cameron Heyward 6-6, 287, So. |
|
50
Michael Brewster 6-5, 296, Fr. |
C
|
N
T |
70
Oren Wilson 6-3, 288, So. |
65
Joel Nitchman 6-3, 9, Jr. |
C
|
D
T |
84
Doug Worthington 6-6, 276, Jr. |
|
63
Ben Person 6-3, 323, Sr. |
R
G |
D
E |
47
Brandon Long 6-4, 250, Sr. |
73
Roland Martin 6-5, 330, Sr. |
R
G |
D
E |
90
Thaddeus Gibson 6-2, 240, So. |
|
70
Bryant Browning 6-4, 312, So. |
R
T |
W
L B |
43
Eric Gordon 6-0, 224, So. |
79
Jesse Miller 6-6, 318, Sr. |
R
T |
W
L B |
51
Ross Homan 6-0, 229, So. |
|
86
Jake Ballard 6-6, 256, Jr. |
T
E |
S
L B |
53
Greg Jones 6-1, 222, So. |
83
Charlie Gantt 6-4, 252, So. |
T
E |
S
L B |
1
Marcus Freeman 6-1, 239, Sr. |
|
2
Terrelle Pryor 6-6, 235, Fr. |
Q
B |
M
L B |
55
Adam Decker 6-2, 238, Jr. |
7
Brian Hoyer 6-3, 215, Sr. |
Q
B |
M
L B |
33
James Laurinaitis 6-3, 240, Sr. |
|
87
Brandon Smith 6-2, 251, Sr. |
F
B |
F
S |
33
Danny Fortener 6-1, 199, Jr. |
45
Andrew Hawken 6-2, 238, Jr. |
F
B |
F
S |
21
Anderson Russell 6-0, 205, Jr. |
|
28
Chris Wells 6-1, 237, Jr. |
R
B |
S
S |
21
Otis Wiley 6-2, 210, Sr. |
23
Javon Ringer 5-9, 202, Sr. |
R
B |
S
S |
4
Kurt Coleman 5-11, 188, Jr. |
|
80
Brian Robiskie 6-3, 199, Sr. |
W
R |
B
C |
29
Chris L. Rucker 6-2, 190, So. |
2
Mark Dell 6-2, 188, S0. |
W
R |
B
C |
2
Malcolm Jenkins 6-1, 201, Sr. |
|
9
Brian Hartline 6-2, 186, Jr. |
W
R |
F
C |
37
Ross Weaver 6-1, 202, Jr. |
3
B.J. Cunningham 6-2, 205, Fr. |
W
R |
F
C |
5
Chimdi Chekwa 6-0, 188, So. |
