On the lookout for optimism in a tough Cleveland Browns season
November 20, 2015Know Your Opponent: Michigan State Spartans
November 20, 2015After a season of waiting, Michigan State is finally coming to town. Before the season began, scores of prognosticators expected the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan State game to claim the Big Ten East and the conference championship as well. While the victor will not clinch anything on Senior Day in Columbus, the game provides the toughest challenge the Buckeyes have faced all year. With College GameDay on the Oval, Saturday portends to be a game to remember.
[Related: Senior Day Hype Trailer]
Ohio State (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) leads the all-time series, 29-14. Shortly after joining the Big Ten, Michigan State (9-1, 5-1 B1G) regularly fell to the powerhouse Buckeyes, but recent matchups have seen both sides playing as equals. The Buckeyes have won three of the last five contests, but the most recent MSU victory in the 2013 Big Ten Championship Game stands as one of the most significant in series history. The home team has not won in the OSU-MSU series since the 2007 Buckeyes prevailed in Columbus.
Michigan State opened the 2015 campaign on an eight-game winning streak. Sparty bested a highly ranked Oregon club and later benefited from divine football intervention when a blown punt gifted them a heart-stopping 27-23 win at Michigan. Despite their accolades, Michigan State has also squeaked by Big Ten also-rans Purdue (by three points) and Rutgers (by seven). The Spartans hit an unexpected stumbling block in Lincoln, Nebraska, where a questionable out of bounds non-call resulted in a 39-38 Cornhuskers win. Despite the conference loss, Michigan State remains alive in the race for the Big Ten East. MSU would need to beat Ohio State on Saturday and Penn State on November 28 to clinch a return to Indianapolis.
This week’s program returns us to 1969, when the Spartans came calling at the Horseshoe. Our heroic, larger than life Buckeye delivers a textbook stiffarm to a would-be Spartan tackler. Not only does the defender appear helpless in the face of raw Ohioan might, he also does not appear to be ready for the game. An official would never allow a shield on the field, and a barefoot player is only asking for trouble. It leads one to wonder: Is our Buckeye shoving the visiting mascot? Does his competitive spirit know no bounds? Regardless, it appears nothing will stand between him and the end zone. Ohio State won the game, 54-21.
Michigan State’s premier playmaker is quarterback Connor Cook. The Hinckley native and Walsh Jesuit alum holds the record for most career wins (32) as a Spartan quarterback. A fifth-year senior, Cook is enjoying a prolific year in East Lansing. On the year, Cook has thrown for 2,482 yards on 175-of-311 passing (56 percent) along with 21 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He averages 248.2 passing yards per game and runs the offense like a professional (which he will be next year). During the week, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer called Cook “one of the best quarterbacks in Big Ten history.” During last week’s win over Maryland, Cook sat out the second half with a sore shoulder. While Michiganders ran to their rosaries, head coach Mark D’Antonio quickly assured that the benching was simply precautionary and he expects Cook to start against the Buckeyes.
Aaron Burbridge receives the most Cook passes, with 65 catches for 1,021 yards and 6 touchdowns. Six different Spartans have caught a touchdown pass as part of the club’s balanced passing attack. On the ground this season, LJ Scott has rushed for 519 yards and nine touchdowns. Scott averages 51.9 yards per game and 5.5 yards per touch. Riley Bullough leads the club defensively with 79 tackles, along with four sacks and two interceptions. Meyer was effusive discussing the Spartan’s defensive line. “We’re facing the best defensive line maybe in college football,” said Urban.
The Buckeyes will honor 18 departing seniors before kickoff on Saturday. The graduating class boasts a career record of 48-3, a Big Ten Championship, and a National Championship. Here’s a look at a few notable men playing their final game at Ohio Stadium:
TE Nick Vannett, Westerville, OH. Vannett has yet to record a touchdown on the season, but he has developed into a reliable target with 131 yards on 14 receptions. As a blocker, Vannett works to create openings for tailback Ezekiel Elliott.
DT Adolphus Washington, Cincinnati, OH. A hulking 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, Washington makes a huge impact on the Buckeye defensive line. Washington has 40 tackles on the year, three sacks, and a glorious pick-six against Western Michigan.
LB Joshua Perry, Galena, OH. Perry has started all ten games as a senior, recording 73 tackles including 6.5 for a loss and three sacks. A unanimous leader in the locker room, Meyer has praised Perry’s play throughout the season.
H-Back Braxton Miller, Huber Heights, OH. No doubt Miller will receive the largest cheer from the sellout crowd. The one-time starting quarterback recovered from a season-ending injury in 2014 to become a playmaking threat for the 2015 Buckeyes. While Miller’s touches have been down over the past few weeks, Meyer understands what the game means to Miller. “We’re going to do the best we can, and he’s going to keep grinding and working and developing as a receiver. We’ve got to protect him and distribute the ball a little bit.” Hopefully Miller can get a few chances to make a difference against the Spartans.
After last week’s 28-3 conquest over Illinois, Buckeye Nation took to social media proclaiming, “the real season starts now.” Personally, I find it difficult to put stock into that statement. While MSU represents the first ranked team the Buckeyes will face this year, every game in the season has prepared them for this moment. Think back to Ohio State’s narrow escapes over Northern Illinois or Indiana. Could you imagine playing Michigan State the following week? The travails, quarterback changes, and kicking concerns have all positioned the Scarlet and Gray where they are now: ready.
Michigan State will hold nothing back in the Horseshoe as their postseason hopes hang in the balance. The Buckeyes have the talent on paper, but they need to play a complete game if they want to run their unbeaten streak to twenty-four. It may take an overtime to get there, but expect Ohio State to secure their eleventh victory on the year as the focus turns to That School Up North.
3 Comments
This week the puny Committee gets to witness a lesson in brutal reality.
The Galactuseyes will go all Xerxes on the Fighting Leonidases, and force the networks to censor the bloodbath.
When this is finished, WE EXPECT THE COMMITTEE TO HAND DELIVER THE DAMN TROPHY, or the next 3 opponents shall suffer gruesome fates, the likes of which the world has never seen.
THIS IS CO-LUM-BUS!
King Barrett and his minions are preparing to rain death upon you Sparty!
http://img.pandawhale.com/post-35807-Our-arrows-will-blot-out-the-s-YQT6.gif
We respect Sparty. And I’d even go so far as to say their fans in that state are more like cousins than other Big rivals. It also helps that we have a common enemy…a Wolverine.
And as for the other team in that state (the one who lost to Sparty), however, hopefully at the end of the season they’ll be walking away sadly (yet again) cleaning the brown streaks out of their khaki pants.
Bah. State University of Ohio cares not for any opponent.
They are all just faceless victims of the juggernaut on the way to football immortality.
Why the NCAA refuses to just hand over the trophy is quiet mystifying. Can they not recognize greatness on display every single week?