The Ohio St. Buckeyes defeated the Michigan St. Spartans on Saturday, coming out of East Lansing with a 17-16 victory. The win moved the Buckeyes to 5-0, and gave Urban Meyer his first win as a Big Ten head coach.
Ohio State vs. Michigan State: Buckeyes defense the difference
Ohio St. didn’t come away with the prettiest win on Saturday, scoring in just two of the four quarters, but the Buckeyes still notched the victory.
Buckeyes fans like Matt Brown, over at Land-Grant Holy Land, SB Nation’s Buckeyes blog, give Ohio St.‘s defense a lot of credit for the win:
After struggling to get off the field on 3rd down and tackle effectively, Ohio State was able to swarm one of the best running backs in the Big Ten, if not the country, and force Michigan State to throw the ball nearly 50 times, the opposite of their game plan. Maxwell had a few great throws, but with the exception of the touchdown pass, missed tackles were not nearly the issue that they were with UAB, Cal, etc. OSU shot themselves in the foot multiple times, failing to take advantage of a blocked punt, and had three turnovers on drives that could have led to scores.
Urban Meyer and his Buckeyes will face another tough test on Saturday, when Ohio St. plays host to Nebraska. Michigan St., meanwhile, will look to get back on track, as the Spartans head to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers.
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