A grade card on Ohio State’s 38-7 win over Michigan State in its Big Ten opener:
OFFENSE: B
Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith gets an A+++ for two unbelievable one-handed catches which produced a touchdown in the final minute of the first half that gave OSU a 17-point halftime lead and swung the momentum of the game. He also scored a touchdown on an end around, which was the first rushing touchdown of his career.
Quarterback Will Howard hit 12 of his first 13 passes and was 21 of 31 for 244 yards and two touchdowns but he threw an interception and narrowly avoided another one. His back-up Devin Brown had a touchdown pass to Smith when Howard had to leave the game for one play after taking a big hit. Running backs TreVeyon Henderson (69 yards) and Quinshon Judkins (54 yards) were solid in the rushing game. Henderson had a 37-yard run two plays before Smith’s rushing touchdown. He also did some notable pass blocking on two plays which resulted in touchdowns.
Tight end Will Kacmarek got a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty after a play was over early in the first quarter which played a role in OSU having to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown on its first possession of the game. Ohio State outgained Michigan State 483 yards to 246 yards.
DEFENSE: B
Michigan State, like Marshall a week earlier, moved the ball surprisingly effectively in the first half before OSU’s defense shut the Spartans down in the second half. MSU had 186 yards of total offense in the first two quarters and 60 yards in the second half.
It wasn’t struggles all the time early for OSU’s defense, though. When Michigan State went for it on fourth down and one at the Buckeyes’ 20-yard line late in the first quarter linebacker Cody Simon stopped Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles for no gain.
MSU helped the Buckeyes out by losing fumbles in the red zone at the 11-yard line and the 16-yard in the first half. OSU has allowed only three points in the second half in its four games. Safety Caleb Downs, a transfer from Alabama, continued to be impressive and tied linebacker Sonny Styles for the team lead in tackles with six.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
Kicker Jayden Fielding’s problem with keeping his kickoffs in bounds against Marshall did not reappear and all seven of his kickoffs went where they were supposed to go. He had hooked three kickoffs out of bounds a week earlier and was temporarily benched against Marshall. Fielding also hit his second field goal of the season, a 30-yarder. Michigan State had zero yards in returns on Fielding’s seven kickoffs.
OVERALL: B
Ohio State was good enough to eventually make Michigan State look like what it is, a team which appears likely to finish in or near the bottom half of the 18-team Big Ten standings. But the Buckeyes also gave the coaching staff the opportunity to say it’s a long season and there’s still room for much improvement all of this week leading up to Saturday’s game against Iowa at Ohio Stadium.
