MI State Snaps Win Streak And Title Desire

Star running back Ezekiel Elliott has apparently played his final home game for No. 3 Ohio State, and he wasn’t pleased with the way it went down. Near the end of the first quarter, Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard strip-sacked Spartans’ third-string quarterback Terry, giving the Buckeyes the ball on the MI State 32-yard line. MI State outgained the Buckeyes 294-132, the statistic that best sums up how the Spartans pushed them around the field all day long. The Buckeyes might not be officially buried, but they are in critical condition.

It’s not unusual to have players announce they are declaring for the draft, but before the season has even ended is a bit odd. Cardale Jones appeared to declare for the National Football League as well on Twitter, unless he’s planning to transfer. Perhaps because All-American candidates, tackle Jack Conklin and center Jack Allen have returned to health, the Spartans offensive line crushed the Buckeyes, making it much easier on MSUs inexperienced duo of quarterbacks.

Ohio State’s offense sputtered the entire day and could well have gotten shut out if not for two crucial turnovers that set up both Buckeyes touchdowns. MI State responded after each one with a 75-yard touchdown drive. “It’s very disappointing”, Elliott said.

The Spartans grabbed a win they can tell their kids about forever.

Taking inventory of what Ohio State lost on November 21, a 23-game winning streak, (likely) any shot at a Big Ten championship and (likely) any hopes of a college football playoff spot might be small potatoes. We got the answer we waited for all year as Ohio State’s offense coasted. Ohio State buckled and then unraveled.

Considering the injuries, might this be Mark Dantonio’s best coaching season with the Spartans? Leave us a comment telling us what you think. That’s the price of being the defending champ and trying to be ideal. Even if Meyer thought Elliott was correct in the calls he lobbied for, he might have been stubborn enough to ignore it just to let him know who was in charge.

The Gators (10-1, No. 8 CFP) were favored by more than 30 points, but were sluggish the whole game.

“I deserve more than (12) carries”, Elliott said. Meyer said he was not content with the play-calling at all. He wasn’t wrong, and reporters love honesty.

But Terry still looks like the better option.

“No disrespect, but that’s certainly not any conversation – you’re right, a lot of things happen, but we’ve got to fix a few obvious problems”, Meyer said. “Seemed like we were backed up a lot”.

It’s not often you hear players complaining about Urban Meyer, his staff or the play-calling, but this year’s Buckeye offense has seen more than one flat week, and the deflating loss to the Spartans seems to have brought everything to a head. I asked for those plays to be called and they weren’t, and it just hurts. “It just hurts. It hurts a lot”. “I’m disappointed in the situations we were put in and I wish it all played at differently”. “We weren’t put in the right situations”.

Now, “gashing” is all relative. He also rushed for 25 yards on eight carries. Don’t kid yourself, Zeke: MI State won the line of scrimmage. Averaging 22 carries per game for 1,425 yards and 16 touchdowns through 10 games, Elliott said he’s used to questionable play-calling.

“Honestly, we didn’t see those plays for the rest of the game”, the running back continued.