Ohio State tops MI with ground game

The eighth-ranked Buckeyes had beaten No. 12 MI 42-13.

“Against a team that’s an excellent team”, Meyer added, “a team that had as good a defense as there is in college football”.

The Big Ten has earned its place, and Michigan State looks primed to take advantage of it. We’re still not totally sure Cook’s shoulder is healthy-he didn’t throw many deep balls against Penn State, and we don’t know if he can take a hit since Penn State never hit him. Michigan State won the Big Ten’s East Division, the first in a series of lofty goals this season, and the Spartans have known since January: If they won their division, they would have a shot at the playoff.

“They were able to dictate the game to us, especially with their offense”, Penn State coach James Franklin said. Michigan State is No. 5 in the selection committee’s ranking. When the Buckeyes beat Alabama and OR last winter to win the national championship, they changed the perception of their league. Hackenberg finished 22 of 39 for 257 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“I regret everything I said”, Elliott said before being asked a question in a postgame news conference. Quarterback J.T. Barrett complemented Elliott’s performance with 139 yards on the ground – more than he passed for (113) – and three rushing touchdowns. Something about those Gamecocks (3-9) against ACC teams.

“Everyone wanted to get out here and dominate”, Elliott said.

Ezekiel Elliott, one of those first-rounders, made a late Heisman Trophy push by rolling up 214 yards on the NCAA’s No. 4 rushing defense.

A week after his snit fit, Elliott got the ball on Ohio State’s first play against MI, and by halftime he had 10 carries for 99 yards and the Buckeyes had thrown only six passes. “From the bottom of my heart, I told my players that might have the best one I’ve ever seen”. “I don’t know if he should win”. “Obviously, I’ve been very fortunate to be able to play in a lot of games and not have to sit out”.

“It’s disappointing. As a defensive lineman, when you give up close to 400 yards rushing, it’s unacceptable”. “A guy like that takes more than one person to tackle him”. Center Jack Allen even got in on the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run. His 13-yard run late in the third quarter gave the Buckeyes an 18-point cushion and his 17-yard run midway through the fourth mercifully ended the scoring for MI.

Wormley admitted he was beginning to tire in the second half as OSU scored quickly in the third quarter, upping its lead to 21-10, and ticked more than seven minutes off the clock in its next drive, ending in a 13-yard touchdown run by Barrett.

The Nittany Lions were also forced to settle for a field goal after having second and goal at the Michigan State one and a half yard line, though this was also in part due to some awful play calling. Even so, Rudock was injured in the fourth quarter after a sack, after which Wilton Speight entered the fray and finished 6 of 14 passing for 44 yards and an interception. MSU, Cook 19-26-0-248, O’Connor 0-1-0-0.

So much for the suggestion of another “Ten Year War” between Harbaugh and Meyer, just like Michigan’s Bo Schembechler and Ohio State’s Woody Hayes.

While Jim Harbaugh has generated a lot of hype this year for coming back to lead MI, were he was the starting quarterback two decades ago, he has to improve a program that is 0-4 against Meyer.

“We’re not making any excuses”. If Michigan doesn’t botch a punt against the Spartans to lose that game in October, tiebreakers would be sending the Buckeyes to Indy with playoff hopes in place. After that we finally switched or mindset to: “We have to be dominant, in all aspects of the game, every game, every down, every play”.