Ohio State vs. Michigan State football recap

#12 Buckeyes dominate #20 Spartans 45-7 on the road

The Ohio State Buckeyes turned in a dominating performance at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, jumping on host Michigan State early and roaring to a 45-7 Big Ten victory.

The Buckeyes defense forced five turnovers and held Michigan State standout running back Javon Ringer to 67 yards rushing on 16 carries. Meanwhile, Ohio State tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 31 attempts.

The Buckeyes (7-1 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) took the Spartans (6-2, 3-1) and their home crowd right out of the game with a 21-point first quarter.

Ohio State freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor opened the scoring with an 18-yard touchdown run around left end with 8:25 left in the first period.

Defensive back Donald Washington then recovered a fumble by Michigan State receiver Keshawn Martin and returned it 44 yards to the MSU 17-yard line. On a third-and-goal play, Pryor eluded pressure and found receiver Brian Robiskie in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 14-0 with 4:33 left in the first.

After the Ohio State defense forced a three-and-out, Pryor lofted a deep pass that resulted in a 56-yard connection to Brian Hartline. Running the route against double coverage, Hartline made the catch at the 21-yard line, bounced off a defender and dashed all the way to the 1. Wells scored on the next play to extend Ohio State’s advantage to 21-0 with 2:44 left in the opening quarter.

Wells capped a 77-yard Ohio State drive in the second period with a 12-yard touchdown jaunt. On the third-and-11 play, Wells took a handoff, cut to the left and scored untouched, giving the Buckeyes a 28-0 lead with 6:34 remaining before halftime.

Michigan State switched quarterbacks to begin the third quarter, replacing starter Brian Hoyer with redshirt freshman Kirk Cousins, who completed his first 10 passes. Cousins led the Spartans on an 85-yard drive that culminated with his 3-yard touchdown toss to tight end Charlie Gantt with 10:51 left in the third.

The Buckeyes emphatically ended Cousins’ completion streak at the beginning of the fourth. With the Spartans driving at the Ohio State 23,Cousins threw his first incompletion to open the final quarter. On the next play, OSU senior Malcolm Jenkins blitzed from his cornerback position, sacking Cousins and causing him to fumble. Defensive end Thaddeus Gibson scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 69 yards for a touchdown to put the Buckeyes ahead 35-7.

The Buckeyes tacked on three more points on a 40-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey with 5:27 left.

The Ohio State defense scored again with 15 seconds remaining when Jermale Hines returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown.

With the victory, the Buckeyes remain tied for first place in the Big Ten with undefeated and third-ranked Penn State. Ohio State, which moved up from 12th to 10th in the Associated Press poll, will host the Nittany Lions in an 8 p.m. showdown on Saturday night.

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