Let's talk first about this crushing Spartan defense. William Gholston, Jerely Worthy, Max Bullough, and Marcus Rush (who? Yeah, that #44 guy) were in the Ohio State backfield all game long -- making 9 sacks and holding the Buckeyes to just 35 rushing yards on 39 attempts (that is an 0.9 yard average). But, what was really impressive was early in the third quarter, seeing OSU QB Braxton Miller, and his eyes looked SCARED, terrified of this never-ending Spartan blitzkrieg. As the ES noted in his post on Buckeye Battle Cry going into the game: "So far, MSU’s 2011 defense is better than in any year since the ES has been alive the past 43 years. Interestingly, it is also ranked #1 in the nation. Why is it so good? The defensive line (Worthy, Pickleman, White, Strayhorn, Drone, etc.) is the most ferocious and by far the deepest for the Spartans since before the ES was born – too much talent, too deep to keep at bay"
And, you know what, MSU more than lived up to it. It was a crushing, physical ass-kicking of the Ohio State offensive line.
After giving up just 178 total yards to Ohio State, the Spartans are now allowing just 173.4 yards per game IN TOTAL DEFENSE. That remains #1 in the land. It's rushing defense of 64 yards per game is #6 in the nation, and its passing defense of 109.4 yards per game is #2 in the nation.
Look at this drive chart out of Ohio State... Read it and weep. OSU had only one posession over 4 minutes long, and 9 of its 14 drives were 10 yards or less (four went backwards). Amazing. Too bad about the TD at the end, but by then the game was out of reach.
OSU 1st O23 15:00 Kickoff O30 13:28 Punt 3-7 1:32
OSU 1st O21 12:26 Punt O23 10:02 Punt 3-2 2:24
OSU 1st O28 07:36 Kickoff O25 05:23 Punt 4--3 2:13
OSU 1st O13 02:17 Punt O30 13:13 Punt 6-17 4:04
OSU 2nd O37 09:45 Downs M34 07:39 Int 4-29 2:06
OSU 2nd O18 05:58 Punt O22 02:33 Punt 6-4 3:25
OSU 2nd O37 00:50 Fumble O47 00:00 Halftime 4-10 0:50
OSU 3rd O32 12:54 Punt M47 09:41 Punt 5-21 3:13
OSU 3rd O34 05:46 Missed FG O39 02:41 Punt 5-5 3:05
OSU 4th O20 14:09 Int O03 11:50 Punt 3--17 2:19
OSU 4th O38 10:28 Kickoff O26 08:52 Punt 3--12 1:36
OSU 4th O07 07:04 Punt O04 05:31 Punt 3--3 1:33
OSU 4th O24 04:24 Int M43 03:06 Downs 8-33 1:18
OSU 4th O38 01:51 Punt M00 00:10 *TD 7-62 1:41When have you Spartans ever cheered so loudly for a 50-yard field goal? That long kick by Conroy -- the Peanut Barrel in EL exploded in cheers, knowing that would be the difference because our defensive line had just dominated all game long.
As for the Spartan offense -- again it squandered away so many opportunities. MSU was by far more dominant moving the ball between the 20s, but a la the Notre Dame game, mistakes by Kirk Cousins at inopportune times led to empty possessions. The ES felt bad for Cousins about the ball falling out of his hands -- it happens. But the interception to the corner of the end zone at the end of the 3th quarter on third down deep in OSU territory -- that ball should have never been thrown; into double coverage, no less. What a waste of a perfectly good drive. Cousins' INT late in the fourth quarter also should have never been thrown, just a poor pass on a well covered out pattern. Cousins also missed open receivers all game long, including a wide open Cunningham streaking down the sidelines, and a wide open Sims. Those are TDs you need against good teams. Cousins has to make those plays. Indeed, the ES figures you can put much of the blame on the Spartans' #103 ranking in Red Zone Offense on the shoulders of Captain Kirk. (25 drives, 18 scores, 110 pts for a 0.72 scoring pct). Thank God for the nation's best defense.
The offensive line for MSU, actually was serviceable -- Bell and Baker combined for 86 yards on 26 carries, about a 3.3 average.... and Cousins had time to throw much of the day, he wasn't sacked though he was whacked a few times. The biggest question mark from this point forward for MSU is one: Kirk Cousins. He is playing nowhere near the level of last year, and his accuracy is most telling again on third down - where MSU was just 3 of 14 (just 21%). Cousins has to finish drives; he just has to get better in his decision-making on third downs.
A well coached game by Dantonio for the most part -- the ES doesn't question going for it on 4th down, nor the missed 51 FG attempt by Conroy... MSU needed points, and was having difficulty getting the ball deeper into OSU territory, and its defense was ferocious. So, why not take those gambles?
Bottom line, this was a game MSU HAD to win to be considered the real deal, and to make a run for the B1G Ten title game. The Spartans have work to do, but we have an extra week to prepare and kick Denard Robinson's tail all over the field - wait till scUM gets a load of the Spartan defense instead of the pansies they've been playing all year. The ES is licking his chops.
But, congrats to MSU for an amazing defensive domination! We did what is among the most difficult things to do in major college football: win in Columbus (and a near shut out at that). Congrats to the Big Green Machine!
Team Statistics (Final)
2011 Michigan State Football
Michigan State vs Ohio State (Oct 1, 2011 at Columbus, Ohio)
MSU OSU
FIRST DOWNS................... 15 12
Rushing..................... 2 4
Passing..................... 12 6
Penalty..................... 1 2
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 71 35
Rushing Attempts............ 31 39
Average Per Rush............ 2.3 0.9
Rushing Touchdowns.......... 0 0
Yards Gained Rushing........ 104 110
Yards Lost Rushing.......... 33 75
NET YARDS PASSING............. 250 143
Completions-Attempts-Int.... 20-32-2 12-25-1
Average Per Attempt......... 7.8 5.7
Average Per Completion...... 12.5 11.9
Passing Touchdowns.......... 1 1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS........... 321 178
Total offense plays......... 63 64
Average Gain Per Play....... 5.1 2.8
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 2-1 1-0
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 6-54 9-82
PUNTS-YARDS................... 6-245 10-406
Average Yards Per Punt...... 40.8 40.6
Net Yards Per Punt.......... 38.3 38.8
Inside 20................... 3 2
50+ Yards................... 1 0
Touchbacks.................. 0 0
Fair catch.................. 1 2
KICKOFFS-YARDS................ 3-188 1-70
Average Yards Per Kickoff... 62.7 70.0
Net Yards Per Kickoff....... 40.3 50.0
Touchbacks.................. 0 1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD. 5-18-0 1-15-0
Average Per Return.......... 3.6 15.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD 0-0-0 3-67-0
Average Per Return.......... 0.0 22.3
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD.. 1-0-0 2-4-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD. 0-0-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 28:26 31:34
1st Quarter................. 6:26 8:34
2nd Quarter................. 6:52 8:08
3rd Quarter................. 8:42 6:18
4th Quarter................. 6:26 8:34
Third-Down Conversions........ 3 of 14 4 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 1 1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 0-1 0-0
Touchdowns.................. 0-1 0-0
Field goals................. 0-1 0-0
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 9-64 0-0
PAT Kicks..................... 1-1 1-1
Field Goals................... 1-2 0-0
