3 reasons Ohio State will thump Michigan State
By Alec Hartman
3. The Spartans don’t have the weapons to expose the Buckeyes’ weakness.
It’s no coincidence the Buckeyes have struggled against some of the top passing offenses in the Big Ten. What began as an issue of garbage time touchdowns nearly turned into a disaster in their last game. The Buckeyes had two weeks to prepare for Michael Penix Jr. and the Hoosiers’ unrelenting pass attack but still struggled badly to contain them.
The Buckeyes’ depleted pass rush and secondary have created holes in the defense that were not nearly as susceptible in prior years. The Buckeyes have dropped to 119th in the nation in pass defense after leading the nation in that category last season. The void left by Chase Young‘s departure from the pass rush combined with the secondary missing Jordan Fuller, Damon Arnette, and Jeffrey Okudah has decimated the Buckeyes in pass defense prominence.
It was expected that Shaun Wade would inherit the defense and keep them afloat but that has been far from the truth as they’ve returned to mediocrity. The Buckeyes have had to recover from the injury of defensive back Cameron Brown which has called on a rotation of less experienced players as a replacement. The Buckeyes had already lacked experience in the secondary considering the departure of three solidified starters.
The Hoosiers had five different receivers with four or more receptions including three players with touchdowns. The most notable star for the Hoosiers versus the Buckeyes was Ty Fryfogle who had over 200 yards receiving with three touchdowns. It isn’t the first time that a single receiver has had multiple touchdowns and a mountain of yards as Penn State’s Jahan Dotson looked similar a few weeks back.
Conversely, the Spartans are struggling on offense again this season as they rank worse than 50th in the nation in the passing category. While they are in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten, the Spartans don’t have a particularly threatening option at receiver. Third-year receiver Jalen Nailor had a big game last week in the team’s win over Northwestern with three catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. However, 75 of those yards were gained on one catch. Sophomore receiver Jayden Reed leads the team in touchdowns with three.
Defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs has drawn criticism for the current state of the secondary but it still may be too soon to point any fingers. As noted, this secondary lacks experience and has sustained injury. Expect the Buckeyes to reload and put together an improved effort against the lowly Spartans.