3 reasons Ohio State will thump Michigan State

1. The Buckeyes’ balanced offense will easily hold serve versus the Spartans.

Even with the Buckeyes’ struggle with turnovers offensively in their last outing versus the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes rank within the top 20 in the nation in turnover margin. This is due to some timely turnovers forced by the Buckeyes’ defense but also the offense being responsible with the football for the most part. Meanwhile, the Spartans rank second-last in the nation in turnover margin. The team is led by junior quarterback Rocky Lombardi who has thrown as many interceptions as he has touchdowns.

There is a similarity between the Buckeyes of 2018 and the Buckeyes now as both offenses were coming to their best in the passing attack. The similarity lies where both Buckeye teams got greedy in the passing game rather than working their run game in matchups where they were clearly favored. Also, both teams had rushing attacks that looked to be on the rebuild and inferior to the passing attack statistically and visually.

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The Buckeyes of 2018 learned the hard way when they attempted to flex their passing game with Dwayne Haskins against Purdue which led to unnecessary trouble as they dug a hole they could not get out of. This nearly happened to the Buckeyes against the Hoosiers as they came out firing with Justin Fields.

Fortunately, the Buckeyes were able to recover by maintaining a lead and quickly transitioning back to the run game. Master Teague battled valiantly for yards which led to season highs for Teague and a win for the Buckeyes. Consistency in the run game has led to some of the Buckeyes’ most notable victories.

The Spartans were known for their prowess in the run game with names like Le’Veon Bell, Jeremy Langford, and LJ Scott toting the rock. Now, the team is the laughing stock of the Big Ten in that category. Newly-appointed head coach Mel Tucker is looking to put the team back on the right track but it looks like things might get worse before they get better.

The Buckeyes’ run game has continued to look better each week and that should continue on Saturday. Though the Spartans rank fifth-best in the Big Ten in rushing yards allowed per game, they have allowed the most rushing touchdowns in the conference. Expect the Buckeyes to prove they can maintain a balanced offense this weekend.