Finally, it’s here. Michigan State week. at Michigan State at Day: Saturday Date: Nov. 8, 2014 Location: East Lansing, Mich. Time: 8:00 p.m. ET Hope to see you at this viewing. Big game with big implications - the audience has been sparse lately. There isn’t the history that fuels the rivalry with the other team from that state up north. Green hasn’t been banned from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center like blue is. “Great idea, though,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer quipped. Despite it being near heresy to acknowledge it, Saturday’s game at defending Big Ten champion Michigan State, not the one Nov.29 against Michigan, will likely determine whether Ohio State has a chance for glory beyond November. “They’re the king of the hill right now because they won the championship, and you have to dethrone them,” Meyer said. For the first time all season, the Buckeyes are underdogs. Michigan State is ranked seventh, Ohio State 13th. Michigan State has the benefit of not just playing at home but of coming off a bye week. But Ohio State has waited eagerly for this game all season, or longer. “Probably since the minute after the game last year,” left tackle Taylor Decker said. Michigan State upset the Buckeyes 34-24 in the 2013 Big Ten championship game, denying them a chance to play for the national championship. “That’s a sick feeling,” Decker said. “I’ll never forget that game. You never know what could have been. I know me personally and every guy on the team has been looking forward to this. They’ve had this date circled since the game last year. There’s a lot at stake.” Both teams are 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten. The winner almost certainly will represent the East division in the conference title game and stay in contention for the College Football Playoff. The loser looks destined for a second-tier bowl. “After watching them on film, they’re a great team, and they stand in the way of Big Ten championship,” Meyer said. “They stood in the way last year, and we failed.” The Buckeyes failed because their pass defense crumbled. They failed because they couldn’t convert a fourth-and-2 down the stretch. They failed because maybe they had become so used to winning — 24 straight — that subconsciously they didn’t believe losing would really happen. “It made you realize that you weren’t world-beaters,” Decker said. “We hadn’t lost in a long, long time. You can kind of get comfortable winning week to week. It made you realize, ‘Maybe I could have done this better or done that better.’” The Buckeyes — players and coaches — have vowed to leave nothing to chance in their preparation this week. “I’m going to work as hard, if not harder, this week than I’ve ever worked and prepare as hard, if not harder, than I’ve ever prepared,” said offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who must match X’s and O’s with Michigan State’s esteemed defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. Michigan State’s strengths have shifted somewhat since the teams last met. Then, the Spartans had a rugged defense and an emerging offense. Now they have a potent offense with stars at quarterback (Connor Cook), running back (Jeremy Langford) and receiver (Tony Lippett), but a defense that isn’t quite as imposing. A year ago, Michigan exposed the cracks in Ohio State’s defense and Michigan State exploited that. This year’s Buckeyes defense has steadily improved, with a big-play knack that eluded them late in 2013. But all of it has been a prelude to this week. For all of Ohio State’s success under Meyer, the Buckeyes have lacked a signature win. The highest-ranked team they’ve beaten was No.16 Northwestern last year, and the Wildcats tanked the rest of the season. Beating Michigan State in East Lansing would certainly qualify as one, and catapult the Buckeyes from beyond the periphery of the College Football Playoff talk. “I think we’re lacking one a little bit, and that one would mean a lot,” junior linebacker Joshua Perry said of a signature win. “Since I’ve been here, we haven’t won a Big Ten championship, and I’d like to do that.” The biggest obstacle to that awaits this week. Finally.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 13:52:04 +0000
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