Matthew Mitchell
EAST LANSING – It was never going to be easy for Michigan State – taking on Ohio State is the furthest thing from easy.
Early on, the Spartans looked like they might flip the script on the Buckeyes’ recent domination against MSU. For a quarter and a half, Michigan State played promising football. In the end, encouraging offensive drives and momentous defensive stops turned into self-inflicted wounds that halted its chances of keeping up with the high-powered OSU offense.
“In the first half we (MSU) did not help ourselves,” coach Jonathan Smith said. “We turned the ball over twice in the red zone going in. That was painful.”
Somehow though – albeit a 38-7 loss at home – Michigan State showed that with Jonathan Smith and this coaching staff, the ceiling is higher than it was without them.
“There will be plenty of snaps that we’ll watch from this game that we’re right there,” Smith said. “Guys were making plays and playing with awesome effort.”
MSU showed its aggressiveness early, opting to go for a fourth-and-one instead of settling for a field goal. The gamble didn’t pay off, but Smith clarified that playing with aggression was key to maintaining pace with OSU.
After an Ohio State touchdown to take a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, graduate linebacker Jordan Turner hauled in an interception to give Michigan State the ball on OSU’s side of the field. Third-year wide receiver Jaron Glover scampered into the endzone for a touchdown, cutting into the deficit and giving momentum early on.
From there, Michigan State continued moving the ball at a successful rate for two drives, before fumbles from junior tight end Jack Velling and sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles crushed the Spartans chances of putting pressure on Ohio State.
The Buckeyes playmakers, namely transfer quarterback Will Howard and true freshman, number one overall recruit Jeremiah Smith, fed off of the Michigan State miscues, and Ohio State went into the locker room at halftime with a 24-7 lead.
As the first half faded into the second, the MSU offense became stagnant, unable to find the rhythm on offense that it seemed to have early on. Four punts and an interception in the second half led to zero points and an all-too-familiar story on the scoreboard.
Second-year Spartan running back Nathan Carter knows this team has what it takes to compete and win against a top team like Ohio State. The key? Not letting one game bring the team down, and use it as fuel going into another top opponent in Oregon. Carter credited Indiana transfer defensive end Anthony Jones for stepping up and being vulnerable in a tough spot.
“I don’t see this team being a team that just folds,” Carter said. “(Anthony Jones) was a guy that really spoke up because he had been a part of teams like this. Good teams that were great, you get into a rough stretch and they lose a couple of games, and then the season goes all the way down. He was very vulnerable in sharing that experience with us.”
Through sixty minutes, Michigan State proved what it was: a team that, without consistent costly mistakes and turnovers, can be competitive moving forward. MSU’s next competitor, No. 8 Oregon, will test the Spartans yet again, but Smith believes in his growing team.
“We’re going to compete with just about anybody we line up with if we clean (mistakes) up,” Smith said. “We’re going to be in every ballgame.”