Spartans Smother Buckeyes' Offense

The Michigan State Spartans absolutely manhandled the Buckeyes' offense in yet another embarrassing loss for the Buckeyes. The fire in the Spartans' defense combined with the apparent listlessness in the Ohio State offense for another painful to watch performance by the declining Buckeyes.

Out of all of the Buckeyes games I've watched over the past few years, this was easily the most depressing. I could tell from the get-go that the offense was going to be flat, but what ended up unfolding on the field was even worse than I expected. The Bucks were limited to just 178 yards on offense, and even that low number is padded by a meaningless last-second drive that resulted in the only points for the Buckeyes. There were pretty much no positives to take out of this game from the offense point of view. The passing numbers were poor at best with 143 yards with an interception and a meaningless touchdown. The rushing numbers were even worse, amassing a dismal 35 total yards.

This game snapped the fifth-longest home winning streak in the nation at 16 games. The last-second touchdown saved the Buckeyes from their first shutout at home in the last 183 games and their last shutout at all in the last 17 years. The only good thing that could be taken out of this game was the defense and its ability to force critical turnovers. Their two turnovers saved the Buckeyes at least 10 points and were the only reason they still had a chance of winning at all.

The offense is going to need to pick it up soon if the Buckeyes even want to become bowl eligible this year. As of now they have yet to play ranked opponents Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan and they still have to play Penn State who is on the verge of being ranked. It's not going to be an easy road to a bowl game for the Buckeyes, but if it's going to happen, the charge needs to be led by Braxton Miller and this young Ohio State offense.