Offensively-hapless Ohio State largely inept in 10-7 home loss to Michigan State

Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller was ineffective, along with the entire OSU offense, and eventually replaced by Joe Bauserman.

View full sizeMarvin Fong, The Plain DealerMichigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard (left) outwrestled Ohio State's Devin Smith for an acrobatic interception late in the second quarter Saturday afternoon at Ohio Stadium. MSU safety Trenton Robinson followed the play. The Spartans' defense totally dominated the Buckeyes in the 10-0 MSU victory.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Forced into a tough situation by suspensions, a coaching change and injuries, the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday made everything look exactly as tough as it is. And maybe worse.

An anemic, one-dimensional offense couldn't take advantage of Michigan State's attempts to keep the Buckeyes in the game, and Ohio State's final 10-7 loss wasn't a true indication of how far below their recent standard the Buckeyes are playing. The Buckeyes avoided their first home shutout since 1982 only by scoring on a desperate touchdown pass with 10 seconds to play.

Ohio State (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten) couldn't run consistently, couldn't stop the Spartans' aggressive pass rush and could barely even attempt a passing game to counter the blitzes. Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller gave way to fifth-senior Joe Bauserman, the starter for the first three games, in the fourth quarter, complicating an agonizing defeat.

Ohio State's only choice as a team is to hope that the return of three suspended offensive starters for the primetime road game at Nebraska next week will fix something.

"Without those guys, we've still got to be a team," sophomore safety Christian Bryant said.

Saturday wasn't close to good enough.

"It's just hard when nothing is working for you," junior fullback Zach Boren said.

All week, Ohio State planned for the attacking defense of MSU head coach and former defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio, and OSU coach Luke Fickell said after the loss, "I don't know that they did a lot to surprise us offensively."

Yet the Buckeyes looked unprepared, allowing pressure up the middle and off the edges while giving up nine sacks. The Buckeyes gained a total of 178 yards, an average of 2.8 yards per play, and 30 of their 64 snaps went for no gain or negative yardage.

And they couldn't stop, or wouldn't try to stop, Michigan State's basic plan.

Miller finished 5-of-10 for 56 yards with an interception before Bauserman came in down 10-0 and went 7-for-14 for 87 yards, including the touchdown to Evan Spencer, in the final 15 minutes.

Key to the game

Taking the lead: The prediction was that getting ahead would be even more necessary on Saturday. Who know it would practically be the only scoring in the game?

Michigan State's 10-7 win began with three straight series of three-and-out, two by Ohio State and one by Michigan State. That's why the Spartans' first touchdown felt like a bolt of lightning, as Kirk Cousins rolled right and found B.J. Cunningham in the back of the end zone for a 33-yard score.

“That was a broken play. He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near where he caught it,” Cousins said. “He was supposed to basically be standing on the sidelines and he caught it underneath the field goal post. That was improvising and that shows why he's such a great player.”

Without that play, it's easy to imagine that the game may have been scoreless at the half. That would have created an entirely different mood to the game. As it was, it felt like the Spartans should have been ahead by more, but at least they were ahead. So if the improv hadn't paid off, Michigan State's inability to turn yards into points would have been a bigger issue.

So yeah, scoring first mattered a lot on a day when, in some tough weather conditions, scoring at all was a chore.

— Doug Lesmerises

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"It was frustrating at times. It seemed like there were guys everywhere," senior center Mike Brewster said of the MSU defense. "Even sometimes when we had good protection, it seemed like they would break free after four seconds. There's not much to say, I guess."

What, typically, is the answer to that kind of defensive pressure?

"You've got to pass the ball," Brewster said. "You've got to get them out of there. That's really the only thing you can do. Pass the ball and hopefully that will draw them back a little bit."

Miller, clearly, isn't prepared to read complex defensive looks, or make quick decisions under pressure. Few, if any, true freshmen quarterbacks are. So he hesitated at times, and when he didn't throw, he wasn't able to do anything to hurt Michigan State as a runner, gaining five positive yards but absorbing 32 negative yards on the ground.

But Ohio State's game plan did little to help Miller's cause. It featured few short, quick passes and few of the misdirection run plays or screens that might cause the Spartans to put on the breaks a bit.

Missing those suspended players -- receiver DeVier Posey, running back Dan Herron and tackle Mike Adams -- as well as injured receiver Corey "Philly" Brown and departed quarterback Terrelle Pryor, offensive coordinator Jim Bollman's plan seemed to point exactly at what the Buckeyes didn't have.

"I think we should have done a couple quick routes," junior running back Jordan Hall said. "When they're in man, do a couple quick routes and get the ball out faster."

"It just got to the point where they started bringing seven or eight guys and just playing the run," running back Carlos Hyde said. "We couldn't pass the ball, so they just played the run. It my opinion it was more than we could handle.

"Right now, I feel like people are just thinking, 'They can't pass,' so they stack the box."

Hyde, who carried five times for 33 yards, was so frustrated, he forgot the Buckeyes got on the board. "I know our guys are capable of scoring points. It's frustrating we couldn't score," he said.

It felt that way. Practically for both teams.

Michigan State receiver B.J. Cunningham was the lone spark as the best offensive player on the field, with nine catches for 154 yards. His 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter was nearly all the Spartans needed. His 52-yard catch in the third quarter also helped change field position, and that led eventually led to Dan Conroy's 50-yard field goal.

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins allowed the Buckeyes to hang around, with two interceptions, and several other close calls, among his 250 passing yards. The Spartans had 321 yards to Ohio State's 178.

Though the defense kept the Buckeyes in the game, it wasn't enough to win it.

"Of course it hurts. But we'll get after it, trust me," Bryant said. "Our offense has got some work to do. They've got some work to do. But they'll get better."

Just like after the 24-6 loss to Miami in week three, it's hard to imagine that it could get worse.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2011/10/hapless_ohio_state_shut_out_at.html

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