Chip.Minnich
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Minnich’s Musings about Ohio State vs. Michigan State
Chip.Minnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State was dominant in a nationally televised rout of Michigan State.
For a November night game that Ohio State did not want to play but acquiesced to the requests of The Big Ten’s leadership, the 38-3 win over Michigan State was precisely the kind of performance that the coaches, players, and fans wanted to see at this stage of the 2023 season. Ohio State took a 21-0 lead at the start of the second quarter, and comfortably did not look back.
Yes, Michigan State is now 3-7, and it would be foolish to put too much emphasis on this win over the Spartans. I had predicted a 35-14 win over Michigan State, so this game needs to be kept in proper focus about what it means for the Buckeyes as they head into their final two regular season games of this season.
Marvin Harrison Jr. will be a Heisman Trophy finalist
I do not want to suggest that Harrison will be the winner, although in my biased estimation he should be, as compared to other players who are being discussed as Heisman Trophy candidates. I will suggest that Harrison’s performance versus Michigan State, with three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) is the kind of game that will have media and other notable personnel saying, “Hey, did you see what Marvin Harrison Jr. did against Michigan State?”, and it is that type of game that will usually help garner votes, and thus, a trip to New York City.
Kyle McCord played his best game of the season against the Spartans
Again, let us not equate the Spartans with the 1985 Chicago Bears. McCord wound up completing 24-of-31 passes for 335 yards, three touchdowns (two of them to the aforementioned Marvin Harrison Jr.), and no interceptions. Even some of the incompletions were good plays, as McCord was forced to throw the ball away (some examples being a bad first half snap play by Carson Hinzman, pressure in the second half on a play that McCord threw the ball at Chip Trayanum’s feet), but did not force the ball into coverage, as Ohio State fans had seen in previous games.
McCord is still limping, as was visibly evident after the game in his postgame interviews, but his overall play have led me into believing that McCord overall is on the upswing as the regular season is winding down.
“Put me in, Coach”
I have long been an advocate for Ryan Day to play his backups earlier, and Saturday was acceptable. From my vantage point, it seemed as though the defense was substituting in backup players earlier than the offense, as Kyle McCord did not leave the game until very late in the contest. Yes, I know that Devin Brown reaggravated his ankle injury in pregame warmups, and yes, I know that Lincoln Keinholz is only a true freshman. I will simply say that an injury to anyone on the starting offense or defense, after Ohio State had established such a substantial lead, would only irritate Ohio State fans even more.
Lincoln Keinholz, Jelani Thurman, Carnell Tate, Evan Pryor, and I could go on. They should have been in the game from the middle of the third quarter, not the beginning of middle of the fourth quarter.
Ohio State sits at 10-0, and easily vanquished Michigan State. As I was watching the game at home with one of my sons and my wife, NBC showed some of the painful and challenging games from years past (1998, 2015, etc.) against the Spartans that Ohio State did not fare well. It was comforting to see Ohio State come out strongly against Michigan State, establish their dominance, and never let the Spartans get back into this game. There was no complacency on the part of Ohio State’s coaches or players in this victory.
Next up are the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are now 5-5 on the season. The Golden Gophers were easily handled 49-30 by the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in the game that preceded the Michigan State/Ohio State game on NBC. This upcoming game will have similar vibes like the one Ohio State just completed against Michigan State — get a lead, and get the starters out of the game.
Ryan Day seems to have Ohio State peaking at just the right time, and another commanding performance against a perceived weaker team can only help to booster the team’s confidence as they approach their biggest game of the season on Nov. 25.
Continue reading...
Chip.Minnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Barbara J. Perenic/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State was dominant in a nationally televised rout of Michigan State.
For a November night game that Ohio State did not want to play but acquiesced to the requests of The Big Ten’s leadership, the 38-3 win over Michigan State was precisely the kind of performance that the coaches, players, and fans wanted to see at this stage of the 2023 season. Ohio State took a 21-0 lead at the start of the second quarter, and comfortably did not look back.
Yes, Michigan State is now 3-7, and it would be foolish to put too much emphasis on this win over the Spartans. I had predicted a 35-14 win over Michigan State, so this game needs to be kept in proper focus about what it means for the Buckeyes as they head into their final two regular season games of this season.
Marvin Harrison Jr. will be a Heisman Trophy finalist
I do not want to suggest that Harrison will be the winner, although in my biased estimation he should be, as compared to other players who are being discussed as Heisman Trophy candidates. I will suggest that Harrison’s performance versus Michigan State, with three touchdowns (two receiving, one rushing) is the kind of game that will have media and other notable personnel saying, “Hey, did you see what Marvin Harrison Jr. did against Michigan State?”, and it is that type of game that will usually help garner votes, and thus, a trip to New York City.
Kyle McCord played his best game of the season against the Spartans
Again, let us not equate the Spartans with the 1985 Chicago Bears. McCord wound up completing 24-of-31 passes for 335 yards, three touchdowns (two of them to the aforementioned Marvin Harrison Jr.), and no interceptions. Even some of the incompletions were good plays, as McCord was forced to throw the ball away (some examples being a bad first half snap play by Carson Hinzman, pressure in the second half on a play that McCord threw the ball at Chip Trayanum’s feet), but did not force the ball into coverage, as Ohio State fans had seen in previous games.
McCord is still limping, as was visibly evident after the game in his postgame interviews, but his overall play have led me into believing that McCord overall is on the upswing as the regular season is winding down.
“Put me in, Coach”
I have long been an advocate for Ryan Day to play his backups earlier, and Saturday was acceptable. From my vantage point, it seemed as though the defense was substituting in backup players earlier than the offense, as Kyle McCord did not leave the game until very late in the contest. Yes, I know that Devin Brown reaggravated his ankle injury in pregame warmups, and yes, I know that Lincoln Keinholz is only a true freshman. I will simply say that an injury to anyone on the starting offense or defense, after Ohio State had established such a substantial lead, would only irritate Ohio State fans even more.
Lincoln Keinholz, Jelani Thurman, Carnell Tate, Evan Pryor, and I could go on. They should have been in the game from the middle of the third quarter, not the beginning of middle of the fourth quarter.
Ohio State sits at 10-0, and easily vanquished Michigan State. As I was watching the game at home with one of my sons and my wife, NBC showed some of the painful and challenging games from years past (1998, 2015, etc.) against the Spartans that Ohio State did not fare well. It was comforting to see Ohio State come out strongly against Michigan State, establish their dominance, and never let the Spartans get back into this game. There was no complacency on the part of Ohio State’s coaches or players in this victory.
Next up are the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are now 5-5 on the season. The Golden Gophers were easily handled 49-30 by the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in the game that preceded the Michigan State/Ohio State game on NBC. This upcoming game will have similar vibes like the one Ohio State just completed against Michigan State — get a lead, and get the starters out of the game.
Ryan Day seems to have Ohio State peaking at just the right time, and another commanding performance against a perceived weaker team can only help to booster the team’s confidence as they approach their biggest game of the season on Nov. 25.
Continue reading...