Michigan State football no match for Ohio State; 49-20 loss extends skid to four
EAST LANSING — More of the same.
From the past four weeks of Michigan State football misery. From Ohio State’s offense again.
From superstar C.J. Stroud. From the Spartans’ seemingly invisible secondary and run game.
MSU’s losing streak hit four games Saturday, with the third-ranked Buckeyes posting 614 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-20 victory at Spartan Stadium.
"It's a frustrating thing to lose four games in a row," MSU defensive end Jacoby Windmon said. "There's definitely guys with their heads down. But that's what we got each other for, because we're there to pick each other up."
Stroud threw six touchdown passes for the second straight season, finishing 21 for 26 for 362 yards before going to the bench late in the third quarter. Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. had seven catches for 131 yards and three scores, and running back TreVeyon Henderson added 118 rushing yards and a touchdown before getting knocked out of the game early in the second half.
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OSU, which enters its bye week 6-0 and 3-0 in Big Ten play, posted three touchdown drives of at least 90 yards, one of 80 yards and two more of 75 in putting the game out of reach by halftime despite two first-half MSU scores.
"Across the board, our guys played strong," Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. "When you have that type of back and forth and that balance on offense and defense ..., you can see what we did there in the first half."
A year ago in a 56-7 win in Columbus, the Buckeyes posted 655 yards and Stroud threw for 432 yards and six touchdowns before going to the bench in the early third quarter. OSU has won seven straight in the series since the Spartans’ 2015 win in Columbus.
MSU (2-4, 0-3) continued to struggle on offense, with quarterback Payton Thorne going to the bench late in the third quarter after going 11 of 18 for 113 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Spartans finished with just 202 yards including 7 rushing yards on 19 carries, among the worst showings in program history, thanks to four sacks of Thorne and just 7 yards on five carries for starting running back Jalen Berger.
"I'm not good," Thorne said, adding that he was "frustrated" and "upset with how things are going."
"I hate losing. A lot," he continued. "And to lose four games in a row, that's not something I feel like I've ever really done to be honest with you in any sport. And so it's frustrating and it's tough and there's a lot of question marks right now."
Coach Mel Tucker now has been outscored, 157-39, in three losses to OSU as head coach of MSU and is mired in the school’s longest skid since dropping five straight in 2019.
The Spartans hosts Wisconsin for homecoming next Saturday (4 p.m./Fox).
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MSU now has allowed more than 500 yards for the seventh time in 26 games under defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton and the 17th game of allowing 400-or-more yards.
"We'll go back and see what we can do with the guys that we have," Tucker said. "It's not an easy fix. But we'll do whatever we can to make it better."
MSU defensive back Jaden Mangham suffered an apparent head/neck injury while tackling Henderson in the first half, and Mangham was carted off the field and taken to the hospital. But he was discharged from the hospital and back on the sideline in street clothes before the end of the game.
"He's in good shape and he came back," Tucker said. "So that was a positive."
Faint hope
The Spartans began with a Thorne interception into triple coverage that killed their game-opening drive, and OSU quickly answered with a blend of Henderson’s legs and Stroud’s arm. The junior quarterback found Emeka Egbuka for a 24-yard run one play after Henderson’s 26-yard burst through poor tackling by MSU’s defense. Two plays later, Stroud hit Harrison for a 19-yard touchdown over cornerback Charles Brantley to get things rolling.
MSU’s offense went three-and-out on its second drive, but punter Bryce Baringer pinned the Buckeyes at their own 10. OSU made one of its few mistake of the day, a miscommunication between Stroud and Egbuka, who ran a deep route when his quarterback threw toward the sideline. The pass went directly to Brantley, who returned the Spartans’ first interception of the season for a 32-yard touchdown. Spartan Stadium was rocking with the score tied 7-all with 8:32 left in the opening period.
It took the Buckeyes just three plays to answer and for Stroud and Egbuka to atone for the error. Nickelback Angelo Grose got caught looking the other way just before the snap, and Egbuka ran by him, caught Stroud’s pass in stride and outraced the rest of the MSU defense for a 69-yard touchdown.
Thorne got sacked on the ensuing possession after getting to the OSU 31, knocking the Spartans out of field-goal range. After another Baringer punt pinned the Buckeyes at their own 2, Stroud directed a 98-yard, eight-play march. After Henderson converted a fourth-and-1 with a 7-yard gain, Stroud hit Julian Fleming for a 51-touchdown pass on the next play to make it 21-7.
Thorne led MSU to another touchdown courtesy of a pair of OSU personal foul penalties. He also hit Jayden Reed for a 24-yard gain to convert the first third down and extend the drive then finished it with an 18-yard score with an acrobatic grab by Reed. Jack Stone missed the extra point to make it 21-13 early in the second quarter.
Too much, too little
Stroud, however, proved too potent. He helped OSU convert 5 of 7 third-down attempts and both fourth-down tries before exiting the game. Henderson scored on a 1-yard run after the Reed score, then Stroud found Harrison for a 28-yard score as the secondary lost the receiver in the deep middle to make it 35-13 at halftime.
"We're in the game. And then we can't get any stops," Tucker said. "We're not gonna be in the game very long if that's what happens."
On the opening drive of the second half, Stroud again led the Buckeyes from near their goal line to a score — a nine-play, 96-yard drive capped by another 19-yard TD pass to Harrison over Brantley. Stroud’s day came to an end after his 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gee Scott Jr. with 3:04 left in the third quarter that made it 49-13.
Thorne went to the bench after MSU’s fourth three-and-out drive of the game, on which he was sacked on second and third down. The offense had just 102 yards on 31 plays when he was replaced by Noah Kim.
Kim led MSU on an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, finished with a 25-yard touchdown pass to receiver Montorie Foster. The backup quarterback finished 6 of 10 for 82 yards.
By that point, though, the only question left was how much the Buckeyes would win by with their backups and third-stringers in the game.
"All we can do is work," Thorne said. "All we can do is show tomorrow with the right attitude and move forward together."
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football no match for Ohio State, 49-20, extends skid
