Michigan State football overwhelmed by Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State, 38-3
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It went about as expected.
One team looked like the College Football Playoff front-runner and as good as advertised. The other like a team with an interim coach and a ton of injuries.
That difference on the field showed clearly on the scoreboard. Michigan State football presented little resistance for No. 3 Ohio State, and the Buckeyes’ buzzsaw coasted to a 38-3 victory Saturday night at Ohio Stadium.
Coming off its first win since Harlon Barnett took over in mid-September, MSU (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten) did not have the talent nor depth to keep up with OSU (10-0, 7-0).
The Spartans hit the road one final time next Saturday, heading to Bloomington, Indiana, to face the Hoosiers (3-7, 1-6) in a matchup of two teams that all but certainly won’t be heading to a bowl game after the regular season. Kickoff is noon on BTN.
The Buckeyes stomped the Spartans with a 526-182 advantage in total yards. That included 335 passing yards and three touchdowns for quarterback Kyle McCord, who finished 24-for-31 passing. Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. had 149 yards on seven catches, including two receiving TDs and a rushing score. Running back TreVeyon Henderson added a touchdown among his 13 carries for 63 yards.
Nate Carter ran 11 times for 52 yards for MSU.
Quarterback situation
One of MSU’s biggest questions going into the game was answered pretty clearly during warmups.
Katin Houser got his fifth straight start at quarterback, and the redshirt freshman played until garbage time in the fourth quarter. He finished 12-for-24 for just 92 yards passing. The offense managed 185 yards with him in but did not move past OSU’s 36-yard line, though the Spartans did not turn the ball over.
But behind him during pregame snaps, with injured junior Noah Kim not on the trip, was not Sam Leavitt but instead Andrew Schoerfhaar as the No. 2 option. Schorfhaar, a fourth-year junior walk-on, replaced Houser with 4:16 to play in the fourth quarter.
By all accounts, Leavitt served only as the No. 3 and emergency option. The true freshman, a four-star recruit in the 2023 class, stood on the sidelines in a warmup jacket the entire game. It is unclear if he decided to sit out the rest of the season and use his redshirt year after playing in his fourth game last week, leading what eventually was the game-winning touchdown drive of the Spartans’ 20-17 win over Nebraska that ended a six-game losing streak.
With Houser, MSU’s offense moved the ball at times but ran into a wall after crossing midfield, with kicker Jonathan Kim missing a 56-yard kick at the end of their first drive but connecting from 53 yards out with 5:38 left in the first half for their only points.
No doubt
The outcome — and dominance — came with OSU’s first drive to open the game, followed by the Kim miss on the Spartans’ first possession.
Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson pounded MSU on the ground early, and McCord carved up its defense efficiently. Harrison, a Heisman Trophy candidate, took a jet sweep wide around the right end and outraced the Spartans before plowing through safety Jaden Mangham at the goal line for a 19-yard touchdown run.
Eight plays, 75 yards, 3 minutes and 40 seconds.
OSU’s next drive took even less effort, with Harrison’s 26-yard touchdown catch on a perfectly thrown back-corner fade over MSU freshman cornerback Chance Rucker capping the four-play, 61-yard drive in just 1:30. That included two McCord completions to tight end Cade Stover for 31 of those yards.
It was 14-0 at the end of the opening quarter. The Buckeyes had 200 yards to the Spartans’ 66. They had 12 first downs to MSU’s three.
It took only one play in the second quarter, a 10-yard dart from McCord to Harrison for his third TD of the game, to put OSU up three scores. Henderson would power in from 9 yards out in later in the period, and McCord threw his third touchdown pass — an 18-yard dart to Stover — on a quick-strike drive in the final 2 minutes to send the Spartans into the locker room down, 35-3.
It was the eighth straight win in the series for the Buckeyes, who have outscored the Spartans 320-77 during that streak. That includes wins by 176-23 in four meetings in at “The Horseshoe” during that time and by 205-42 in the past four meetings overall.
OSU faces Minnesota at home next week before its showdown at No. 2 Michigan on Nov. 25 (noon/Fox).
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football overwhelmed by Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
