Terrelle Pryor is
a lot better than Brian Hoyer
Overstating the obvious, Terrelle Pryor proved to be a lot
better than Brian Hoyer today as Ohio State took down Michigan State
45-7. Quarterback Kirk Cousins looked good for the Spartans in the second half but
nothing Michigan State
did slowed down the defense or the offense of the Buckeyes as Ohio State
redeemed themselves against a nationally ranked team.
By Steve Patterson
Passing Game Shows
Promise
Terrelle Pryor passed for huge
gains against Michigan
State after a Purdue game
with no passing offense what-so-ever. If the Ohio State
coaches learned anything against Purdue, it was that they needed to pass and
they needed to create easy pass situations for Pryor. He passed to Brian
Hartline for 56 yards, to Brandon Smith for 21 yards, and Devier Posey for 13
yards on the way to setting an early lead of 21 points in the first quarter.
Wells Runs for 140
Yards
Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells rolled over a
tough Spartan defense gaining 5.8 yards a carry in the first half and 4.5 yards
a carry for the full game. With 105 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half
and a total of 140 yards, Wells seemed motivated to show that he is a better
running back than Spartan tailback Jevon Ringer. Ringer was only able to put up
66 yards on 16 attempts.
Offensive Line Excels
The entire Buckeye offensive line was
active today and the six men that rotate in had one of their best performances
against a team that was thought to be able to stop the Ohio State
run. But that wasn’t the case at all through four quarters.
Tight-end Rory Nicol returned to
the starting line-up and helped blocking on the line as the Buckeye offensive
line was able to push Michigan
State around with the
help of some bad calls by the Spartan defense. Although the tight-ends didn’t
catch a pass in the game, the blocking for Wells and Pryor was vital to the
success of the running game.
Brandon Smith had
Solid Game
Brandon Smith had the half of his
life with three catches for 37 yards through two quarters. He was a reliable safe
option on the outside for Pryor, picking up needed yards and making first downs
to keep drives alive. Coming out of the backfield, Smith showed that Pryor has
the ability to move the ball through the air and through to a number of receivers
as needed.
Defense Finishes the
Game
The second
half of the game was all about defense. With Kirk Cousins replacing Brian Hoyer
for most of the half and moving the ball better but the Buckeyes were able to
get three additional turnovers and return two of the turnovers for touchdowns. Malcolm
Jenkins caused a Cousins’ fumble early in the fourth quarter which Thadius
Gibson picked off the back of Cousins and ran 69 yards for a score.
Later in
the fourth quarter, Blair White fumbled a reception which freshman safety
Jermale Hines picked off the turf to return 48 yards for an additional late
touchdown.
In a game
that should have been close, Ohio State dominated Michigan State
early on both sides of the ball and extended their lead late with great defense
and turnovers for scores. With Michigan
State entering the game ranked 20th
nationally, Ohio State should finally get the boost in
the rankings from the 12th spot which has eluded them for several
weeks.