November 21st, 2015.
In a 14-14 tie game in Columbus, Michael Geiger kicked a GW 41yd field goal to propel the 9th ranked Spartans to victory over the then undefeated Buckeyes.
The image of Geiger sprinting down the field, waving his arms in celebration, is a memory I wish I never had.
Back then, Michigan State was a game you marked had marked on your schedule all season long. It rivaled the Penn State game as the next closest rival outside of TTUN.
Since that game, Ohio State has rolled Sparty, and it hasn’t been remotely close. The Spartans of old are long and gone. Their ranking as one of the premier teams in the Big Ten has faded, and fast.
However, there is a new spark to the Spartans this season. The announcement of their new Head Coach Jonathan Smith alongside transfer QB Aidan Chiles has fans in East Lansing excited for the future. The combination of Sophomore QB Chiles, and Freshman WR Nick Marsh is a pairing that Michigan State fans hope can electrify this team back into the eyesight of America.
They will walk into the stadium this Saturday evening to a rowdy crowd, sitting with a record of 3-1, and hoping to pull off the unthinkable upset.
In order to do that against a team as talented as the Buckeyes, you have to do a few things nearly perfectly.
- Execute big plays
- Don’t turn the ball over
- Force turnovers.
The first one is going to be hard to come by against this elite defense. The Buckeyes are currently the only defense in the nation allowing less than 3 yards per play. The talent across the board, especially on defense, is staggering. The Spartans have a tough task if they’re expecting to get chunk yards against Ohio State. It just doesn’t happen.
Through 4 games this season, the Spartans have 13 turnovers. Chiles has thrown 7 of those and has only had one game where he had 0. Chiles being forced into a position of having to play catch up early and rely on his decision making isn’t an ideal recipe for a Spartan win.
The Buckeyes on the other hand, have only had 3 turnovers all season, 2 of which came in their last game against Marshall, one on a muffed punt, and another on a deep shot to Jeremiah Smith that felt more like a “I know we have this game in the bag so I’m gonna take a deep shot” kind of throw from Howard.
Michigan State fans might have a lot of excitement in the next couple of years, but it ain’t gonna be a good time on Saturday.
The Buckeyes will come out of East Lansing 4-0.
Onto the next one.
O-H!
Ohio State 42 Michigan State 10
