No. 3 Ohio State worked out enough kinks during its soft nonconference schedule to feel positive going into its Big Ten opener at Michigan State on Saturday in East Lansing, Mich.
The Buckeyes rolled to a 52-6 win over Akron, 56-0 rout of Western Michigan and 49-14 victory over Marshall — all at home — while introducing fans to Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard and former Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins.
They’ve helped the Buckeyes (3-0) to a No. 3 ranking in scoring offense (52.3 points) and fifth in total offense (552.0).
“Going on the road against a conference opponent is a big deal,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. “If you have a young team, it’s significant. I think our guys have played a lot of football and been around a lot of games, different styles of games, so we should be able to adjust pretty quickly.”
In order for the Spartans (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) to have a chance, coach Jonathan Smith said they must do better scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Michigan State was 3-for-3 in the red zone in a 23-19 loss to Boston College last Saturday but just one was a touchdown.
Michigan State is 112th of 133 FBS schools in red-zone efficiency at 73.3 percent (11 of 15), which includes four scores rushing, two passing and five field goals.
“This red zone touchdown percentage is not where it needs to be. We’ve got to improve in that area,” Smith said on Monday.
In comparison, the Buckeyes have scored touchdowns on all 11 opportunities (nine rushing, two passing). While that seems low in chances for such a high-scoring team, who needs the red zone when you have such an explosive offense?
In the win over Marshall, the Buckeyes had four touchdowns of 40-plus yards: receptions of 68 and 53 yards by Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith, respectively, and runs of 86 yards for Judkins and 40 by TreVeyon Henderson.
“I’ve got a bunch of respect for that program and those coaches and those players,” Smith said of Ohio State. “It will be a real, real challenge. We’re going to put in a lot of work this week to take it on.”
The former Oregon State coach, in his first season with the Spartans, brought quarterback Aidan Chiles with him but it has been a struggle at times. Chiles threw three interceptions against Boston College but he was hampered by missing three wide receivers and two offensive linemen due to injuries.
Smith said he won’t know until later in the week if receivers Nick Marsh, Jaron Glover and Antonio Gates Jr. will be available.
“Jonathan’s done a really good job already of establishing an identity there,” Day said. “They have a really good young quarterback who can do a lot of different things.
“They’re playing really, really hard. You can tell they’re well coached. I think he’s upgraded a lot of areas.”
Ohio State cornerback Jordan Hancock said there is something different about conference games, especially this being the first fall weekend of football. The temperature for the Buckeyes’ first three games ranged from the high 80s to the low 90s. It should be in the low 70s for the nighttime kickoff on Saturday.
“I’ve been ready for Big Ten Conference play,” Hancock said. “The cold weather outside, going to hostile territories, and the tradition. Big Ten, Ohio State or Michigan State, I’ve always been watching those games, and I’m just excited for the matchup.”
