Coordinator’s absence felt
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer never found a way to regroup after the departure of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tom Herman at the end of last season to become coach at the University of Houston. Meyer tried to make it work with co-offensive coordinators Ed Warinner and Tim Beck, with both taking their turns at play calling with Meyer’s input. Quarterback J.T. Barrett denied that the change affected the offense, saying, “Um, no, I don’t think so. Coach Beck is a great coach and our offensive staff does a good job preparing us. We had a good week of practice. We just came into the game and didn’t execute the game plan. I don’t think that’s part of it.” But Barrett was giving the politically correct answer.
Running out of Columbus
Ezekiel Elliott said, “There’s no chance of me coming back next year.” While that’s no surprise, the loss illustrated that the junior running back was the No. 1 reason the Buckeyes won the 2014 national title. The OSU offense doesn’t hum when Elliott is not at his best, and he spent Monday through Wednesday in the hospital with an infected cyst in his leg. Perhaps Meyer thought he could rest Elliott since Michigan State was without starting quarterback Connor Cook, but that plan backfired.
Injuries hurt Buckeyes
Season-ending broken legs suffered by receivers Noah Brown and Corey Smith were major blows. Michael Thomas can play in the NFL, but the Buckeyes’ leading receiver managed only two catches for 8 yards against the Spartans. The Buckeyes still have talent with Jalin Marshall, Curtis Samuel, Braxton Miller and tight end Nick Vannett, but not nearly as much as expected. Miller’s switch from quarterback seemed more of a distraction than an asset.
Quarterback quandary
This game might have shown that the quarterback change from Cardale Jones to J.T. Barrett put the offense behind. Barrett said he didn’t deserve to be the starter on Sept. 7 at Virginia Tech because of his poor practices. But Barrett’s limited work while Jones was No. 1 left Barrett unpolished going into crunch time.
Playoff hopes are dim
Ohio State is now a long shot to make the four-team playoff. The Michigan State game was the Buckeyes’ first real test this season, and it came against a backup quarterback after Cook was unable to play. Ohio State first needs Penn State to beat Michigan State next week to open the door to the Big Ten title game. The Buckeyes would likely need to beat Michigan and Iowa handily and then get at least one contender among Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame or Oklahoma State — if not more — to drop another game. Even if all goes right, the Buckeyes are facing an uphill battle.
— Marla Ridenour
and Ryan Lewis