The Rundown: No. 14 Ohio State at No. 8 Michigan State

THE RUNNING START
TV: Saturday, 8:00 ABC

Ohio State leads the series 28-14 and is 14-5 when visiting East Lansing.

Michigan State comes into this contest as the reigning king of the Big Ten. The Spartans have won 2 of the last three contests against the Buckeyes. If Michigan State needs any more motivation for this game it may come from knowing that their last win against Ohio State in Spartan Stadium was 1999.

Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, team stats and team schedules.

The Last Time...

Ohio State and Michigan State played in East Lansing the 14th ranked Buckeyes defeated the 20th ranked Spartans 17-16 in 2012.
The Buckeyes lost to Michigan State in the regular season was the 2011 (7-10) loss in Columbus.
Ohio State did not score on its opening drive was against Virginia Tech, six games ago.
Michigan State won back-to-back games against Ohio State was 1998 and 1999.
The Spartans lost to a Big Ten opponent was 11-17-2012 against Northwestern.
An Urban Meyer coached team lost in November was 2010.

On the Horizon...

Devin Smith comes into the game with 104 catches and 25 touchdowns. Smith is two touchdowns away from tying Cris Carter (27 TDs) for 2nd all-time.
Ohio State has won 20 consecutive regular season Big Ten games. With a win against Michigan State the Ohio State will break the record set by the 2005-07 Buckeyes.

Something About Spartans...

Michigan State is 2-4 when Game Day airs from East Lansing.
The Spartans are 11-19 (.367) against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 with Dantonio as head coach.
Michigan State leads the nation in time of possession (36:02).
This will be the first night game played in November in the history of Spartan Stadium.
Michigan State has won 13 straight regular season Big Ten games. The school record is 16 (1965-67).
The Spartans have scored a school record 364 points in their first 8 games.
Michigan State leads the Big Ten with a +1.5 turnover margin.
27 players (10 starters) from Ohio are on Michigan State's roster.

The ten starters: OT Donavon Clark (Cincinnati/Finneytown), QB Connor Cook (Hinckley/Walsh Jesuit), FS Kurtis Drummond (Masury/Hubbard), K Michael Geiger (Toledo/Ottawa Hills), DE Joel Heath (Cincinnati/Mount Healthy), CB Darian Hicks (Solon), OG Travis Jackson (New Albany/DeSales), FG Trevon Pendleton (Lucasville/Portsmouth West), DE Marcus Rush (Cincinnati/Moeller) and S RJ Williamson (Dayton/Dunbar).

Today's Trivia Questions:

Doran Grant's dad averaged a school record 5.62 receptions per game when he played for Michigan State. Can you name Doran's record-holding dad?

How many times in a row has Game Day been on site for the Ohio State/Michigan State game?

Can you name the only school in the country to win multiple National Championships in football, men's basketball and hockey?

The Series:

Ohio State leads the series 28-14, has won eight out of the last ten games and four straight in East Lansing.

When the Buckeyes and Spartans are both ranked, and the game is played in East Lansing, Ohio State is 5-1 (.833) and wins by an average score of 25-12.

Freshman Arm:

In only one half of play, J.T. Barrett threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns against Illinois. More important is that he was able to rest his sprained knee for the entire second half. Barrett's stat line against the Illini: 15/24 (.625), 167 yards and 2 Tds.2 For the season he has now completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,856 yards, 23 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

Freshman Legs:

With the dismissal of Rod Smith Samuel was expected to get more carries. However, he was not expected to start last week. Samuel took advantage of his first start rushing for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns. For the season Samuel has 314 rushing yards, is averaging 7.0 ypc and has rushed for four touchdowns.

Seasoned Sophomores:

Ezekiel Elliott and Dontre Wilson are making an impact on the 2014 season. Ezekiel Elliot had a game-high 69 yards and averaged 7.7 yards per carry. He continues to lead the Buckeyes in rushing with 709 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Dontre Wilson entered the Illinois game with only 18 carries for 100 yards. He did not get a carry against the Illini, but Wilson did have 4 receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown. For the season he has gained 100 yards on 18 carries (5.6 ypc) and has 19 receptions for 277 yards (14.6 ypr) and a two touchdowns.

I know many people were happy to see Jalin Marshall get the nod as punt returner, but I am not one of them. Wilson has three things I like in a punt returner. He is sure-handed, knows when and when not to fair catch and gains yards. I did not see that in Marshall. Wilson is listed first on the depth-chart at punt returner, where he belongs.

Michigan State's Individual Statistics

Passing

QB Connor Cook (Jr)

Last Game: 12/22 (.545), 227 yards, 1 TD

2014 Stats: 120/198 (.606), 1,868 yards, 17 TDs, 5 INTs

Career: 352/595 (.592), 4717 yards, 40 TDs, 12 INTs

RUSHING

RB Jeremy Langford (Sr)

Last Game: 177 yards, 5.1 ypc, 3 TDs

2014 Stats: 841 yards, 5.3 ypc, 10 TDs

Career: 2,286 yards, 5.0 ypc, 28 TDs

RECEIVING

WR Tony Lippett (Sr)

Last Game: 103 yards, 34.3 ypr 1 TD

2014 Stats: 889 yards, 21.2 ypr, 9 TDs

Career: 1,938 yards, 15.4 ypr, 13 TDs

Ohio State's Individual Statistics

PASSING

QB J.T. Barrett (Fr)

Last Game: 15/24 (.625), 167 yards, 2 TDs

2014 Stats: 134/209 (.641), 1,856 yards, 23 TDs, 7 INTs

Career: 134/209 (.641), 1,856 yards, 23 TDs, 7 INTs

RUSHING

RB Ezekiel Elliott (So)

Last Game: 69 yards, 7.7 ypc

2014 Stats: 709 yards, 5.6 ypc, 5 TDs

Career: 971 yards, 6.2 ypc, 7 TDs

RB Curtis Samuel (Fr)

Last Game: 63 yards, 7.0 ypc, 2 TDs

2014 Stats: 314 yards, 7.0 ypc, 4 TDs

Career: 314 yards, 7.0 ypc, 4 TDs

RECEIVING

WR Michael Thomas (So)

Last Game: 67 yards, 11.2 ypr, TD

2014 Stats: 447 yards, 16.0 ypr, 6 TDs

Career: 469 yards, 15.1 ypr, 6 TDs

WR Devin Smith (Sr)

Last Game: 72 yards, 24.0 ypr, 2 TDs

2014 Stats: 435 yards, 27.2 ypr, 7 TDs

Career: 2,007 yards, 19.3 ypr, 25 TDs

THE RUNOFF

Coaches

Meyer is 1-1 against Michigan State.

Urban Meyer

30-3 at Ohio State (3rd year)

134-26 overall (13th year)

Dantonio is the first Michigan State coach to win 13 games in a season.

Mark Dantonio

71-30 at Illinois (8th year)

89-47 overall (11th year)

Dantonio is the second-winningest coach in MSU history. Only Duffy Daughtery has more wins (109) than Dantonio (71).

Dantonio is 2-3 when coaching against Ohio State.

Michigan State is 18-5 in November with Dantonio as head coach.

Cliff Claven's Little Known Facts Corner:

The Buckeyes are the only team in FBS to score 50+ points five times this season.
Ohio State is No. 1 in the nation in starting field position (40).
The Buckeyes are out-scoring opponents 189-39 in the first half this season.
The Buckeyes lead the nation in opponent's starting field position (24).
Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 14 interceptions.
Joey Bosa has 14 consecutive games with a tackle for loss.
9 different Ohio State players have intercepted a pass this season.
Time for a return? The Buckeyes did not return a kickoff or punt for a touchdown in 2013. That broke a ten-year streak of having at least one return in a season.

2014 Statistical Comparison

2014 Stats	Rank	Category	2014 Stats	Rank
45.6	4th	Points For	45.5	5th
19.9	17th	Points Against	20.3	22nd
		OFFENSE
259.3	13th	Rushing Offense	254.9	15th
245.9	54th	Passing Offense	260.4	42nd
505.1	18th	Total Offense	515.3	5th
		DEFENSE
118.6	18th	Rushing Defense	95.4	6th
181.4	13th	Pass Defense	184.0	15th
300.0	8th	Total Defense	279.4	5th
		OFF. MISC.
.485	11th	3rd Down Conv.	.474	17th
.822	70th	Red Zone	.857	44th
12.1	24th	Punt Return	5.5	97th
23.8	21st	Kickoff Return	21.4	55th
		DEF. MISC.
.363	41st	3rd Down Conv.	.266	2nd
.773	30th	Red Zone	.842	75th
107.0	18th	Pass Eff. Def.	103.7	8th
40.1	22nd	Net Punting	34.8	103rd
	Total: 9	THE EDGE	Total: 7