After finishing last season with 12 wins and a trip to the College Football Playoff, Michigan State has struggled to a disappointing 3-7 record this year. The Spartans' bowl hopes remain a faint possibility, having to beat a pair of Top 10 opponents and then hope there aren't enough 6-6 teams to fill the 80 postseason spots.
It's a tall task, no doubt. And certainly not a situation head coach Mark Dantonio envisioned after taking Michigan State to a bowl game in each of his first nine seasons.
“We come to compete in every game, first of all. But we have reasons to play. Even if it's in spoiler fashion,” Dantonio said during his weekly press conference. “There are possibilities as we go forward. And I think that as we look at who we're playing — two very good football teams, two Top 10 football teams — so we got our work cut out for us as we always do. But we got every reason to play.”
If Michigan State were to win on Saturday and end Ohio State's hopes at a Big Ten championship and national championship for the third time in the last four years, there's one theme that stands out: Revenge.
The state of Ohio has been extremely important for the Spartans on the recruiting trail in recent years.
Though it's rare they'll ever beat the Buckeyes for an in-state recruit they have offered, Michigan State has had some success with players like running back L.J. Scott.
The Hubbard native is one of 28 Ohioans on the Spartans' roster, most of which were three-star prospects either ignored or overlooked by the Buckeyes. That includes placekicker Michael Geiger, of Ottawa Hills, whose windmill celebration following a game-winning 41-yard field goal will forever live in infamy.
| Name | STARS | Position | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justice Alexander | ★★★ | DE | Macedonia Nardonia |
| Austin Andrews | NR | CB | Columbus St. Frances DeSales |
| Joe Bachie | ★★★ | LB | Berea Midpark |
| A.J. Arcuri | ★★★ | OL | Powell Olentangy Liberty |
| Edward Barksdale III | NR | WR | Solon |
| Robert Bowers | ★★★ | DE | Columbus Walnut Ridge |
| Luke Campbell | ★★★ | OL | Lewis Center Olentangy |
| Matt Coghlin | ★★★ | K | Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller |
| Vayante Copeland | ★★★ | CB | Dayton Thurgood Marshall |
| Noah Davis | ★★★ | TE | Cincinnati St. Xavier |
| Messiah deWeaver | ★★★★ | QB | Huber Heights Wayne |
| Andrew Dowell | ★★★ | LB | North Ridgeville St. Edward |
| David Dowell | ★★★★ | S | North Ridgeville St. Edward |
| Frank Epitropoulos** | ★★★ | WR | Upper Arlington |
| Chris Frey | ★★★ | LB | Upper Arlington |
| Michael Geiger | ★★★ | K | Ottawa Hills |
| Jake Hartbarger | ★★★ | P | Whitehouse Anthony Wayne |
| Darian Hicks | ★★★ | CB | Solon |
| Evan Jones | ★★★ | DE | West Lafayette Ridgewood |
| Shane Jones | ★★★★ | LB | Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller |
| Justin Layne* | ★★★★ | WR | Cleveland Benedictine |
| Noah Listermann* | ★★★ | OT | Cincinnati Winton Woods |
| Collin Lucas | NR | FB | Avon Lake |
| Monty Madaris | ★★★★ | WR | Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller |
| Benny McGowan | ★★★ | OG | Centerville |
| Tyler O'Connor | ★★★ | QB | Lima Central Catholic |
| L.J. Scott* | ★★★★ | RB | Hubbard |
| Kevin Williams | ★★★ | DT | Holland |
* Receiver offer from Ohio State
** Left Ohio State in 2014 to focus on medical school
“Michigan State is well known to take these Ohio guys and all of a sudden — boom — they become great players,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. “A lot of times, these kids get one year in the program — like a Darron Lee — and all of a sudden, they have great success.”
Missing out on a player like Lee, a three-star athlete from New Albany who developed into a first-round draft pick at linebacker, could come back and haunt Meyer and the Buckeyes this weekend.
“That's my biggest fear about Ohio,” he said. “Michigan State, they did get L.J. Scott. And Wisconsin does the same thing. I think they do a great job of evaluating players.”
And while the result of one game won't make Ohio State reassess its national recruiting efforts, it will certainly stick with those who the Buckeyes deemed unworthy of an offer.
If you can't join them, beat them. Right?
“Ohio State is a big game for us, for this program, and always has been,” Dantonio said. “A lot of guys from Ohio, so it's a special game in that respect.”
