The first half of Ohio State’s regular season ends today.
Ohio State’s six-game stretch to begin the season before a week off concludes this afternoon with the Buckeyes’ road game of the year in East Lansing, Michigan, where they will play Michigan State in the third Big Ten contest of the season for both teams.
While the Buckeyes are heavily favored to win big again, there will still be plenty to watch for as Ohio State takes the national broadcast network spotlight again and plays in enemy territory for the first time in 2022.
As we count down the hours and minutes to Ohio State’s sixth game of the season, we discuss some final pregame thoughts, the players we’ll be keeping a close eye on and the questions we’ll be looking to get answers to in East Lansing today.
Final Thoughts
Bucks won’t face much resistance through first half of 2022
I’m not entirely opposed to the idea that this game could be closer than some expect. I have the Buckeyes beating Michigan State by three touchdowns, which is tighter than the 26.5-point spread entering the weekend, and certainly more competitive than last year’s 56-7 blowout. But unless the Spartans surprise us all, Ohio State will have skated through the first half of the season without much of an issue whatsoever.
Notre Dame managed to stay within 11 points of the Buckeyes in the season opener, but Ohio State was in control for nearly all of the second half. If my prediction comes true on Saturday, the Buckeyes will have dominated the last five games – including three Big Ten tilts – while hardly having to break a sweat.
– Griffin Strom
This secondary is ripe for the picking
Remember that boat racing of Michigan State in Columbus a year ago? While it was slightly surprising to see the game get out of hand so quickly, C.J. Stroud and Ohio State quickly exploited a leaky Michigan State secondary en route to a blowout win.
While it's always possible the first road game of the season leads to a clunkier start than usual, the Spartans' defensive backs are allowing an average of 275 passing yards per game, ranked 115th nationally out of 131 FBS teams. After putting up numbers well below his averages against Rutgers, expect Stroud to look like a true Heisman candidate against the Spartans Saturday.
- Garrick Hodge
Questions
How heavily will Ohio State rely on the run game?
Michigan State has the No. 115 pass defense in the nation through the first five games, which offers me incredible confidence Ohio State will move the ball up and down the field through the air on Saturday. I expect Stroud to put himself back on track to win the Heisman and the Buckeye receivers to earn their fair share of touches.
Miyan Williams ran wild against Rutgers last week, and TreVeyon Henderson is no stranger to big performances. However, how will Ryan Day incorporate the running backs into the offense? He has preached that establishing the run is imperative in a Big Ten contest on the road. I'll take his word for it, but I'm not sure he will be able to resist the opportunity to watch Stroud toss the football around the field without much resistance, offering his team a chance to go up big and let some of the backups earn reps against the Spartans.
- Chase Brown
How many freshmen will make the travel roster?
This is the first time all year Ohio State has had to decide which 74 players will make the trip and be available to play for the Buckeyes on the road, and that travel roster serves as an indicator of which Buckeyes are high enough up on the depth chart that they could be needed to play – and conversely, which players are so low on the depth chart that they’d be unlikely to play with the game on the line.
In particular, it will be notable which Ohio State freshmen are on the travel roster, as the ones who aren’t are likely in line to take redshirts this season.
Special teams regulars like Caden Curry, Jayden Fielding, Sonny Styles, C.J. Hicks and Kye Stokes are sure bets to make the trip to East Lansing, as are players like cornerbacks Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner, running back Dallan Hayden, quarterback Devin Brown and guard Tegra Tshabola who are needed for depth. Beyond them, freshmen who could be on the travel roster bubble include wide receivers Kaleb Brown, Kojo Antwi and Kyion Grayes, defensive linemen Kenyatta Jackson and Hero Kanu and running back TC Caffey.
– Dan Hope
Players to Watch
Zach Harrison
Zach Harrison made all the right plays in Ohio State's win over Rutgers, forcing two turnovers as a defensive tackle as a frequent disruption to the Scarlet Knights' offense. That's all good and well, but I want to see Harrison use that performance as a catalyst that propels him into a dominant second half of the season. The narrative that Harrison was the next iteration of Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa or Chase Young is off the table, and quite frankly, it was an unfair expectation from the start. Harrison is his unique player, and I think the Michigan State matchup provides him with a significant opportunity to prove that the Rutgers game is the rule and not the exception to the rule.
- Chase Brown
J.T. Tuimoloau
It’s about time Tuimoloau tallied his first sack of 2022. For a player who many thought might lead the Buckeyes in that category this year, one would think the five-star pass rusher would have at least one sack on his ledger by the midway mark of the regular season. Only two other Ohio State defensive ends (Jack Sawyer and Javontae Jean-Baptiste) have recorded a sack this year, as the Buckeyes have just 10 as a team to rank 63rd in the country. But even still, if Tuimoloau is to have the breakout sophomore season many expected, a productive game against Michigan State would be a great starting point.
– Griffin Strom
Ronnie Hickman
Our first real glimpse at Hickman’s ability to be a difference-maker for Ohio State’s defense came on Ohio State’s last road trip to Michigan State in 2020, when he saw regular playing time in the safety rotation for the first time and recorded a trio of tackles. Since then, Hickman has become a crucial leader in Ohio State’s secondary, starting every game at free safety so far this season after recording 100 tackles as a strong safety in 2021.
While Hickman has continued to be as reliable as ever on the back end of the Buckeyes’ defense this year, he hasn’t gotten his name on the box score as much as he did last year. That’s a good thing, as it’s because the linebackers in front of him have been keeping far more plays from getting to him, but it still feels like Hickman is overdue for a big game in which he really makes his presence felt. Perhaps that comes today in the same stadium where he initially flashed the potential to be a future star for the Buckeyes.
– Dan Hope
TreVeyon Henderson
Last week was Miyan Williams' coming out party for Ohio State. With TreVeyon Henderson missing last week's contest, the sophomore tailback is expected to be back for OSU this week against MSU. After his five-touchdown performance and the general way Williams has run for OSU through the first few games, Henderson has to be motivated to keep pace with his backmate and have a monster game of his own.
Can Henderson end the first half of the season with a stellar performance against the Spartans that allows pundits to believe OSU has the best one-two running back combination in all of college football?
- Garrick Hodge
