Freshman linebacker Greg Jones (53) comforts senior safety Nehemiah Warrick after he missed a tackle during the game against Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. Warrick had a total of 10 tackles, five of which were assisted by his teammates.
Columbus, Ohio — When it seemed top-ranked Ohio State had MSU beaten into submission, the Spartans made it clear on Saturday that they were going to fight to the finish. “Every game, we know as a team we can play with anybody in the country,” senior linebacker SirDarean Adams said.
“We don’t care who you play for, what color your jersey is, where we play you at. We could play in the backyard, we could play with anybody,” Adams said.
Unfortunately, they didn’t start playing until the third quarter, and despite a second-half surge, the Spartans came up short, losing 24-17 in Columbus.
For the first 40 minutes of the game, Ohio State threw everything they had at MSU, piling on a 24-0 lead early in the third quarter.
“Something good had to happen to give us a little bit of belief,” head coach Mark Dantonio said.
With its offense handcuffed, the MSU defense gave the team hope.
Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman dropped back to pass and was hit while throwing, making his pass fall short and junior safety Otis Wiley flew in to grab and return the ball 54 yards into the end zone.
All of a sudden, the top-ranked team in the nation seemed a little less invincible.
On the Buckeyes’ next possession, senior defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic stripped the football from Boeckman, and Adams snatched it and returned it 25 yards for the touchdown.
“The next thing you know, everyone is on fire on the sideline,” Dantonio said.
Then, the Spartans would almost do it again.
Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells fumbled the football on the Buckeyes’ 22-yard line, and it looked like the Spartans were all over it.
Wiley got to it first, but instead of jumping on the football he tried to pick it up to run it in for the score.
But he failed to grab it, and flipped it to senior defensive end Ervin Baldwin, who couldn’t get a handle on it either.
Against all odds, Wells ended up with the football.
“I wish I would have fallen on it,” Wiley said. “The outcome of the game would have been totally different. I believe that.”
The Spartans would hold the Buckeyes scoreless for the remainder of the second half, but Ohio State’s defense only allowed MSU a field goal.
Despite their dismal start, the Spartans never gave up, and that is something positive they will take out of this game.
“It’s very difficult to go out there when things aren’t going well and continue to try and stay positive and focused, and play it one play at a time,” Dantonio said.
MSU’s offense had been electric in its first three conference matchups, averaging 534.3 yards per game, but was short-circuited by the Buckeyes.
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Junior running back Javon Ringer failed to spark the offense — a task he normally accomplishes. His longest run of the game was for 10 yards, and he finished with 49 yards on 18 carries.
“If it wasn’t for our defense, we probably would have gotten blown out,” Ringer said. “We weren’t doing our part; we couldn’t bail the defense out. We gave them a bad field position a lot of times.”
The Spartans are now 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten. They’ve shown that they might be able to play with anybody, but they still need one win to be eligible to play in a bowl game.
“We know the season is not over,” Ringer said. “Sunday afternoon this game is forgotten. The only thing we’re really going to take from it is the things we should have done differently … After that, the game is really over and we’re concentrating on Iowa.”
