Ohio State Football: 5 Things We Learned About OSU in Loss to Michigan State

Buckeye fans, welcome to your worst case scenario.

Not only was Ohio State bad against Michigan State, but the level of sustained suck carried through the game was mostly on the shoulders of the Buckeyes.

Michigan State did what it had to do, but that wasn't much, and the Spartans certainly have a number of problems to assess themselves after this one (try starting with a terrible day rushing the ball).

So what can we learn about Ohio State moving forward?

Buckeye fans might not want an answer.

Braxton Miller Is Not the Answer

...Unless the question is, who can't play quarterback in the Big Ten this year.

The freshman signal caller has a bright future ahead of him, but this year he looks hapless and lost.

The stat line today: 5/10, 56 yards, and one interception.

While that stat line doesn't offer much hope, actually watching the game paints a much more painful picture.  Miller looked flat out lost on the field today.  While one has to consider that his receivers are not near the level that past Buckeye quarterbacks are used to, Miller was often sacked while scampering around looking downfield with no real plan.  If you got a close up, it would have been some twisted visage of fear and confusion.

Miller is an undeniable physical talent, but his passing mechanics are raw --- even his best throws were marginal, and he wasn't even throwing downfield with any regularity --- and his decision making is just what you expect from a guy who just finished his first month of college.

If 2011 is going to be Braxton Miller's trial by fire, it will most certainly involve a lot of fire.  Let's hope Miller makes it out the other side.

Joe Bauserman Isn't Either

Once it became clear that Miller wasn't going to get anything going on offense, Luke Fickell called up Joe Bauserman, last seen throwing everything but complete passes against Miami.

Guess how that worked out.

Bauserman wasn't much better than Miller.  At one point after he had come into the game Bauserman's total yardage was a cool negative 22 yards.  He would eventually put up 87 passing yards --- about as many yards as Ohio State had total through three quarters --- as well as the Buckeye's only touchdown.

This isn't much consolation.  Most of Bauserman's passing yards were run up against a Spartan defense that was set to "prevent, prevent, prevent," and his touchdown with under 30 seconds remaining was all but academic.

Most of his time spent in the pocket was spent in the same panicked fueled scramble as Miller, and it often ended the same way, in a sack.

Michigan State put up nine sacks on the game, and maybe one-third of those were truly impressive efforts by Spartan defenders.  Most came as a quarterback ran around wildly hoping to throw to someone down field, but hanging on to the ball too long.

At this point Fickell might be better off taking the loser of the PSU quarterback competition.

The Running Game Needs Room to Operate

The key to Tressel-ball is controlling the ball on the ground.  It was obvious that Luke Fickell was hoping to employ this tactic early, as he would often line the team up in I-form sets on long down and distance, hoping to move the chains on the ground and win the field position battle.

He forgot one important part of the equation: you have to make teams honor the pass.

Ohio State was downright bad on the ground most of the game.  Inflated sack numbers make things look worse, but Jordan Hall was only able to get 45 yards on 18 carries (2.5 ypc), while Carlos Hyde had a respectable 6.6 ypc, but only five carries.

As soon as Miller proved he wasn't going to pass the ball down the field with any regularity, MSU moved extra players in the box and sent run blitz after run blitz to clog running lanes and get after the quarterback.

The result? Thirty-five yards on 39 carries.

The Ohio State run game has potential, but it needs help.

The Buckeyes Need Help, and Finally Get It Next Week

The game against Michigan State was always going to be a tougher test than the rest of the Big Ten schedule because of the suspension to five Buckeyes from last season's NCAA violations.

The events of today show just how much those four are needed (not counting of course, Terrelle "supplemental draft" Pryor, who would have been a huge addition for the rest of the season in light of just how bad the quarterback position is this year).

Let's start in the backfield.  Dan Herron, last year's leading rusher, would have helped a great deal in the running game.  Herron is the kind of speed back that could have possibly gotten to the outside against the stacked MSU box, and maybe picked up yards.

Of course having offensive tackle Mike Adams back would be a big help as well.  The Ohio State offensive line showed its lack of depth and experience, and couldn't hold up against the constant pressure from Spartan defenders.  If everyone knows you are running the ball you simply must out-execute the defense.  To do that you better have the best players available.  Adams would have helped in this regard.

In the passing game the quarterback combo might have found a little more success with the addition of DeVier Posey to the lineup.  As it was, Ohio State receivers struggled to find space in the Spartan secondary, and at one point a Buckeye receiver actually had the ball taken away from him.  Miller and Bauserman are bad right now, but without a reliable target they are little more than sitting ducks in the backfield.

Finally, defensive end Solomon Thomas would have provided a much needed boost on the defensive line.  Despite holding the Spartans to a very respectable 2.3 ypc, Ohio State was unable to sack Kirk Cousins once.  This is especially disappointing given the inexperience and poor play of Michigan State's offensive line to this point in the season.

Thankfully for Buckeye fans, these four will be back next week.  With road trips to Illinois and Nebraska up next, they won't have much time to get up to speed.

The Ohio State Defense Is Still Capable of Big Plays

If the Buckeyes would have been able to pull off the win at the end it would have been thanks in part to two very big defensive turnovers forced by the Buckeyes.

The first, an interception in the end zone on a Michigan State fade route to tight end Dion Sims, was pure circus, a tipped ball brought in by the defender as he fell out of bounds.

The second was an interception at mid-field after the Spartans had forced Ohio State to punt from deep in its own territory.  Had the Spartans been able to move into Ohio State territory there, the game would have essentially been over, instead of Ohio State getting one last chance for the onside kick and field goal.

If the Buckeyes are going to find a way to win games while the offense gets its footing, the defense is going to have to provide more plays like this.