Ohio State vs Michigan State Final Report Card, Player Grades for Ohio State

The 14th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes went to 5-0 on the 2012 season, going to East Lansing to get a tough road win against Michigan State 17-16, salting the game away with a clutch drive with 4:10 to play in the game to prevent MSU from getting a final possession.

Braxton Miller led the Buckeyes with more than 300 yards of total offense, but the defensive front seven told the tale, derailing Le'Veon Bell's Heisman express by holding the Spartan back to just 45 yards on 17 carries.

Quarterback: Braxton Miller

Overall Game Grade - B+

Braxton Miller got one of the best road wins of his young career, overcoming three turnovers to lead the Buckeyes to a 17-16 win.136 yards rushing, 16-of-23 passing for 179 yards kept the Buckeye offense rolling all day. Miller had three turnovers but converted key third downs with his feet, which eventually opened the middle of the Michigan State defense for Carlos Hyde, which sealed the deal late in the game.

He bounced back twice from injuries that had Buckeye fans holding their collective breath. Kenny Guiton came in during the opening scoring drive when Miller went out and handled the ball well in getting Jordan Hall into the end zone. A quality win that will put Miller back in the Heisman conversation.

Running Backs

Overall Game Grade - B

Turnovers were the only thing that kept this grade from being an A.

Braxton Miller threw the ball fairly well, only forcing the ball a couple of times in the game. Jordan Hall ran well early but went out with a knee injury, putting Carlos Hyde in the spotlight. It took him a while to get going, but his 11 carries for 49 yards were a key to the victory. Miller again carried the ball more than anyone, toting the leather 23 times for 136 yards.

Hall's speed caused problems on the edge before he went down and Hyde's power running told the tale at the end of the game. Hyde also led the blocking on a key MIiler run and then converted the final first down of the game with a tough five-yard smash. The fullbacks did not carry the ball, but served as valuable shields against the Spartan blitz.

Wide Receivers

Overall Game Grade - A-

Corey Brown had his best game of the year with 12 catches for 84 yards, including a number of key third-down conversions. He had a pair of plays early in the game where he did not get to the first down marker in his route, but made up for it with key catches. He also showed great awareness early in the fourth quarter, coming back to help Miller turn a sure sack into a 24-yard catch-and-run play.

Devin Smith had the big play of the day, hauling in a 63-yard streak from Miller, making a tough catch with a defender right in his hip pocket, shaking him off and running in for what would prove to be the gamewinning score.

Smith and Miller were the only receivers to touch the ball today, although Jake Stoneburner was targeted on two occasions. The tight ends did not see the ball all afternoon and were not targeted.

Offensive Line

Overall Game Grade - A

In one of the finer performances by an Ohio State offensive line in the last two seasons, the young Buckeyes not only fought off a fierce Michigan State front four, they dealt with relentless blitzes all day and kept Braxton Miller on his feet for the majority of the day.

More importantly, the O-line wore down the Spartans and were able to create some gaps between the tackles in the fourth quarter when the Buckeyes desperately needed them. With 4:10 to go and leading by a point, Ohio State needed to do something other than run Miller. The offensive line answered the call, allowing Carlos Hyde to make key gains and move the chains.

Defensive Line

Overall Game Grade: A+

This was the game that Ohio State fans have been expecting all year long and the front four of the Buckeyes were absolutely dominant in shutting down the Spartans.

Heisman candidate Le'Veon Bell was held to three yards or less on 13 of his 17 carries today, and their prowess allowed the coaching staff to drop seven into coverage, causing troubles for the Spartan passing attack. Johnathan Hankins and Nathan Williams were seemingly in on every running play, while John Simon commanded his fair share of attention.

Linebackers

Overall Game Grade: B

Etienne Sabino had his best game of the season, doing a nice job in coverage, and late in the game on the blitz. It was Sabino's pressure of Andrew Maxwell that forced the incompletion that ended Michigan State's last possession. Orhion Johnson got his first significant playing time and showed well, especially in short coverage. Ryan Shazier was around the ball as he usually is, but at times showed his exuberance in trying to knock over a ballcarrier instead of wrapping up and tackling.

Defensive Backs

Overall Game Grade - B-

The secondary had its moments, but there were holes to be found. Tackling was marginally better than it had been but some key misses cost Ohio State some points. Travis Howard and Bradley Roby each had third- or fourth-down penalties that kept drives alive, but the secondary did tighten up the coverage in the fourth quarter when it counted. In the end, the lack of aerial success by the Spartans is attributed more to Spartan receivers dropping the ball than it was to Buckeye defenders.

Special Teams

Overall Game Grade - B-

Kickoff coverage was suspect, there were penalties on punt coverage and on punt returns, but Bradley Roby's blocked punt raised the grade. Drew Basil hit a 26-yard field goal that just snuck inside the left upright.

Coaching

Overall Game Grade - A-

Anytime you draw up a game plan to hold Le'Veon Bell to 45 yards, you've done your homework. The flanker screens neutralized Michigan State's blitzers and the linebackers did a great job on their keys. Only real failure was in getting the tight ends involved in the game after they had been more active participants in the first four wins.