ESPN College GameDay 2014: Week 11 Schedule, Location, Predictions and More
There is only one contest on the 2014 Big Ten schedule outside of the conference title game that matters in the national picture—Saturday’s showdown between No. 14 Ohio State and No. 8 Michigan State.
ESPN’s College GameDay responded accordingly and will take its traveling pregame show on the road to Spartan territory in Week 11:
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ESPN College GameDay: Week 11 Info
Date: Saturday, Nov. 8
Time (ET): 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Location: Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
The stakes could not be higher for this clash under the Saturday night lights.
For one, this is an elimination game in the race for the College Football Playoff. Whether it is Ohio State or Michigan State that comes out on top, the loser will have two losses and plummet down the rankings. The winner will have the inside track to the Big Ten Championship Game from the East Division and a marquee victory to show off to the selection committee.
What’s more, there is an element of revenge, at least from Ohio State’s perspective.
The Spartans ended Urban Meyer’s 24-game winning streak to start his tenure at Ohio State in last year’s conference title game and prevented the Buckeyes from reaching the national title contest. It is still Meyer’s only Big Ten loss, but it sent the program into something of a mini-slump considering it lost the Orange Bowl to Clemson, lost Braxton Miller for the 2014 season to injury and then lost in the second game this season to Virginia Tech.
That’s a lot more losing than Ohio State and Meyer are accustomed to, and a big win would certainly remedy those feelings.
As for Michigan State, it hasn’t beaten the Buckeyes at home since the last century (1999) and needs another win of merit on the resume after it lost to Oregon earlier this season.
You can throw any of those three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Big Ten stereotypes out the window as well, since both the Spartans (45.5 points a game) and Buckeyes (45.6 points a game) are in the top five in the nation in scoring offense.
Something will have to give when J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State offense that has scored 50 or more points in five of the last six games take the field against a Michigan State defense that has held five of its opponents to 17 or fewer points this year.
College GameDay pointed out why the Spartans will have their hands full against the Ohio State signal-caller:
Barrett has completed at least 60 percent of his passes in every game since the loss to Virginia Tech and has kept the Buckeyes afloat without Miller. Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio commented on Barrett and the Ohio State offense, via Kyle Austin of MLive.com:
"They had a big injury when Braxton Miller, a big emotional deal for them. I thought they did an outstanding job in terms of not letting the team go south, they brought in the other guy has gotten much much better with experience and he has grown and he's a great football player, he's very high in a lot of things statistically, 20 touchdowns, five interceptions.
"
Michigan State can’t focus all of its attention on Barrett and the passing game, though, since the Buckeyes have rushed for at least 200 yards in the last six games.
Ultimately, every yard and every point is critical in showdowns like this. For as effective as Ohio State’s offense has been statistically, its touchdown rate inside the red zone is only 69 percent. If the Buckeyes cannot convert their opportunities inside the 20-yard line, it could be a long day on Saturday against a solid defense.
The best defense may be a good offense for the Spartans, as Connor Cook and Jeremy Langford lead a balanced attack that has gained at least 420 yards in every single game this season. Incredibly, Michigan State has gained only 44 more passing yards than rushing yards this year, which is a testament to the offense’s balance.
The good news for Buckeyes fans is that this will be a much better Ohio State defense than Michigan State faced in last year’s Big Ten championship. It is 17th in the country in points allowed per game at 19.9 and is better suited to slow the Spartans offense down than it was last year when Cook threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns.
Statistically, this game will feature two strong defenses and two high-octane offenses that have lit up the scoreboard all season. It figures to be a nail-biter that comes down to the final minutes.
Regardless of what the overall numbers say, though, it’s just too hard to ignore the fact that the Buckeyes offense has looked completely different in its two games against opponents of note this year (Virginia Tech and Penn State). Most of the impressive numbers have come in the easy contests against the Kent States, Cincinnatis and Rutgers of the world.
Barrett threw three interceptions against the Hokies, while no running back topped 32 yards on the ground. Barrett threw for a whopping 74 yards against the Nittany Lions, and the offense didn’t score in the second half until overtime.
Michigan State's defense is better than both of those opponents.
The raucous crowd will be a problem for the redshirt-freshman Barrett, much like it was for stretches at Penn State, and the Spartans defense will make enough plays to get the victory.
Michigan State will still be in the College Football Playoff race after the game, while the young and talented Buckeyes will start looking ahead to a 2015 season that could be special.
Prediction: Michigan State 27, Ohio State 21
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