EAST LANSING — Cal Haladay thought for a moment about Michigan State football’s four most recent games against Ohio State and tried to process a simple yet complex question.
Did the Spartans, at any point during those losses, feel like they had a chance?
The fifth-year senior linebacker pointed to Charles Brantley’s pick-six of C.J. Stroud early in their 2022 meeting. It tied the score at 7-7 with 8:32 to play in the first quarter.
“I think in that game,” Haladay recalled Wednesday, “it kind of it felt like, OK, we could compete and with these guys, and we can go toe to toe with them.”
Nov 11, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) celebrates his touchdown during the NCAA football game against Michigan State University at Ohio Stadium.
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Three plays later, Stroud threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Emeke Egbuka. The rout was on. Final score: 49-20, a game that was over by halftime.
It was the closest MSU came to playing with the Ohio State juggernaut under former coach Mel Tucker. And it was not close.
Tucker is gone, and new coach Jonathan Smith has inherited a program that has lost eight straight to the Buckeyes. The Spartans’ challenge once again is to try and limit No. 3 Ohio State’s explosive offense and navigate the overwhelming gap between the two programs when they meet again Saturday at Spartan Stadium (7:30 p.m., streaming on Peacock).
“You know this logo, this brand of football,” Smith said Monday of facing the Buckeyes. “It’s a big-time opponent.”
MSU (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) knows that well. Especially with how the Buckeyes (3-0, 0-0) have run roughshod over the Sprtans in recent years.
Ohio State has outscored MSU during its win streak by an astounding 243…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-state-owned-michigan-state-210056913.html
Author : Detroit Free Press
Publish date : 2024-09-25 21:00:56
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