COLUMBUS — Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio was supposed to have Urban Meyer’s number. The Zanesville native had actually beaten the Buckeye boss twice, something no other Big Ten coach can claim.
But after Saturday, Meyer improved to 4-2 over his chief nemesis, and the only number on anyone’s mind was a lopsided final score, 48-3.
Without question the 13th-ranked Buckeyes (8-2 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten) earned their share of the raspberries after last week’s 55-24 debacle at Iowa. But Meyer, who is 46-4 in all Big Ten games, has set the bar so incredibly high at Ohio State that any blip at all triggers the wrath of a fanbase spoiled like few others.
Getting back to physical, pounding football seemed an odd gameplan against the 12th-ranked Spartans (7-3, 5-2), who featuring the best defense in the nation against the run coming into the matchup. Yet Ohio State hammered away with an overwhelming rushing attack. The Buckeyes’ 335 yards on the ground were their most in a game this season and the most since piling up 410 against Rutgers in 2016.
“There was a mandate to make sure (the running backs) touch the ball. The flow of the game also dictated that we were controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides,” Meyer said. “What happened in other games is when you get behind or it just doesn’t dictate it that way.
“But that was a mandate for me … once again mandates are easy. The execution was outstanding.”
Ohio State was so dominant, its 102 yards rushing in the first quarter matched the most Michigan State had allowed in a Big Ten game this season. Mike Weber ran for a career-high 162 yards on nine carries for an 18.0 yards-per-carry average. He had TD bolts of 82 and 47 yards.
True freshman J.K. Dobbins cracked 1,000 yards for the season after ripping MSU for 124 yards.
“When you face a team that’s committed to the run, you have to have that kind of physicality of running backs,” Meyer said. “I thought our two backs played fantastic.”
The 45-point margin of victory was the worst defeat in Dantonio’s career and marked the largest for Ohio State in a game against the Spartans. The previous high was 42 in a 42-0 win in 1979.
“Defensively, we didn’t tackle well. We didn’t pressure their quarterback enough and couldn’t stop the run,” Dantonio said. “Consequently, a meltdown happens, and you have to give Ohio State a lot of credit. They came in ready to play, and obviously, we could not match up with them in terms of the momentum of the game.”
Ohio State’s defense got in on the act, too. Despite missing linebackers Dante Booker and Jerome Baker, reportedly out due to injury, this marked the squad’s best performance of the season. It was badly needed after that core-shaking disaster in Iowa City.
Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke was coming off back-to-back 400-yard passing games. Yet he was pressured constantly and limited to 131 yards in the air. He was also picked off twice by a unit that had only forced one turnover in the past three games, a throwaway on the final play of the Nebraska blowout.
“They would always spy, so they would have a guy wait for me if I scrambled,” Lewerke said. “I wasn’t able to get away from him very easily. They have some good defensive ends.”
A couple of weeks ago there were whispers that Penn State coach James Franklin was on the verge of eclipsing Meyer as the top dog in the Big Ten pound.
Franklin’s team fluked Ohio State a year ago and came to Columbus undefeated. The Nittany Lions didn’t leave that way.
This week there was similar talk that Dantonio, who ruined perfect Ohio State seasons in 2013 and 2015, had figured out Meyer. On Saturday the driver’s seat in the Big Ten East was on the line, and the Buckeyes claimed it with authority.
A home date with Illinois awaits on Saturday before a road trip to Michigan. If the Buckeyes stay the course, a Big Ten title matchup looms with undefeated Wisconsin.
A Big Ten championship is a realistic goal for a year filled with wild emotional swings and crazy talk.