The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Bucks look to earn respect
COLUMBUS — The stakes are high this weekend for Ohio State on its trip to East Lansing to play the Michigan State Spartans.
The Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0 in the Big Ten) need the win to stay atop the East Division of the Big Ten and keep their hat in the ring for a possible shot at a final-four spot in the college football playoff rankings.
But the Buckeyes also need a win for something they’ve had slip in recent years. Respect. One would be hard-pressed to pinpoint what could be classified as a signature win or a marquee win during the Urban Meyer era.
A win Nov. 8 in East Lansing would provide that.
“This is a game to get the respect that Ohio State deserves,” Meyer said, “and has had in the past.”
But you’d have to go back quite a while to find a signature/marquee win.
Last year’s candidates were against Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game and against Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Ohio State lost them both.
In Meyer’s first year, Ohio State went 12-0. But not many of the games could classify as marquee wins.
Michigan State was 3-1 when Ohio State went to East Lansing two years ago and pulled out a 17-16 win. Nebraska (4-1) couldn’t have been classified as such the following either before or after the 63-38 pounding Ohio State laid on the Cornhuskers
There was no bowl game that year to provide the opportunity for a marquee win.
Ohio State’s dismal 6-7 season in 2011 under interim coach Luke Fickell obviously didn’t have any such wins. And OSU’s 12-1 season in 2010 was vacated because of NCAA sanctions.
So if there is a team starving for a respect-earning marquee win, it’s probably the Buckeyes.
“I guess you could call it a signature win,” defensive lineman Michael Bennett said. “The last few years, people have said we’ve just beaten up on teams not good or whatever. ‘When it comes down to it, you can’t win a big game.’”
Ohio State thought it had an opportunity for a marquee game against Virginia Tech earlier this season.
Not only did the Buckeyes lose, 35-21, on national television, but the loss has turned into a bad loss since then because the Hokies have slipped to 4-5.
AJ Mast/Associated Press
“This year, with the loss to Virginia Tech, we lost a lot of respect,” Bennett said.
Much could be gained by a win against the Spartans. It would be Ohio State’s first win of the season against a ranked opponent. OSU is ranked 13th in the playoff rankings without any sort of marquee win this year.
“I think we’re lacking (a marquee win) a little bit,” linebacker Joshua Perry said. “That win would mean a lot. It would be great for our goal.”
It shouldn’t be difficult for Ohio State to get up for the Michigan State because of the league, playoff and respect factors — especially because the Spartans ended Ohio State’s 24-game winning streak last December with a 34-24 win over the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game.
OSU lineman Taylor Decker said the thought of the game is still “sickening.”
“For me, personally, and I know every guy on the team has been looking forward to this,” Decker said.
“They’ve had this date circled since the game last year. There’s a lot at stake.”
Ohio State was moving in for a late score, but was thrown for a loss late in the game on fourth down when Michigan State’s Denicos Allen got past a block of tight end Jeff Heuerman to drop Braxton Miller.
“I’ll tell you, if I show it too many times to Jeff, he’ll jump off a building,” tight ends coach Tim Hinton said.
Decker said the loss stung. “Kinda made you realize we weren’t world-beaters,” he said.
But all could be atoned for this weekend if Ohio State can knock off Michigan State, which comes into the game with a record identical to that of the Buckeyes — 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the league. The Spartans are in the top 10 of the polls and playoff rankings.
Meyer called the Spartans “the king of the hill right now” as the reigning Big Ten champions.
The Big Ten lead is on the line. So is playoff positioning. And respect OSU doesn’t currently have.
“The thing is, when you come to Ohio State University, is there any reason why you don’t want to play in these kind of games?” Hinton said. “You sign up for this. And this is what it’s all about. National TV, prime time and all that kind of stuff and getting an opportunity to play a great opponent and a Big Ten opponent and all those things are exactly why you signed up to come to Ohio State. Let’s go.”