Ohio State Football: How will the Buckeyes fare vs. pesky Michigan State?

Ohio State football comes home undefeated and 5-0 on the season. The ranked Michigan Spartans are looking to play spoiler on the road.

Ohio State has been one of the most fun teams to watch early in the 2019 college football season. Averaging over 52 points a game and steamrolling their opponents to a 5-0 start the Buckeye’s find themselves ranked in the top five and knocking on the door of another College Football Playoff birth.

Justin Fields has been on a different level in the first five games. Throwing for 16 touchdowns and adding seven more on the ground, Fields has done it all for the Buckeyes on offense. Michigan State will be the first team that will really test fields as they have excelled on defense and have bottled opposing defenses to just 15 points a game.

Michigan State’s lone loss on the season came at home against Arizona State where they lost on a last-second field goal attempt. After that game the Spartans dropped out of the rankings but after two impressive Big Ten wins are right back.

This Big Ten showdown in Columbus should be one of the best conference games of the year. We will see what these two teams are really made of in the heart of both of their seasons. This could not only have large conference implications for CFP implications as well.

Here’s how you can watch:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 5
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Venue: Ohio Stadium
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Michigan State has only given up a staggering 55 yards on the ground in their first five games. This is a level of defense that Ohio State just has not seen thus far. Michigan State will have to stay on schedule on the offensive side of the ball and limit the number of possessions they give Justin Fields and the Buckeye to have a chance on the road.

The offense has been the star of the show for the first five weeks for the Buckeyes. We will see Chase Young and the defense for the Buckeye be the center of attention for the first time all year. The predicted top-five NFL draft pick will have to stop the great air attack and pressure Brian Lewerke to get the game under control.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of Bovada

Spread: Ohio State -20
Over/Under: 49

Prediction

Justin Fields and the Buckeyes have been rolling and I don’t expect that to stop at home against Michigan State. The Spartans should be able to lean on their defense, for the most part, this game, but will really struggle to put up points against a loaded Ohio State defense that has multiple first-round picks starting.

This game is going to be a really good one on Saturday. The Buckeyes will have trouble running away with this one facing off against a really disciplined Spartan team that doesn’t commit very many penalties and is tough up front against the run. If the Spartans can force Fields to use his arm all day, they might make this really interesting.

Final Score: Ohio State 28, Michigan State 17