Grading the Bucks: Week 11 -- Michigan State

Aahhhh..much better.

Offense: B+
The running game was back to old form with Dobbins and Weber taking care of business while JT quietly had a nice ground game as well.  The offensive line was fantastic as well both passing and running.  The major knock came on the questionable (to say the least) interceptions thrown by Mr. Barrett.  The second was a clear attempt by Meyer to get the stats a little better for Barrett in a blow out so it wasn't terrible...other than the throw showed he had checked out by that time.  The passing game was actually pretty good but the interceptions were just dumb.  No matter what, the running game was the star.  Mike Weber reminds Buckeye Nation (again) that he's really good while Dobbins still impressed.  When the team is clicking, look out.

Defense: A
That's how you turn things around in a big way.  It looked like the defensive line decided to man up after being embarrassed last week.  It certainly didn't hurt having Bosa in for a full 60, but it was nice to see this team not give up on the season after the abomination in Iowa City.  I'll give major props to the linebackers who appeared to be night and day compared to the Hawkeye game.  Baker has been awful lately so the worry was what are his backups looking like. Borland was phenomenal in the middle and moving Worley to outside linebacker seems like the right move going forward.  He looked much more comfortable in that position.  While MSU isn't going to wow the top teams in the nation with their offensive prowess, Iowa was considered to be Sparty lite (run the ball and pass to the TEs).  The defensive adjustments over the last week were a work of art.

Special Teams: B+
You know what? I didn't even remember the special teams existed...and that's what I want from Urban's boys.  No missed kicks, no turnovers, no stupid blunders...I'll take that all day every day.

Coaching: B+
The gameplan was beautiful and worked like a charm.  Getting this team to play for something when all appeared lost was a major victory in and of itself.  Michigan State was completely befuddled on both sides of the ball and simply couldn't stop the Buckeyes.  I was disappointed that JT was in the game so late.  There was no reason to risk injury or do anything dumb when the game was well in hand.  While I agree that injuries can't be planned for, the first unit seemed to have checked out of the game at halftime.  That's not optimal, but when they showed they had the ability and stomped another good team, I think it was time to get some reps for the second teamers.  The lack of 100% effort in the late 3rd early 4th was noticeable.  I think the coaches should have sent a message that if you don't go 100%, don't bother checking in.  Hard to fault the coaches too much.  This was a beautiful bounce back victory.

Overall: A-
Michigan State is a very good (not great team) and the Buckeyes embarrassed them when all the momentum and energy sided with the roaring Spartans (Buckeyes coming off a historic loss while the Spartans just beat Penn State and had control of the division).  Don't underestimate the effort the coaches must have put in this week to get these kids to play hard.  The players were mentally challenged this week and came out on the other side with new hope.  The new goal, don't get ahead of yourselves.  Nothing matters this week, but one thing...beating a hapless Illinois team on Senior Day (PS that didn't go so well last time).  Take care of your business.