Ohio State # 4 defeats Michigan State 52-12

The college football playoff committee cannot penalize Ohio State’s limited number of games after the Buckeyes’ victory on Saturday.

The 4th OSU easily beat Michigan State, 52-12, to go 5-0 with a regular season game to play. Ohio State QB Justin Fields was 17 of 24 passing for 199 yards and two touchdowns and also added 104 rushing yards and two rushing scores as the Buckeyes took a 28-0 lead at halftime and were content to cross in the second half.

The Buckeyes have been in fourth and last place in the playoff standings in each of the first two polls released this season in large part due to the Big Ten’s limited schedule and COVID-19 cancellations. Last week’s canceled game against Illinois was Ohio State’s second canceled game of the season. The Buckeyes previously missed a game against Maryland because the Terrapins had too many COVID-19 cases and players in quarantine to play.

And it was reasonable to assume that Ohio State could have dropped to 5th in Tuesday’s standings had Texas A&M been more convincing in a win over LSU. But the Aggies weren’t.

A&M was also not convincing on Saturday in a 31-20 win at Auburn. Ohio State, meanwhile, did not give a Michigan State team that beat Michigan and Northwestern a chance to compete.

Justin Fields’ three touchdowns in the first half

Fields was responsible for three of Ohio State’s four touchdowns in the first half. He opened the scoring with a two-yard rush, then found Garrett Wilson for an easy 28-yard TD to give Ohio State a 14-0 lead.

Another TD run pushed the lead to three touchdowns and Ohio State went at halftime up to four scores after Haskell Garrett removed Rocky Lombardi and had him run into the zone goals.

Michigan State struggled to take the field against Ohio State. It’s a positive development for a Buckeye defense who was likely to give up some big passing days – especially considering Michigan State’s ability to throw the ball from deep contributed to those wins. against the Wolverines and the Wildcats.

The story continues

Lombardi and Payton Thorne combined to throw for 180 yards.

Michigan next week?

From now on, the state of Ohio is expected to play Michigan. But the Wolverines were unable to play in Maryland on Saturday due to COVID-19 cases. Will Wolverines be able to play on December 12?

Otherwise, the Buckeyes will need the Big Ten to find an opponent or change the conference rules if they are to play in the Big Ten title game. A canceled third game would render the state of Ohio ineligible for the Big Ten Championship.

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