After a dominant three games, the Ohio State Buckeyes are riding high with an undefeated record and a top three ranking as they prepare to hit the road for the first time this season and open conference play against 3-1 Michigan State in East Lansing.
Saturday’s matchup will test the foundation of the Buckeyes’ road to redemption, as they look to exorcize the demons of last November’s season-defining defeat 65 miles southeast in Ann Arbor.
“We understand what’s happened these past couple years and all the things we haven’t done, so I think this year is definitely a redemption year for that,” linebacker Mitchell Melton said.
With the road ahead looking both challenging and promising, Ohio State’s performance against the Spartans could define the trajectory of their season on and off the field.
Gearing up for a week of practice, head coach Ryan Day stressed the urgency “for everything to ramp up” as the Scarlet and Gray start their journey towards more competitive opponents.
Despite losing to Boston College last week, Michigan State is off to a solid start. The Spartans have opened their campaign with three straight wins for the first time since 2021, most notably shutting out Prairie View A&M 40-0 in Week 3 and beating Maryland 27-24 on Jonathan Kim’s late field goal in Week 2.
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith is walking into this matchup confident, all while knowing the challenge his squad faces and intensity needed to perform against Ohio State. That starts with supporting dual-threat sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles.
“Help him out a ton by running the ball more effectively, more efficiently, not getting in some of these situations where it’s third and 10 again and asking him to get us out of that,” Smith said.
Now, facing a ranked opponent for the first time this season, Smith and Michigan State aim to shake off a rash of key injuries, clean up their offense and maintain their defensive strength to spring a massive upset over the 24.5-point favorite visitors.
For Ohio State, with more than half of its starters returning for the 2024 season, redemption is the theme—and it begins with their mindset.
“I think with all of us coming back, we knew something had to change and that the mentality had to be more violent, but not to the point where we’re getting out of our technique more,” defensive end JT Tuimoloau said during a press conference at the start of the season. “So staying in that kill mode and attacking each play.”
After that translated to three dominant wins, the Buckeyes are focused on identifying their weaknesses despite outscoring their opponents 157-20 to open the season.
“We’re continuing to push through and to challenge each other in practice while also being truthful to our guys when things need to change,” Day said.
To team captain and linebacker Cody Simon, Ohio State’s early success is no reason to settle—it’s a reason to push harder.
“We have standards. We want to hold ourselves to the highest standard,” he said. “We just know our standard is higher and we can play better at all times.”
Ohio State’s roster seems to be the blueprint for success—led by an offense that has scored at least 49 points in each of its first three games. Star transfers Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins are a potent backfield duo: Quarterback Howard has six touchdown passes through his first three games as a Buckeye, and running back Judkins is coming off a 173-yard rushing performance against Marshall.
Howard has benefitted from inheriting arguably the best wide-receiver corps in all of college football, led by true freshman Jeremiah Smith and senior Emeka Ekbuka. Smith has caught four touchdowns to go with 281 yards in these first three games, putting him on pace for one of the best freshman wide receiver seasons in college football history. Ekbuka follows close behind with 266 yards. This pairing, along with several other talented wideouts, hopes to continue to give opposing secondaries trouble all year and unlock Michigan State’s pass defense, which has allowed just 158 yards per game so far.
On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes will look to take advantage of the Spartans’ struggling offense, which has 10 turnovers through four games and ranks in the bottom half of the nation in total offense.
For all of the pieces to come together, Ohio State’s squad is aware of the mental preparation and consistency needed to turn potential into dominance. Intentional preparation has helped to not only solidify the team’s playmaking but also their camaraderie as one unit, which has been valuable for newcomers like Howard.
“They wanted to bring in a team with not only good players but good people,” he said. “It makes it easier for guys like us to come in and be a part of something.”
But Ohio State was also dominant last year, with a ticket to the College Football Playoff firmly in its grasp until that back-breaking defeat to Michigan on Thanksgiving weekend. Now there is a new, perhaps even an unspoken, energy in the air to prove that something big is on the horizon. Redemption isn’t given, it’s earned, and the Buckeyes are ready to rise to the challenge.
“This is a Big Ten road game for us, and we have to bring it,” Day said.
How to watch Ohio State vs. Michigan State
- Date: Saturday, September 28th
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (Pregame coverage begins at 7:00pm ET)
- Venue: Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan
- Watch: Exclusively on Peacock
About the Author
Elena Dollinger is a senior at The Ohio State University majoring in Strategic Communication with a minor in Media and Production Analysis. She has been working with Ohio State’s Athletic Department as a Digital Media Intern since her sophomore year, helping to create content for Ohio State Athletics social accounts and managing the @ohiostathletics Instagram story on football gamedays. Follow along with some of her sports content here.