No ‘O’ in OSU: Sparty stuffs Bucks

Associated Press

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All of Ohio State’s NCAA investigations and sanctions might not have been as painful for Buckeyes fans as this.

Kirk Cousins threw a 33-yard scoring pass to B.J. Cunningham and Michigan State’s No. 1-ranked defense overwhelmed the bumbling Buckeyes 10-7 Saturday, shutting them out until the final seconds.

Interim coach Luke Fickell, who took over when Jim Tressel was pushed out for breaking NCAA rules, could only allude to the ugly defeat as “what happened today.”

Michigan State (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) came in as the national leader in total defense (172 yards per game) and passing defense (101 ypg) — and backed up that lofty ranking. The Spartans allowed just 178 total yards and 143 yards through the air while posting nine sacks and snuffing the Buckeyes’ ground attack, permitting just 35 yards on 39 attempts.

So disappointed was a partisan crowd of 105,306 that from time to time boos cascaded down on the punchless offense.

“Am I surprised [by the boos]?” repeated Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator from 2001-03. “I used to work here. I’m just saying ...”

When the Spartans defense wasn’t making plays, Ohio State was doing what it could to help them. The Buckeyes (3-2, 0-1), behind true freshman quarterback Braxton Miller, stumbled all day on offense. Joe Bauserman led Ohio State to its only score, a 34-yard pass to Evan Spencer with 10 seconds left. The Spartans then recovered the onside kick.

Fickell said after the game that he might just open up the quarterback job to the four contenders — also including Kenny Guiton and Taylor Graham — who had fought for it during spring and preseason practices. At another point he said Miller would remain his starter.

One thing he was not confused about was went wrong for Miller.

“Things were happening fast for him,” Fickell said. “He just maybe didn’t see the field real well. We thought we were going to have to throw the football, as many people as they were putting in there [on the line to stop the run] and as much heat as they were bringing. We thought our best option was to go with a guy that probably could see the field a little bit better and throw the football a little bit better.”

Bauserman came on to hit half of his 14 passes for 87 yards, while Miller was 5 of 10 for 56 yards with an interception.

Dan Conroy added a 50-yard field goal for the Spartans, far from flawless but thoroughly in command.

It was a glorious homecoming for 24 Michigan State players and several coaches born in Ohio. Dantonio, an Ohio native, was in charge of the defense when Ohio State won the 2002 national championship.

Now his name will certainly pop up on the list of candidates when Ohio State looks for a new permanent coach after the season.

Fickell, who worked on the defensive staff with Dantonio at Ohio State, took over in May when Tressel was forced out for not telling his superiors that he knew about players accepting cash and tattoos in violation of NCAA bylaws.

“Every year going way back, the Michigan State and Ohio State rivalry has been special,” said Dantonio.