On Saturday September 28th ,2024, at 7:30 pm eastern time, the Ohio State Buckeyes traveled to Lansing Michigan to take on the Michigan State Spartans. This is the first game on the road for the Buckeyes And the first game of Big Ten Conference play. Although Michigan State is not ranked and Ohio State is ranked number 3, history has shown that these teams usually have a competitive game. But that wasn’t case for this game.

Despite a second quarter Will Howard interception, Michigan State committed 2 first half turnovers in the redzone. The Spartans also had a turnover on downs in the first quarter. The star of the first half for Ohio State was freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Smith was credited for 5 receptions for 83 yards with 1 rushing touchdown and 1 receiving touchdown. With Smith’s dynamic plays and catches, Ohio State led at halftime 24-7.

In the second half Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard showed his toughness after leaving the game late in the second quarter. He took a big hit from a blitzing Michigan State defender. Howard came out in the 3rd quarter to throw for a touchdown and run for a touchdown. Howard finished the game 21-31 with 244 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

The Ohio State Buckeyes went on to thoroughly defeat the Michigan State Spartans by a score of 38-7. Ohio State is now 4-0 with a conference record of 1-0. Next week they will host the Iowa Hawkeyes in Columbus Ohio at 3:30 pm eastern time. Iowa is an unranked conference opponent with a 3-1 record. The next game for the Ohio State Buckeyes could be considered a final tune up before the big matchup on October 12th against 9th ranked Oregon. Regardless of what the next game maybe considered. If Ohio State considers themselves National Championship contenders, they need to take care of business next week before thinking about Oregon.