Buckeyes hold off Michigan State 24-17 to remain No.1
By Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired
Photos by Tom Theodore

The Ohio State Buckeyes put up 17 first half points, but had to hold off a second half rally by Michigan State's defense, eventually victorious by a score of 24-17. The win extended the Bucks regular season win streak to 26 games and remained undefeated this season on the national championship hunt.

Ohio State improved to 8-0 and 4-0 in Big Ten Conference play.

Chris Wells rushed for a career-high 221 yards, Todd Boeckman passed for 193 yards and two touchdowns, while WR’s Jack Ballard and Brian Robiskie were recipeients of those TD passes.

After Michigan State’s first possession, the punt forced the Buckeyes to start from their own 7-yard line. A penalty on the first play left the Bucks with a 2nd and 10.

But then Wells broke loose for a 47-yard gain. Boeckman would then find Ballard open for a 14-yard TD pass to get things going for the Buckeyes.

"As a tight end I am not going to see many passes so when one comes my way I know I have to take advantage,” Ballard said.

Ryan Pretorius kicked a 42-yard field goal on the second drive to put OSU up 10-0.

On the third Buckeye possession, Wells’ 5-yard TD run capped a 29-yard, 6 play drive to put OSU up 17-0.

At 6:52 of the third period, Boeckman hooked up with Brian Robiskie for a 50-yard TD pass to give the Bucks a cushion of 24-0.
 
“We hung in there the whole game,” Boeckman said. “We made some mistakes, but we came out and got a victory and that is the good part.”

But, Michigan State defense took advantage of two OSU mistakes, scoring 14 points to keep the fans in the seats. The first one was in interception by Otis Wiley, who returned the interception 54 yards for a TD.

Then on the next Buckeye series, SirDarean Adams recovered a fumbled snap to Boeckman and rumbled 25-yards to move the Spartans closer, 24-14.
 
“Unfortunately, we gave away 14 points, which you can't do if you want to be the Big Ten champions,” OSU head coach Jim Tressel said. “But fortunately our defense is who they are today and got them stopped.”

Michigan State would add a late field goal to get as close as 24-17.

“We had a great comeback, but when you play a great defense like Ohio State, you cannot afford to put yourself in a hole,” Spartan head coach Mark Dantonio said. “We couldn’t move the ball on offense because they made us one-dimensional. Defensively, we had opportunities. We just gave up a little too much early on.”

The Buckeye defense was once again very stingy allowing 59 yards on 28 rushes. QB Brian Hoyer was 23-12, 126 yards with 1 interception and was sacked three times.

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Scoring Summary:
1st 11:50 OSU - Ballard, Jake 14 yd pass from Boeckman, Todd (Pretorius, Ryan kick)
7 plays, 93 yards, TOP 3:10, MSU 0 - OSU 7

03:40 OSU - Pretorius, Ryan 42 yd field goal
8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:55, MSU 0 - OSU 10

2nd 10:15 OSU - Wells, Chris 5 yd run (Pretorius, Ryan kick)

6 plays, 29 yards, TOP 3:10, MSU 0 - OSU 17

3rd 06:52 OSU - Robiskie, Brian 50 yd pass from Boeckman, Todd (Pretorius, Ryan kick)
3 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:12, MSU 0 - OSU 24

03:52 MSU - Wiley, Otis 54 yd interception return (Swenson, Brett kick)
MSU 7 - OSU 24

02:56 MSU - Adams, SirDarean 25 yd fumble recovery (Swenson, Brett kick)
MSU 14 - OSU 24

4th 03:42 MSU - Swenson, Brett 43 yd field goal
8 plays, 56 yards, TOP 2:49, MSU 17 - OSU 24