PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Dwayne Haskins didn’t have his best day last week against Nebraska, but he was good enough to get the job done in Ohio State’s 36-31 victory. The negative: the redshirt sophomore fumbled twice and threw an interception. The positive: he completed 18-of-32 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. With 242 completions this year, Haskins broke the school season record of 240 set last year by J.T. Barrett. One of his touchdowns was a 42-yard hookup with WR Johnnie Dixon in the first quarter. It seems that Haskins was moving into prime contention for the Heisman Trophy several weeks ago, but his performances have not been as impressive in the past two games. Still, he leads the Big Ten with 32 touchdown passes and is closing in on a school record for passing yards in a season.
–RB J.K. Dobbins and fellow RB Mike Weber answered Ohio State’s challenge to improve the running game against Nebraska. Dobbins rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries (7.1-yard average). The last touchdown — a 42-yard run — gave the Buckeyes some breathing room in the fourth quarter of a tighter than expected matchup. Weber complemented Dobbins with 91 yards on nine carries (10.1-yard average). That was the kind of effort that coach Urban Meyer preached about the past two weeks in the aftermath of the loss at Purdue. “It was great to get back to our old ways,” Dobbins said. “We knew what we could do.” Duplicating that performance on Saturday against Michigan State, which has the nation’s No. 1 rushing defense, will be much tougher.
–WR Johnnie Dixon led Ohio State in receiving last week with five catches for 96 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown on a pass from QB Dwayne Haskins to open the scoring the Buckeyes in the first quarter. With WR Austin Mack out after foot surgery, Dixon might continue to see more throws coming his way. He is now tied with Mack with 26 receptions for 380 yards and five touchdowns. WRs Parris Campbell and K.J. Hill are still 1-2 on the team in catches with 56 and 51, respectively.
–S Brendan White hadn’t been a big contributor for the Ohio State defense before he stepped up to lead the Buckeyes in tackles along with LB Malik Harrison last Saturday in the 36-31 victory over Nebraska. White’s 13 tackles included eight solos and a team-best two tackles for loss. He had just five tackles for the season before his breakout game against the Cornhuskers. If the sophomore can sustain that level of play, it certainly will be a big help for Ohio State, whose defense is giving up a significant number of points and yards this season. The secondary also has been hit with injuries but may be starting to get healthier.
SERIES HISTORY: Ohio State leads Michigan State 31-15. The Buckeyes have a 16-5 lead in games played at Michigan State. The Spartans’ last win in the series was a 17-14 upset of the Buckeyes in November 2015.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It’s getting closer, but it’s nowhere near the standard we want.” — Coach Urban Meyer on the Ohio State defense
