College football game of the week: No. 13 Ohio State at No. 7 Michigan State

By Matt Mills November 8 at 8:48 AM (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) Last year’s matchup between Ohio State and Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game was about as good as it can get for the Big Ten. Ohio State was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country, while Michigan State was undefeated in conference play with only a loss to Notre Dame away from having a perfect record. Michigan State won after scoring 17 straight points and, after dispatching Stanford in the Rose Bowl, has become the Big Ten’s best team. This year’s story line is almost the same with the exception of Ohio State’s still-incomprehensible loss to Virginia Tech. The winner of this game will be the Big Ten’s only hope for a playoff berth, and even then will likely need some breaks to climb in to the top four. While the surrounding details of this matchup are eerily similar to last year’s the teams themselves have changed. RELATED: In a way, Michigan State-Ohio State illustrates Big Ten’s tumble. When Michigan State has the ball Last year, Michigan State let its No. 1 defense keep teams from scoring and relied on a plodding rushing attack to keep the chains moving, run the clock and avoid turnovers. The Spartans’ passing game, led by Conner Cook, did improve as the season went on, and they ended the season with two above-average performances against two tough defenses in Ohio State and Stanford. This season, Michigan State has become a legitimate scoring threat and isn’t so reliant on its defense. The Spartans are averaging an extra yard gained per run, completing four percentage points more of their passes, gaining two and a half more yards per completion and are spreading the ball around more to their receivers. Those improvements aren’t just from playing weak competition, either. Opponent-adjusted measures like the offensive component of SRS and the S&P+ ratings have seen them jump from an average offense last year to top 20 this year. Michigan State’s passing game is a big reason for the improvement on offense. …

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