COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the four seasons that Urban Meyer has been the head coach at Ohio State, his teams had never lost a Big Ten regular-season game — until last Saturday.Michigan State came to Columbus and knocked off the then-No. 3-ranked Buckeyes 17-14, ending winning streaks of 30 conference games and 23 games overall. Ohio State was reduced to a mere 132 yards and five first downs by the Michigan State defense and the inclement weather in a baffling display of ineffectiveness by an offense that has struggled all year to recapture the potency of last year’s national championship run. Now the Buckeyes (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) are forced to pick up the pieces and travel to Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., to face No. 10 Michigan (9-2, 5-2) on Saturday in the 112th meeting of the storied programs. It won’t be an easy assignment. Complicating the task at hand for the Buckeyes is not only playing a much-improved Michigan team but dealing with the fallout from last week’s postgame when running back Ezekiel Elliott spouted off about the coaching staff’s play calling and his lack of carries. Elliott, the leading rusher in the Big Ten, curiously ran just 12 times for 33 yards after piling up 15 straight games with 100 or more yards rushing. Meyer tried to put the Elliott’s reaction in the rear-view mirror this week, saying they “squashed” the situation. “I imagine we’ll get hit with that a little bit,” Meyer said. “So got to move forward and get ready to play a very good team.” While Meyer disagreed with Elliott’s delivery, he couldn’t argue with what the hard-running junior, who is headed for the NFL after the season, said about an offense that totaled 568 yards against Michigan State a year ago. “We’re just not — we’re not operating at maximum capacity, is the key word, and we’re still 10-1,” Meyer said. …
Continue Reading: Buckeyes moving on to annual Michigan showdown
