Ohio State matchup Thursday: Week 6 vs Michigan State

Last week Ohio State faced the best offense it had seen so far this season when the Buckeyes visited Nebraska.

This Saturday OSU, ranked fourth, welcomes No. 25 Michigan State and the best defense that the scarlet and gray has faced this season.

A stout front seven is the big attraction for the Spartans, and that’s the focus of this week’s OSU Thursday matchup,

OSU’s offensive line vs. MSU’s defensive front seven

Michigan State’s front seven is led by Kenny Willekes (pictured), who was named the league’s Smith-Brown defensive lineman of the year in 2018 in coaches’ voting.

He was a first-team all-Big Ten selection last season, as was linebacker Joe Bachie. Defensive tackle Raequan Williams was a third-team pick. All three are seniors this season and they lead one of the most experienced front sevens in the country.

Michigan State ranks seventh in the country in total defense at 253.8 yards allowed per game (but only fourth in the B1G with OSU second both nationally and in the conference) and fourth in rushing defense at 55.8 yards per game.

MSU also ranks in the national top 20 in sacks (18th), tackles for loss (14th), turnovers forced (13th) and even defensive touchdowns (tied for fourth).

The Spartans can come at you from a variety of angles and positions.

Willekes leads the team in sacks with four but Williams (3.5), defensive end Jacub Panasiuk (2.0), cornerback Skahur Brown (2.0) and Bachie (1.5) all have multiple sacks already. And linebacker Antjuan Simmons leads the team in tackles for loss with 7.5.

Ohio State responds with an offensive line that is perhaps surprising in its production and maturation considering that the unit returned only one starter from last season, left tackle Thayer Munford. Just as the Spartans are the best defense OSU has faced, the Buckeyes likewise have the most lethal offense MSU has had to deal with.

Ohio State shut down Michigan State in last year’s meeting but the Buckeyes were held in check on offense during a 26-6 victory, Only in the 49-20 loss to Purdue did OSU’s record-setting offense score fewer points in 2018.

This week, OSU coach Ryan Day called Michigan State “one of the best-coached teams in the Big Ten and the country.” It’s easy to see why: Former Buckeyes assistant Mark Dantonio is in his 13th season in charge of the Spartans and they have been to a bowl game every year in that span except one.

Since 2007, Dantonio’s first season, MSU has been to three New Year’s Day 6 bowls; in the B1G only OSU with 11 and Wisconsin with five have been to more in that span (Michigan and Penn State have also been to three).

And as is often the case in East Lansing, defense is Dantonio’s calling card. That’s one reason it’s the matchup Buckeyes fans will probably want to watch most in Saturday’s game at The Horseshoe.