3 keys to victory for Michigan State football vs. Ohio State in Week 5

This is how Michigan State can beat Ohio State.

Michigan State's Aidan Chiles throws a touchdown pass against Prairie View A&M during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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2. Control time of possession

Ohio State has one of the best offenses in the country, that is no surprise to anyone. Do I think Michigan State’s defense will be able to stop them? I do, at times. But even I won’t say that MSU’s defense will be able to stop them regularly.

So another way for MSU to help slow the Ohio State offense down is by controlling the time of possession. If MSU’s offense can have some longer drives then that will give their defense more rest and in turn cause OSU to score less points.

This however could be difficult to do since Michigan State loves to throw the deep ball with Aidan Chiles. So maybe this is the game where they are more calculated with their deep shots and more often than not just call plays to move the chains.

Ohio State’s offense also is able to score in a hurry, so if they are scoring quickly then the time of possession doesn’t really matter. But if MSU can control that while limiting the big plays from Ohio State then that will put them in a position to pull off this upset.

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