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Ohio State romps Michigan State behind banner day from QB C.J. Stroud
The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes were not messing around Saturday.
In their top-10 matchup against No. 7 Michigan State, the Buckeyes rode a dominant first half to a 56-7 victory, asserting themselves with a 49-0 halftime lead.
The Buckeyes scored touchdowns on their first six drives, a feat they accomplished just a week ago in a 59-31 blowout of then-No. 19 Purdue, too.
Quarterback C.J Stroud put on a show, strengthening his Heisman Trophy campaign with his best performance of the season against the nation's worst pass defense.
The Spartans entered the day allowing 329.4 passing yards per game and yielded 449 against the Buckeyes, the nation's top-ranked scoring offense.
Stroud's halftime numbers were downright gaudy: 29-for-31 for 393 passing yards and six passing touchdowns — tying a school record.
Stroud was so dialed in that he caught the attention of one of the NFL's best quarterbacks in Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes.
Stroud's day ended after he guided the Buckeyes to a field goal — Ohio State's first non-TD drive of the game — in the third quarter. He wrapped up his afternoon 32-for-35 for 432 yards and six touchdowns before giving way to backup Buckeyes QB Kyle McCord.
Of course, someone had to be on the receiving end of all of those passing yards, right? Enter: Ohio State's trio of unstoppable wide receivers.
Senior Chris Olave led the way with seven catches for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the second of which gave him sole possession of the record for most receiving touchdowns in OSU history.
Garrett Wilson Jr. also hauled in a pair of touchdowns among his seven catches for 126 yards, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba added 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
The ground game, spearheaded by Master Teague III, got involved too, racking up a total of 207 rushing yards against MSU.
In all, Ohio State's 655 total yards of offense represented the third-most ever given up by the Spartans defense.
Speaking of defense, special mention should be made to Ohio State's unit, which held standout Spartans running back Kenneth Walker III to just 25 rushing yards, his fewest in a game with Michigan State.
Ohio State's defense pitched a shutout for three quarters before the Spartans finally got on the board with the first play of the fourth quarter, capping a 51-yard drive that began following a McCord interception.
That would be all for the Spartans, though, as Ohio State cruised the rest of the way home.
The 49-point win is the largest by either team in series history, and will certainly lead to some interesting discussions about where the Buckeyes find themselves when the College Football Playoff rankings are released early next week.
Here is how social media reacted to the big win for Ohio State:
