Ohio State Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Michigan State

2. The Ohio State Football team will be down at halftime

I know, I know. I just said Ohio State would throw for 400 yards. So why would they not have the halftime lead? Hear me out. All of those yards don’t have to come in the first half. Plus, we’ve already seen against Oregon that a lot of yards doesn’t necessarily translate to a victory.

Michigan State does a good job of controlling the clock with Kenneth Walker in the backfield. While I laid out a gameplan how to stop him, Walker is still a really good player. I could see him getting going a little bit in the first half and causing some problems for the Buckeyes.

A halftime lead for the Spartans doesn’t mean the Buckeyes can’t come back to win the game. I see the Spartans having a 17-14 lead at half. A lot of that will have to do with the fact that Michigan State will dominate the time of possession in the first half because of Walker.

Ryan Day should be able to make adjustments in the locker room though to fix that issue. He knows coming into the game that Walker is the focal point of Michigan State’s offense. If whatever defensive gameplan they have isn’t working, they will mix it up.

Michigan State would have a lot of confidence going into the locker room with a lead at halftime. Confidence doesn’t equal a win though. They would still have to execute in the second half, and that’s where I see them faltering.

My last bold prediction has to deal with how well the Buckeyes are able to contain Walker.