Three players to watch for the Ohio State football vs. Michigan State game

The Ohio State football team gets to play their first Big Ten opponent of the year on Saturday night. They travel to East Lansing to take on Michigan State. It's the first game that the Buckeyes are playing that is against a halfway-decent opponent. It's the first Power 4 team they've faced.

It's also Ohio State's first game away from the Shoe this season. While they haven't shown any signs of struggling with anyone so far, away games change things. That's especially true when they are night away games. The Buckeyes need to be careful.

So far this season, the offense has looked very explosive. They have a lot of guys on the team who can score as soon as they touch the ball. Ohio State is hoping that keeps up against the Spartans, who don't have a bad defense. It's an average defense, which is a step up from what Ohio State has seen.

There are three players to watch in this game who will decide the fate of the contest. These guys will determine if there is an upset in East Lansing or if the Buckeyes move on to 4-0 before returning home to Columbus to take on Iowa.

The first player on this list is someone on Ohio State's offense.

1. Quinshon Judkins

The Ohio State Buckeyes are a run-first team. They have changed their identity under Chip Kelly and have shown that they want to pound it on the ground. Transfer running back Quinshon Judkins has shown that he can be an extremely explosive runner, even as a backup.

Against Marshall, Judkins had 173 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries. His 86-yard touchdown run underscored the explosiveness that he possesses. Once he got passed the line of scrimmage, Marshall never had a chance to bring him down.

Judkins might end up being the best running back on the roster, even ahead of TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson is very good in his own right. Judkins' stiff-arm gives him a weapon that Henderson doesn't have. He can just shake off wimpy tacklers with that devastating stiff-arm.

Michigan State is going to try the best they can to stop the run. They are going to load up the box and try to keep Judkins and Henderson from breaking through. Judkins is the guy they most have to worry about. But if they do that, the Buckeyes can just throw it over the top.

Speaking of throwing it over the top, that leads us to our next player to watch for this Big Ten clash.