Saturday night made for some pretty amazing photos! #GoBucks
Ohio State came, saw, and conquered a rebuilt Michigan State team on Saturday in rather dominant fashion to the tune of 38-7. There were plenty of things to take away from the contest with it being Ohio State’s first Big Ten and road test of the year all wrapped up into one, but it also made for some pretty good eye candy.
The field turf fields we see on an almost weekly basis these days is great and all, but there’s still nothing like playing a good ‘ole fashioned American college football game on natural grass, and that’s what we had in East Lansing on Saturday night.
Our photographers were on hand to catch some of the best still images, and we’re bringing them to you like we do after every Ohio State football game. Enjoy the scrolling of some great high-resolution stuff snapped on Saturday night.
Ohio State football issues availability report for Michigan State #GoBucks
Ohio State football is set to kick off for its first away game of the 2024 season against the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan. This game will also be the Buckeyes’ Big Ten conference opener and there is no better way to dive into conference play than a primetime matchup.
OSU is expected to blowout Michigan State by more than three touchdowns and that expectation is much more likely to be a reality after evaluating the status report that was just released. Star defensive lineman, Tyliek Williams, missed last week against the Marshall Thundering Herd, and everyone who watched the game could see how meaningful his absence was.
This week against MSU though, Ohio State appears to be 100% healthy on its entire two-deep on both sides of the ball for the first time in 2024. It is a bit surprising that Williams is back after only one week, especially considering that the Buckeyes should be able to take care of business without him, but his return is certainly good news. The following is the rest of the availability report:
Out
RB TC Caffey
LB Zach Hayes
RB Rashid SeSay
WR Reis Stocksdale
Sources: Ohio State star defensive tackle Tyleik Williams will be available at Michigan State on Saturday night. He missed the game against Marshall with an undisclosed injury. pic.twitter.com/VuvbcsAUOS
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Time for another game, this time on the road! #GoBucks
It’s time for another step of a 2024 journey the Ohio State football team hopes ends in a lot of confetti and trophies. So far, the Buckeyes have looked fantastic against competition that nobody will mistake for a Lord of the Rings type saga, but the team is still impressively undefeated.
Next up, OSU casts aside nonconference play for the season to begin its run through the new and improved Big Ten when it travels to play its first road contest of the year against Michigan State.
Ohio State is a heavy betting favorite for this matchup and the entire Milky Way Galaxy would be put on notice if the Spartans were able to pull off the upset.
The OSU football creative team is ready to get you pumped for the tussle on Saturday night and shared the latest Buckeye football trailer titled, “The Climb.” Have a listen and watch the short, cinematic masterpiece to get you ready for the game.
Ohio State and Michigan State are set to do battle at 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. Stay with us before, during, and after for more coverage and analysis.
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We told you last week that Ohio State’s Big Ten opener against Michigan State would be a 7 p.m. ET start on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock. According to Jerry Emig, Ohio State’s Associate Athletic Director for Communications, you’ll have a little more time to finish up the yard work before kickoff as the game will now be a 7:30 p.m, ET start.
Many fans still won’t be happy as the game remains scheduled to air on a service that is part of a paid subscription. Like it or not, Peacock will be the only way to see the Buckeyes take on the Spartans.
Michigan State is currently 3-1 after a back-and-forth affair with Boston College this past weekend. Ohio State remains unbeaten and looking to start conference play with a win in East Lansing.
This highly-ranked recruit could help restore Notre Dame basketball to competitive status.
Jalen Haralson, a five-star recruit, has narrowed his list down to Notre Dame, Michigan State and Indiana.
The senior at La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere plays the perimeter, and he stands 6-foot-7. He plays to announce his decision at 7 pm Eastern on Wednesday, September 25th.
Haralson has been playing in Nike’s EYBL as a member of the Indy Heat. He’s been averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
He has also played for USA Basketball’s U17 team — that one won a FIBA U17 World Championship. Haralson had 11.1 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists per game with that team.
If he chooses Notre Dame, he obviously could be immensely helpful to a rebuilding program that is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament sooner rather than later.
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The Nebraska soccer team continued its five-game road trip by traveling to East Lansing Thursday night. The Huskers clashed with No. 5 Michigan State, and though they stood their ground in the first half, but the Spartans pulled away in the second half, resulting in Nebraska’s 4-1 defeat.
The Spartans finished with 15 shots and nine on goal, while Nebraska got eight total shots, with only two on goal.
Florence Belzile and Sadie Waite each pitched in a shot on goal for the Huskers, with Waite’s shot hitting the crossbar and crossing the line. Sarah Weber led the team with three shots, but none on goal.
The Spartans controlled the match, testing Huskers’ Cece Villa at the net throughout the night. Villa faced nine shots on goal in the loss, earning five saves but surrendering four goals.
Nebraska’s season record is 3-5. The will remain in Michigan as it heads to Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines. The match is set for noon on Sunday on B1G+.
The game time and channel have been announced for Ohio State’s Big Ten opener against Michigan State, and Buckeye fans may not be all that happy. The game against Sparty will be under the lights starting at 7 pm in East Lansing. However, the contest will be aired on Peacock, NBC’s paid streaming service.
The game will air on Peacock as part of the multi-billion dollar media deal the Big Ten Conference signed with NBC, CBS, and Fox. This deal started in 2023 with Ohio State playing one game on the Peacock streaming service, beating Purdue 41-7. Peacock is scheduled to air nine Big Ten games this season.
Michigan State is currently 3-0 and will face Boston College before seeing the Buckeyes in Spartan Stadium. Ohio State also looks to stay unbeaten when it welcomes Marshall this week.
If we’re being polite about it, the preseason polls across college sports are typically nothing more than educated guesses.
Experts like to think they know what a team is going to look like when it takes the field, but until schools face actual competition, there’s no way to know. Games aren’t played on paper.
That’s starting to hit home this week for a lot of teams — and we’re not even talking about Florida, LSU or Clemson (yet). After Weeks 0 and 1, there are at least five fanbases who likely aren’t feeling as confident in their “soft” schedules anymore.
Let’s sort through them.
Missouri Tigers
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
This is not a knock on Mizzou at all. The Tigers looked pretty solid in their Week 1 victory over Murray State. We saw the expected fireworks from Brady Cook and Luther Burden before the back-ups polished off the 51-0 win. But there’s no question the Tigers’ schedule looks significantly more difficult today than it did a week ago. Week 2 against Buffalo shouldn’t be a challenge, but Mizzou follows that up with games against Boston College, at Vanderbilt and at Texas A&M — two teams who stunned their opponents in Week 1 and another in the Aggies who don’t look too far away from becoming a player in the SEC.
Those games were supposed to be the tune-up portion of the calendar for the Tigers before a pivotal two-game stretch at Alabama and versus Oklahoma at the end of October. No one is brushing off those early matchups now. In fact, they might be some of the more interesting Power 4 games of the next month.
Florida State
This one is pretty obvious, but let’s go over it again, anyways.
Florida State went undefeated in the regular season last year before quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury. That kept FSU out of the College Football Playoff. Folks in Tallahassee went scorched Earth and joined Clemson in begging the courts to let them leave the ACC for supposed greener pastures. Then, after spending all offseason trashing their conference and retooling its roster, No. 10 Florida State opens the season with a concerning loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland before an absolute meltdown at home against Boston College — two of the least consistently competitive schools in the ACC.
You think it’s bad now? Up next is a matchup with Memphis — FSU coach Mike Norvell’s former program — followed by Cal, SMU, Clemson, Duke, Miami (FL), UNC and Notre Dame.
North Carolina may be without starting quarterback Max Johnson for the rest of the year, but they still have Mack Brown as head coach and a talented backfield led by Omarion Hampton. There are no more gimmies for Florida State. Apparently there weren’t any to begin with. As for a regular season finale against Florida? Well, perhaps this sums it up best:
Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles throws a pass against Florida Atlantic during the first quarter on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
New Spartans head coach Jonathan Smith may get this program turned around sooner than later, but that doesn’t mean Year 1 is going to feel any better than last year’s disaster did. While Smith works on building the foundation in East Lansing, the Spartans schedule won’t do them any favors.
What seemed like mildly concerning road trips to Boston College and Illinois when the MSU schedule was released now appear much more daunting. That’s to say nothing of home games against Rutgers, Purdue and Indiana.
At least the Spartans get Prairie Valley A&M in Week 3.
Virginia Tech Hokies
Lee Luther Jr.-USA TODAY Sports.
The popular ACC sleeper pick this August is deep in a REM cycle after a loss to *checks notes…checks notes again* Vanderbilt.
The Hokies never really got their offense in gear — and we’ve seen enough of quarterback Kyron Drones in the past to know he’s for real — so the question is more about whether or not Virginia Tech can avoid dooming itself with slow starts again.
They’ll have prime opportunities to prove the Vandy loss was a fluke against Marshall and Old Dominion. But any lingering struggles could become much larger problems when the schedule picks up against Rutgers, Miami (FL), Boston College, Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Oregon Ducks
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel throws the ball during the Oregon Ducks’ Spring Game Saturday, April 27. 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
Let’s assume the first game of the Dillon Gabriel Era in Oregon won’t be the norm. The preseason Heisman favorite put up 380 yards and two touchdowns during a mostly meh debut for the rest of the Ducks in a 24-14 victory over Idaho.
If that’s what it’s going to take the Ducks’ offense to put away an FCS team in Autzen Stadium, what’s going to happen when they face teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue?
But let’s be honest, the schedule itself is less concerning on paper than the reality of the situation. Oregon has one of the most punishing travel schedules of any team in the country, having to fly a combined 6,277 miles. If the Ducks can’t be counted on to put away teams at home, this year is going to get very, very challenging.
If you were sitting at home on Friday night, enjoying the true opening weekend of college football, and happened to see the Michigan State Spartans playing the Florida Atlantic Owls, you probably saw a familiar name on the sideline.
A quick glance at the Michigan State sideline and the No. 83 jersey appeared with the name “Carson-Wentz” on the back. Yes, you read that correctly.
No, it’s not that Carson Wentz, the starting quarterback for the Eagles, Colts and Commanders at different times from 2016-22, who is now with the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup.
This is Jack Carson-Wentz, a redshirt sophomore long snapper from Canton, Georgia. This is his first year playing for the Spartans after spending last season at West Georgia.
Carson-Wentz knows about all of the Carson Wentz jokes. After Friday’s game, he responded on X.
Michigan State has a very familiar name on the sidelines this year
Fans who tuned into Michigan State’s season-opener against Florida Atlantic got quite the surprise when Carson Wentz showed up on the sideline.
No, not the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback who racked up titles at North Dakota State — though he wouldn’t have been any less surprising to see in East Lansing.
We’re talking about long snapper Jack Carson-Wentz.
The sophomore transferred to Michigan State over the offseason after playing at West Georgia last year. Which meant national audiences got their first real look at his name on the sidelines with the Spartans playing on Big Ten Network to open the season.
The native of Canton, Georgia is a communications major — which is absolutely a great skill for a long snapper — and seems to have a pretty good sense of humor about the attention his name drew from college football fans.
After the season-opening win against FAU, Carson-Wentz scrolled through some of the jokes fans were making online.
You’ve got to think Michigan State at least gives him one look at quarterback as a fifth-stringer, right? The temptation to run trick play with him must be out of control.
