Ohio State vs. Michigan State: 5 crazy stats from Buckeyes’ halftime rout of Spartans

Ohio State put together one of the most impressive offensive performances of the season against No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday — and only needed one half to do it.

The fourth-ranked Buckeyes wasted no time against the Spartans, scoring touchdowns on each of their first seven offensive possessions. The only drive that didn’t end in a score was the final one of the half, in which the Buckeyes received the ball at their own 19 with 30 seconds left on the clock. WIth the score already 49-0 — yes, you read that right — Ryan Day and Co. elected to kneel and send the game mercifully into halftime.

MORE: Ohio State vs. Michigan State live blog

The Buckeyes’ attack was multifaceted, too: Quarterback C.J. Stroud (29 of 31 passing, 393 yards, six touchdowns), TreVeyon Henderson (nine rushes, 63 yards), Chris Olave (seven catches, 146 yards, two touchdowns), Garrett Wilson (seven catches, 120 yards, two touchdowns), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (eight catches, 76 yards, one touchdown) all had fantastic days as well.

The game has been over essentially since the first quarter, which goes to show how impressive this performance was, especially against a top-10 team. So impressive, in fact, Sporting News decided to break down some of the craziest stats from the Buckeyes’ halftime rout of the Spartans:

500 yards

That’s how many yards the Buckeyes put up against Michigan State in a single half. Ohio State was already the best offensive team in the country, leading all of college football in total offense (5,500 yards) and yards per game (550). The team needed only 50 yards in the second half to hit its average.

Ohio State also had more passing yards (393) than Michigan State had total offense (116). It nearly eclipsed that total with just its rushing total, putting up 107 yards at the half. Olave and Wilson also out-gained the Michigan State offense with 146 and 120 yards, respectively.

Seven touchdowns

Ohio State leads the country in scoring offense, averaging 46.3 points per game. They eclipsed that total with 49 points by halftime. The Buckeyes scored touchdowns on each of their first seven drives, finishing with scores of 23, 77, 43, 4, 1, 12 and 5 yards, respectively. Six of those came through the air as Stroud sliced and diced the weak Spartans secondary. Apart from his five touchdowns to Olave, Wilson and Smith-Njigba, he also threw a 4-yard touchdown to Julian Fleming.

MORE: Who is C.J. Stroud? Meet Ohio State’s new QB1 replacing Justin Fields

Two incompletions

Stroud’s ridiculous stat line of 393 yards and six touchdowns is impressive enough on its own, but it’s made all the more impressive considering how efficiently he racked those numbers up. He completed 29 of 31 passes by halftime, completing an absurd 93.5 percent of his passes. He clearly favored Olave, Wilson and Smith-Njigba as his preferred targets, but hit eight different receivers during his passing clinic.

Five TD drives of less than 3 minutes

Ohio State didn’t simply grind Michigan State down (though it easily could have). The Buckeyes struck with lightning speed for most of the first half, putting together five scoring drives of 3 minutes or less. They also had three drives that didn’t reach the 2-minute mark, thanks in part to scoring plays of 23, 77 and 43 yards (all Stroud touchdown passes). That’s illustrated by the fact the Buckeyes only faced two third downs the entire half (converting both).

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One negative play

Ohio State’s first drive started with a 5-yard false start penalty. Following that, the Buckeyes had only one negative play for the remainder of the half: an 8-yard sack of Stroud by Michigan State’s Maverick Hansen. It occurred on the Buckeyes’ last real drive of the half; six plays later, Stroud threw a 5-yard touchdown to Smith-Njigba with 1:37 remaining before halftime.

The Buckeyes technically had a negative play to end the half by kneeling it, though that feels as if it shouldn’t count.