MSU’s Mike Tressel: Ohio State handoffs to Ezekiel Elliott not ‘overly effective’

EAST LANSING — Ohio State tailback Ezekiel Elliott sparked controversy Saturday night when he said the Buckeyes did themselves in with poor play calling in the loss to Michigan State.

“I’m disappointed in the play calling,” said Elliott, who averaged 2.8 yards per carry against the Spartans. “I don’t think Michigan State was better than us. They weren’t. We didn’t execute.”

Michigan State beat Ohio State 17–14 at Ohio Stadium, ending what had been a 23-game win streak. But the drama between Elliott and the Buckeyes coaching staff overshadowed the Spartans’ defensive effort in the national news. Elliott later apologized for his comments.

MSU co-defensive coordinator Mike Tressel took up for his defense on Monday, asked about Elliott’s narrative.

“He had 12 carries for 33 yards and a lot of first down (plays) were handed to him,” Tressel said on the ‘Shep in the Morning’ show on Detroit’s 1130 AM, WDFN. “It’s hard to feel he should have got a whole bunch more.

“It’s not like, if you look at the stats, it was overly effective.”

Mark Dantonio preferred to let the results speak for themselves rather than address the comments directly.

“I’m concerned with what we say and who we are as people,” Dantonio said, asked how he felt about Ohio State failing to give Michigan State credit for the win.

“I think the score and the result pretty much represented what happened in the game,” Dantonio said. “I don’t think it was a fluke if that’s what you’re asking.”

Dantonio offered no excuses for Ohio State’s 49–37 win over MSU last season, giving the Buckeyes credit for beating the Spartans straight up. He publicly praised and congratulated coach Urban Meyer several times over the offseason.

That was not how Meyer nor his Ohio State players handled Saturday’s defeat after being beaten by an MSU team playing without its senior starting quarterback.

Tressel he understood how the competitor in Elliott wanted the ball more, but he could appreciate why the Ohio State coaches got away from handing him the football.

The Spartans put much of their focus on stopping the Ohio State run game, particularly Elliott and QB J.T. Barrett.

“We chose to focus on 15 and 16, Elliott and Barrett,” Tressel said. “They have some staple quarterback run game plays that they go to and are successful, and we really focused on taking those away.”

Barrett finished with 44 yards on 15 carries. Braxton Miller was the only other player to carry the football, getting 9 yards on two carries.

Meyer said at his Monday press conference that he agreed with his star tailback, and that Elliott should have been handed the football more often.

Meyer said the wind also played a factor in the Buckeyes’ play calling and the lowest offensive output — 132 yards — of any team he has coached.

“It seemed like the whole frickin’ game we had the wind in our face,” said Meyer, whose team had five first downs in the game. “We were backed up, wind at your back, and they were keying on the best player on the field, (Elliott).”

Elliott said he appealed to Meyer during the game to get more plays called for him, but the head coach indicated the Spartans’ defense kept him from calling Elliott’s number.

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