As Ohio State looks to play, MSU looks to do some more giant killing

Another day passes and it’s one more day closer to Michigan State playing football Saturday against Ohio State.

The Spartans have been going about the week as they would most weeks, but they’ve been doing so with the possibility that Saturday’s game could get canceled after Ohio State was forced to call off last week’s game at Illinois because of an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Often times, one week out has led to two, but as No. 4 Ohio State does its best to play enough games to be eligible for the Big Ten championship game, it appears the Buckeyes will defy that norm and be ready to take on the Spartans. After conducting small group workouts and virtual meetings Monday, Ohio State practiced Tuesday and Wednesday and said the Buckeyes were planning on playing the game.

It’s fine with the Spartans (2-3), who haven’t adjusted their approach.

“Especially with team like Ohio State, you don't ever want to be unprepared,” safety Xavier Henderson said. “We’re going to come in with the attitude we’re gonna play. We’re looking forward to playing such a good team, so we’ve just got to get better each and every day.”

On paper, this will be a tough matchup for Michigan State, which has lost four in a row to Ohio State. The Buckeyes (4-0) enter the game a three-touchdown favorite and not many folks are giving the Spartans a shot.

Of course, it’s the same spot Mel Tucker and his team were in heading into a Week 2 matchup with then-No. 13 Michigan as well as last week’s meeting with then-No. 11 Northwestern. Michigan State was a decided underdog in each but managed to find a way to win and joined Alabama and Georgia as the only Football Bowl Subdivision teams with more than one victory over a top-15 team this season.

More: MSU staying flexible, as Ohio State says it's planning to play

It has helped solidify the Spartans as a bit of a giant killer, something they hope to repeat this week. After all, some of the program’s biggest upsets have come at the expense of Ohio State, including the last two victories when the Buckeyes were the No. 2 team in the nation. Michigan State wins in 2013, at the Big Ten championship game, and in 2015 derailed potential national-championship runs for the Buckeyes and a win Saturday would do so again.

“We’re definitely excited,” Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi said. “Everybody who came here came here to play the best teams in the Big Ten. We didn't come here to beat out the worst team in the Big Ten. We came here to beat the top dogs and to compete with the best in the country, so this is a good opportunity and we've been looking forward to this now for a while. So, we’re excited to go out there and play and show the country what we're about.”

Tucker did his best this week to not make it seem like the Spartans care more about playing the top teams.

But he did admit there are some games that are just different.

“Everyone's has Ohio State somewhat circled on their schedule because it's considered maybe the best team in the country,” Tucker said. “But if you’re asking me do you get more intense or more excited or is there more focus when you're playing a top-five team or a top-10 team in the nation? I've been in that position as a coach several times and you do see that when you have coaches and players that are competitors, obviously, when you’re playing a really good matchup there's just a competition factor that comes into play in terms of intrinsic motivation and wanting to put your best foot forward.”

Putting your best foot forward matters when the nation is watching, as they will be when the game kicks off at noon Saturday. But it’s about more than just what the result means in the Big Ten or what it does to the playoff picture.

Playing Ohio State is as big as playing Michigan for much of the Spartans’ roster, as well as Tucker. Twenty-seven Michigan State players hail from the Buckeye state while Tucker won a national championship there as part of Jim Tressel’s staff. He was the defensive backs coach then under defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio and was promoted to coordinator when Dantonio left to become the head coach at Cincinnati.

More: Green Room podcast: MSU football ruins Northwestern's season, plus hoops talk

“I know about Ohio State, I know about the football there and I know how important it is,” said Tucker, who grew up near Cleveland. “I also started my career here at Michigan State and I know about football here and the brand of football that we need to play and how important it is for us.”

It’s important, too, for those players from Ohio. It always has been, and that hasn’t changed.

“It definitely means something, especially being from right outside Columbus,” said Henderson, who played at Pickerington Central. “It’s insane how they love their football in Columbus. It’s ridiculous and it definitely means a little bit of something.

"But we always are gonna play with a chip on our shoulder and I think maybe that chip might grow even more this week.”

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau