Ohio State vs. Michigan State Debate: Can Spartans Score Upset In East Lansing?

DEBATE: Ohio State vs. Michigan State

The top teams in the Big Ten meet in a marquee battle that lured ESPN's "College GameDay" to East Lansing.

The No. 20 Michigan State Spartans (3-1) are hosting the No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) and aiming to get another win over a ranked opponent. The Spartans defeated No. 24 Boise State in Week 1 but fell at No. 20 Notre Dame in Week 3. A second consecutive win over the Buckeyes would also go a long way toward let Urban Meyer know that the Spartans intend to be one of the perennial contenders programs during his tenure. Ohio State has yet to play Top 25 program this season and the early returns -- all wins -- haven't exactly been convincing.

"We've got a long way to go," Meyer told The Associated Press after the Buckeyes sweated out a 29-15 victory over lowly UAB last weekend. "The fact is we're a bend-and-break defense, which is painful to watch. And then we're not a methodically dominating offense. I mean, we're not a very good offense right now."

In order to get the better of a Michigan State team yielding just 11.8 points per game, Ohio State will have needed to make its offense more "methodically dominating" during the past week of practice. As noted by Mike Singer of CBSSports.com, Michigan State is near impossible to beat when it controls the time of possession, meaning that methodical may be just the ticket to defeat them.

Can Spartans quarterback Andrew Maxwell be his team's X-factor? Or will Braxton Miller lead the Buckeyes to a big road win?

We've invited Jim Lodico of The Buckeye Blog and The Enlightened Spartan to introduce us to both teams and argue on behalf of the one they cover.

Whose side are you taking?

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