It didn’t matter as Harrison gathered in the back-shoulder throw from Stroud in the end zone anyway.
Brantley got some revenge on the next Ohio State drive as he returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown. Stroud and Emeka Egbuka appeared to miscommunicate on the play as Egbuka ran deep and Stroud threw the ball into the flat, where Brantley was waiting for it.
The Buckeyes struck back quickly, though, as Egbuka got behind the coverage Stroud found him for a 69-yard score.
On Ohio State’s next drive, the Buckeyes started at their own 2 but needed less than three minutes to find the end zone again, this time on a 51-yard pass from Stroud to Julian Fleming.
Michigan State responded with a seven-play, 76-yard scoring drive that included two personal fouls on Ohio State — a horse-collar tackle by Cam Brown that turned a one-yard loss into a 15-yard first down and a hands-to-the-face flag on Zach Harrison that wiped out a third down sack.
Brown was also called for pass interference on the drive, but it was declined when Reed made a tough catch. After his penalty, Brown was taken out and replaced by JK Johnson, who was victimized for an 18-yard touchdown catch by Reed.
The Buckeyes restored their two-score lead soon after as Henderson took a handoff and bounced outside for a 1-yard touchdown run. The big play on the drive was a 32-yard pass from Stroud, who took a hit but delivered a rainbow throw right into the arms of Harrison on the sideline on third-and-8.
They found the end zone one more time late in the second quarter as Stroud hit Harrison over the middle on a play-action pass and he eluded multiple MSU defenders to get to the goal line.
That 28-yard score gave the Buckeyes 429 yards of offense in less than 30 minutes.
Ohio State picked up where it left off in the third quarter, driving 96 yards in nine plays for another highlight reel touchdown catch by Harrison. This time he reached far behind him to snatch a ball out of the air and spun around into the end zone before a defender could knock it away. The play covered 19 yards.
They scored again late in the third quarter when Stroud faked a handoff then threw to Gee Scott Jr. for a 2-yard touchdown.
Stroud finished 21 for 26 passing for 361 yards. He matched the school record for touchdown passes in game for the third time.
Henderson ran 19 times for 118 yards, but he left the game after taking a hit to the right leg on the first play of the third quarter. He missed Ohio State’s game a week earlier with an undisclosed injury but was the feature back this time around when Miyan Williams was sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
Egbuka caught five passes for 143 yards while Harrison had 131 yards on seven grabs and became the first Ohio State player to catch three touchdown passes in a game three times.
The Buckeyes beat Michigan State for the seventh straight time and won in East Lansing for the ninth straight time.
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