EAST LANSING, Mich. — Ohio State held out starting defensive tackle Tyleik Williams in its 38-7 win at Michigan State on Saturday night.

Williams had been medically cleared to return after missing the previous week’s win over Marshall with an unspecified injury and stood on the sideline at Spartan Stadium in uniform, but never rotated in with the defensive line.  

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day compared the injury situation to the one involving left guard Donovan Jackson from three weeks earlier.

While Jackson was available against Western Michigan on Sept. 7 after missing the season opener with a hamstring injury, the staff continued to keep him sidelined as a precaution. Williams’ availability was also limited to an emergency situation against the Spartans.

“We felt like one more week of rest to get him to 100% was the right thing to do,” Day said. “If we needed to, we could have him put him in the game. We decided we didn’t need him.”

Tywone Malone, a senior who transferred to Ohio State from Mississippi, made the start in place of Williams, while Hero Kanu, a redshirt sophomore who started last week, rotated with him in the interior.

Malone made a tackle in the second quarter when he and fellow defensive tackle Ty Hamilton stopped Michigan State running back Kay’ron Lynch-Adams on a gain of 5 yards. It was the only tackle recorded by Williams’ replacements.

Before he was sidelined the last two weeks, Williams had nine tackles and 1.5 sacks in wins over Akron and Western Michigan to begin the season.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan State Spartans are 3-1 and looking to get back into the win column against No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes for this Saturday night matchup. It is the second Big Ten matchup for the Spartans this season, their first being against Maryland.

Remember the rule of five. The game is over if the Spartans win that key statistical battle. For those who don’t remember it, it has to do with sacks and turnovers. If the Spartans have three sacks and give up two, they are plus one. They are plus three if they get four turnovers and give up only one. That would give them a plus-four for the day. They want to get to a plus-five ratio every game.

This will likely be the toughest game Michigan State plays all season. The No. 3 Buckeyes are loaded with NFL talent and superb coaching and unless the Spartans play a perfect game, this one could get out of hand.

It will be about taking care of the ball. Aidan Chiles has to play the best game he’s played this season against the Buckeyes and the young mistakes simply cannot happen. The Spartans will have to find a way to gut it out on defense, too, to have a chance at victory.

Michael France: Buckeyes, 49-17

The Buckeyes are simply too talented, too deep, and too well-coached in this one. Simply put, they have the Spartans outgunning. In a season or two, this game could be competitive. But in 2024, the Spartans are in over their head.

Aidan Champion: Buckeyes, 54-17

The Spartans come out hot, giving Ohio State trouble in the first half. But the Buckeyes make the adjustments at halftime and pick up steam in the third quarter, countering everything Michigan State did well in the first half. The Spartans will commit minimal mistakes and carry over their discipline from last week, but ultimately, the Buckeyes will be just too powerful.

Carter Landis: Buckeyes, 48-13

This won’t be pretty, based on the fact that Michigan State is still working on their offense. Bad time have to workshop some things. The rough stretch of the schedule got here before Michigan State knew it.

Zeke Trezevant: Buckeyes, 42-14

In college football, the best roster usually wins. Ohio State has that in this matchup and will win because of it. Michigan State continues to struggle on offense.

Tom Cavanaugh: Buckeyes, 34-27

Spartans play tough but they fall to the Buckeyes in a close battle. Chiles throws for a touchdown with running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams rushing for two. The defense will play well but not enough to stop the Buckeyes.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s contest:

TV: Peacock

Venue: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. EST

Listen: Spartan Media Network

-Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM)/WJIM (1240 AM)

-Detroit: WJR (760 AM)

-Grand Rapids: WBFX (101.3 FM)

We’ll be keeping you posted with live updates throughout the contest.

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