EAST LANSING, Mich. — Hitting the road for the first time this season, No. 3 Ohio State started fast and finished even faster en route to a 38-7 beatdown of Michigan State to open Big Ten play.

Buckeye quarterback Will Howard, getting his first taste of Big Ten action, tossed a pair of touchdown passes and added another score on the ground. Freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith continued his remarkable start to his career, scoring both on the ground and through the air in his second multi-touchdown performance in just four games.

Michigan State (3-2, 1-1) was limited to just 61 yards in the second half and 246 total while committing a trio of turnovers that erased any chance of the Spartans remaining competitive. Quarterback Aidan Chiles threw for 167 yards and the Spartans’ lone touchdown, but he also tossed his league-leading eighth interception.

Ohio State (4-0, 1-0), which came into the game as a 23.5-point favorite, scored the game’s first 10 points but only led 10-7 midway through the second quarter before rattling off the game’s final 28 points.

“I thought our guys responded well and had some really good poise,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said following the game. “That was something we talked about coming into the game, having poise in the noise…”

Ohio State was on its way to delivering an early statement on its opening drive, moving to the Spartan 10 with a fresh set of downs. However, an unnecessary roughness penalty on tight end Will Kacmarek set the Buckeyes behind the chains and ultimately forced a 30-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding for a 3-0 lead.

Michigan State quickly answered back on its first drive of the game, moving to the Ohio State 29 in just three plays. But as was the case throughout the first half, the Spartans were unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity.

Faced with a 4th-and-1 at the Ohio State 20, Michigan State elected to keep its offense on the field. After lining up under center, Chiles took the snap and plunged forward. However, he was met immediately by Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon, and Chiles was stopped well short of the line to gain.

After the turnover on downs, Howard continued a sharp start to the game that included completions on his first nine attempts. A 3-yard touchdown pass to Gee Scott Jr., Scott’s first of the season, pushed Ohio State’s lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter as the Buckeyes threatened to blow the game open early.

Chiles again moved the Spartans quickly down the field on the ensuing drive, but a fumble by Jack Velling at the Ohio State 10 was recovered by Sonny Styles, thwarting another scoring drive.

Ohio State gave the ball right back to Michigan State four plays later after Howard was intercepted by Spartan cornerback Jordan Turner near midfield. Turner returned the interception back to the Ohio State 12 to set up his offense with tremendous field position, and Chiles’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Glover cut the lead to 10-7 on the first play of the drive.

With Spartan Stadium lively following the touchdown, Howard rebounded nicely from the mistake, completing his two attempts on Ohio State’s next drive to get the Buckeye offense out and running. A 20-yard completion to Smith began the drive, and it was Smith again on the drive’s final play after taking a pitch from Howard and racing 19 yards to the end zone.

The touchdown was the first rushing score of Smith’s career and fifth overall this season, and he had more in store for Michigan State before the half was finished.

After Ohio State forced a punt, Howard connected with Smith up the sideline for a 27-yard completion in which Smith needed just one hand to make the highlight reel catch and move the Buckeyes into the red zone late in the first half.

Three plays later, Smith outdid himself, delivering one of the best catches of the early season to extend Ohio State’s lead.

With backup quarterback Devin Brown in the game following an injury to Howard, and Ohio State facing a 3rd-and-1o, Smith reached out and plucked Brown’s pass out of the air with one hand while never breaking stride on his way to the end zone. The 17-yard touchdown upped Ohio State’s lead to 24-7 heading into halftime, and the Buckeyes never looked back.

“What an unbelievable catch,” Day said. “I couldn’t believe he caught it. That was just a tremendous play.”

Howard, who confirmed after the game that he’d only had the wind knocked out of him, called Smith’s catch the play of the game.

Smith finished the half with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown to go along with his rushing score.

Ohio State outgained Michigan State in total yards by a margin of 319-186 in the first half, a trend that continued into the second half as the Buckeyes squeezed all life out of the Spartans.

Michigan State punted on the opening possession of the second half, and Ohio State responded with a 13-play, 77-yard drive to put the game away late in the third quarter.

Howard and Emeka Egbuka combined to punctuate the drive, which chewed up seven minutes of the game clock, with a 33-yard touchdown catch and run. Fielding’s extra point made it 31-7, and Ohio State had taken full control.

“When you can get a stop and then get the ball back and score another touchdown, it flips the game. I thought that was there the game turned,” Day said of the sequence to begin the second half.

Egbuka led all receivers with seven catches for 96 yards and the touchdown.

Following a Denzel Burke interception, Howard added his second rushing touchdown of the season for good measure to close out the scoring and round out a solid performance for the fifth-year senior.

“When you’re going through learning a new offense and everything, there’s going to be some of those growing opportunities and learning from those opportunities,” Day said of Howard. “But overall, I thought he was solid. He was poised, made some big throws, and then a couple tough runs in there. You can see what a difference it makes when you have someone in there who can run.”

While Day was happy with his team’s poise in the road opener, he was quick to remind his team there will be plenty more tests to come.

“I think where we’re at right now is we’re making progress but we have a long way to go,” he said. “I think our guys have that mindset. It was good to get this win on the road, the first road win in a good environment. But we know the challenges ahead are bigger, so we have to get on this film and stay hungry and keep the journey going.”

Ohio State returns home next week to host the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-1, 1-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be aired on CBS.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.