COLUMBUS, Ohio – How long ago was the last Ohio State-Michigan State matchup?

That was the day the Buckeyes found Carlos Hyde.

Seventeen starters – nine from Ohio State and eight from Michigan State – remain from the matchup that was now 19 games ago for the Buckeyes, 20 for the Spartans.

Ohio State's 17-16 win over Michigan State on Sept. 29, 2012, was win No. 5 in Ohio State's 24-game winning streak, and Urban Meyer's first Big Ten game.

Considering how it changed a team that finally got what Meyer was trying to sell them after a rough first month, it may as well have been win No. 1.

A rewatching of that game this week showed how much the foundations for these current teams were in place, and that could be useful for their showdown Saturday in the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis.

It also showed what could be ignored. Because this is not that.

“We're a lot … we're different,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman said Monday. “The numbers on the jersey and the names on the back might be the same at a lot of positions, but we're better. We're better than we were last year, and they are, too, on defense. Let's not kid ourselves on that, either.

“So schematically, I think it helps a little bit. But I think the ways that if you were a defensive coordinator that you would have attacked us last year might be a hair different this year because of some of the things that we've improved upon and the ways that we have gotten better. Especially individually, across the board, (we) have improved.”

The Buckeyes’ offense last season averaged 423.8 yards per game (46th in the nation) and 37.2 points per game (21st). This year it’s 530.5 yards (6th) and 48.2 points (3rd).

The Spartans’ defense last season allowed 274.4 yards per game (4th) and 16.3 points (9th). This year it’s 237.7 yards (1st) and 11.8 points (4th).

Michigan State’s strength went from good to great in a year. Ohio State’s went from “huh?” to great.

"I'm not taking anything away from Michigan State because they are excellent,” Urban Meyer said. “But we're a much better offense than we were a year ago. But that was a street fight last year and certainly between the tackles, we have to be ready for that.”

Here are some other points that stood out from a second look at the 2012 game:

Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde carried the ball just 11 times for 49 yards against Michigan State last season, but he's a much bigger part of the offense now as the Buckeyes prepare for the Spartans in Saturday's Big Ten Championship.

• The inside power run game, Hyde pounding the ball between the tackles, with Braxton Miller’s moves serving as his complement, is how the OSU offense works now. It wasn’t close to that against the Spartans last year. Hyde was just coming back from injury, with Jordan Hall opening the game as the featured back before he went down. Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit called the game on ABC, and in the second half, Herbstreit said that if the Buckeyes wanted to drive the ball on Michigan State, they needed an inside run game. “Ohio State has not been able to be productive between the tackles,” Herbstreit said early in the second half.

That’s where Hyde lives now. That’s a big change for the OSU offense, and it started with the way the offensive line and Hyde ran out the clock in the final four minutes with two big first downs.

“Everything changed last year for us, and now everything is on the line for us,” center Corey Linsley said of the two MSU games. “I’m sure they are feeling pretty bitter about the one-point loss last year and feel they maybe should have won the game. But the offensive line took over last year at the end of the game, so that’s been a point of pride from our standpoint. So we have to do that again this year.”

• On the Michigan State defensive side, Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said this week they are making more big plays now compared to the game last year.

“We've got more turnovers, takeaways, we've got more sacks than we ended up with last year,” he told reporters at his news conference in East Lansing this week. “When I watched the film last year, we gave up one deep ball when we were ahead. We've got to play that more effectively, but it was a great throw and catch. But we played hard, tackled pretty well. The game was a one-point loss. I thought we had opportunities in other areas. We dropped a couple interceptions, one that would have been six.

“We're talking about a game of inches last year, and the one thing that I would say at the end of the football game, they found a way to grind it out, and that's what won the game inevitably. We didn't get the ball back with four minutes to go. But I think what's made our defense better are the takeaways, the sacks, and just another year of experience with our guys who were playing last year.”

The Spartans dominated the turnover battle last year though, forcing two Miller fumbles and picking off a pass when Miller didn’t see a backside defender. Michigan State is forcing more turnovers – with 27 in 12 games compared to 20 in 13 games last year – but the Buckeyes have already seen how dangerous they can be there.

• Linsley told a story this week of watching film and seeing a Spartan defender pop up into a gap that he never expected. The Buckeye say the Spartans are better at filling gaps and doing their jobs than any defense they’ve seen, and it’s not close. Last season, when the OSU offense was still primarily Miller running around and making plays on his own, he did hurt them. Miller gained 136 yards on 23 carries, and now that he has said he’s feeling free and loose again since removing the knee brace he required since his early-season MCL sprain, he must be that way again. You can see how sound the Spartans were a year ago, and that’s only improved. Miller has to shake them up.

• Michigan State had no idea how to run an offense early last season. Big back Le’Veon Bell, now in the NFL, was just pounded straight ahead, behind an injured offensive line, and gained only 47 yards on 15 carries. The Spartans are smarter running it now, the line is healthier and Jeremy Langford, who has ripped off seven straight 100-yard games, actually can find room to run. The Spartans are better there.

• MSU quarterback Andrew Maxwell was bothered by some Ohio State pressure last year and didn’t make many plays. He threw for 269 yards, but completed just 22 of 42 passes. Current QB Connor Cook, seen as a solid game manager by the Buckeyes, may not make a lot of plays on his own either. But he’s more under control than Maxwell looked in week five last year.

• Michigan State was and is aggressive about stopping the run and challenging their corners to cover. Last year, with the way the Buckeyes were, or weren't, throwing the ball then, there wasn’t a lot they could do about it. A 63-yard bomb from Miller to Devin Smith won the game, but the passing game didn’t have much rhythm, as Miller was 16 for 23 for 179 yards. He hasn’t thrown much lately, either, because the Buckeyes have been running so well. But indoors in Indy, against that defense, he’ll have to throw. Miller has done that well at times this season, but not a lot lately.