COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's defense had just one turnover in its previous three games combined heading into Saturday's game vs. Michigan State.

The Buckeyes got three off the Spartans, ending a rare turnover drought with a fumble recovery and two interceptions in their 48-3 win.

OSU's last takeaway came on the last play of their 56-14 Week 7 win at Nebraska.

Early in the second quarter on Saturday, Tyquan Lewis stripped the football away from Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke, and Damon Arnette recovered. OSU turned it into a touchdown three plays later.

The play ended a nine-quarter drought of no takeaways.

"Coach (Greg) Schiano said, 'Keep doing what you're doing. They're going to come.' And they did today," Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard said.

Arnette also had an interception late in the first half. Damon Webb got one in the third quarter, giving him a team-leading three picks this season.

"This week in practice, we had like 17 takeaways all together, in scout and practicing. So we definitely emphasized it, and it showed on the field," Webb said.

Excluding the interception at Nebraska, Ohio State's last takeaway came in the third quarter on a Jashon Cornell fumble recovery vs. Maryland.

Here are more notes, quotes and nuggets from the Buckeyes' win:

* Ohio State's 45-point win vs. Michigan State was the largest margin of victory between the two teams. The previous record was set in 1979, when OSU won, 42-0.

* The stat that jumps out the most is the disparity in rushing yardage. Ohio State outgained Michigan State on the ground, 335-64. In average yards per play, OSU more than quadrupled MSU, 8.0 to 1.9.

"Being that they were getting so much push off the ball with the (Michigan State) D-linemen, it was a great thing for them," Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett said. "So they met the (linebackers) instead of on the line of scrimmage, they met them three yards downfield. And our running backs did a great job making that unblocked defender miss and got some big hits."

Those big hits including runs of 15 and 35 yards from J.K. Dobbins, and Mike Weber's touchdown runs of 47 and 82 yards.

The 335 rushing yards are the most for Ohio State since it went for 410 vs. Rutgers last season.

* Lewerke entered Saturday's game throwing for a combined 845 yards in his previous two games. He completed just 18 of 36 passes for 131 yards with two interceptions.

He struggled even more in the first half, completing eight of 22 passes for just 26 yards.

* After Michigan State's LJ Scott gained 20 yards on his first carry of the game, he had just 10 more yards on his final seven carries.

* Ohio State became the first home team to win in the series since 2007. The road team each of the first four regular season meetings since OSU hired Urban Meyer. He is now 4-2 against Mark Dantonio.