Looks like it was wise to move Ted Ginn Jr. to offense.

Ohio State recruited Ginn to be a defensive back and punt returner, but during preseason practices he became a receiver when coaches saw how special he was with the ball in his hands.

Now, everybody else is seeing his talent.

Ginn scored on a run, catch and punt return and the Buckeyes rallied — after losing a 17-point lead — by scoring the last 15 points in a 32-19 victory over Michigan State on Saturday.

“We’re getting the ball to him out in the open,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. “When he’s out in the open, he can go.”

Michigan State found that out.

His 17-yard reverse and 60-yard punt return helped the Buckeyes build a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. After the Spartans went ahead 19-17 late in the fourth, Ginn caught a short slant and turned it into a 58-yard TD with 1:37 left.

“It was a good day, but the day is over,” Ginn said.

While Ginn downplayed his performance — which included four catches for 77 yards — he was happy to end a two-game skid as visitors.

“It’s real big because everybody said we can’t win on the road,” Ginn said.

Ginn, who has six touchdowns in the last five games, broke an Ohio State single-season record with his third punt return for a score and tied the mark Jeff Graham and Garcia Lane set during their careers.

“We had our eye on Ginn, but we had no idea that he was going to do that to us,” Michigan State safety Jason Harmon said.

Though Ginn might be mentioned along with true freshmen stars such as Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson and Michigan’s Michael Hart, Tressel is not worried about the attention getting to his head.

“I don’t think he gets too caught up in his excellence,” Tressel said. “He’s one of those great kids.”

Ohio State (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) qualified for a bowl with the victory and has two games left — at Purdue and against Michigan — to improve the quality of its postseason destination.

The Spartans (4-5, 3-3) will be home for the holidays unless they win their final three games against Wisconsin and on the road against Penn State and Hawaii. They have to win seven games to earn a bowl bid because they have 12 scheduled games.

Michigan State might want to offer counseling to its players after its second straight heartbreaking loss.

Dave Rayner’s 29-yard field goal gave the Spartans a 19-17 lead with 3:06 left after trailing Ohio State by 17 only to watch Ginn score again.

Last week, the Spartans blew a 27-10 fourth-quarter lead in a triple-overtime loss at Michigan.

Jason Teague said the mood in Michigan State’s locker room was a lot like it was at Michigan Stadium.

Sad.

“Everybody is hurting right now,” he said.

During a news conference that didn’t last a minute, John L. Smith was more angry than he’s been in his two seasons as Michigan State’s coach. Smith made a statement and after bristling at one question, he walked out of his news conference.

“Coaches deserve the credit for this loss, not the kids,” Smith said.

Teague tried to take the blame off Smith’s shoulders.

“I don’t think it’s his fault, because we have got to make plays,” Teague said.

After Ginn’s third TD, A.J. Hawk’s diving interception at midfield with 45 seconds remaining sealed the outcome.