Born To Be Balanced
Urban Meyer’s ideal offensive game is 250 yards rushing and 250 yards passing for the Buckeyes. He wants balance because balance makes an offense more difficult to anticipate and more difficult to defend.
Ohio State managed to hit that mark in five of their first seven games, but haven’t reached it in any of their last six games.
That isn’t always a bad thing, however, as the most important thing is the threat of being able to run or pass. And sometimes the running game is going so well that the pass almost becomes unnecessary.
But when the running game is going — as it has been since the loss to Iowa, it opens up the passing game for big gainers, as was seen in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin.
“You always want to be balanced, and being able to lean on the running game — and not just for five or six yards, but to be able to have home run plays in the run game as well as the pass game, it just opens up the offense that much more,” left tackle Jamarco Jones said.
“It creates throwing lanes because people try to stack the box a little bit more when you start running the ball. The passing and the running game go hand in hand. They complement each other really well. When you’re both clicking it’s pretty hard to stop.”
Big-Time Plays, Big-Time Games
Tied with Wisconsin 7-7 late in the first quarter, Ohio State receiver Parris Campbell took a little swing pass and split two defenders before racing 57 yards for a touchdown in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Not only did it give the Buckeyes the lead, but it showed the Badgers that Ohio State’s earlier big-play touchdown by Terry McLaurin was no fluke.
It was a big moment for Campbell personally, but also big for the team when it happened.
“It’s huge, especially on the stage that we played on,” Campbell said on Friday. “Honestly, when I got back to the sideline I was like, ‘Wow, I just scored in the Big Ten Championship.’ But it’s huge to be able to make those plays for my teammates. Just to be able to get that momentum back it was huge for us.”
Time for Film Study?
It has been over a week since Ohio State and USC were announced as combatants in the 2017 Cotton Bowl, which means that the Buckeyes are neck deep in film study of what they’re going to see when they face the Trojans on the field, right?
“No, the first period of bowl season is conditioning and fundamentals,” defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “Everybody’s been on the road recruiting, so we haven’t really had a team meeting yet. We’ve just been with Coach Mick and the strength staff staying in condition. Game plan is phase two. That starts up next week or the week after that. I think we’ll get a little more into the matchup then.”
It’s About Time
When Ohio State and USC do finally suit up against each other, it will be nearly 44 years since the Buckeyes last defeated the Trojans.
As an amazing aside, OSU has beaten Michigan 23 times since the last win over USC.
Have the players been doing their history about the Ohio State-USC rivalry?
“No, I haven’t really done any history yet, but I plan on doing some,” said senior safety Damon Webb. “I know USC and Ohio State are two great programs. The Big Ten and the Pac 12, the Rose Bowl. I’m definitely going to do my history.”
And what does he think about USC winning the last seven games against the Buckeyes?
“Yeah, I didn’t know that,” he said. “We’ve definitely got to change that.”