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Reading the Buckeye Leaves: B1G Championship Week

Kyle Morgan
Sam Hubbard ohio State Football Buckeyes

 

With J.T. Barrett rumored to start this week against Wisconsin, it is hard to envision an offense that is based solely on Barrett runs — and that’s a good thing for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State has excelled when they have been forced to be creative in terms of moving the ball, whether it is a frantic pace like against Penn State, or a methodical approach that focuses on giving the ball to Running Backs like against Michigan State.

As we saw last week against Michigan, Dwayne Haskins has the skills to lead this team to victory when the lights are shining brightest, but let’s not pretend that the offense will look much different with Haskins as it would with a hobbled J.T. Barrett.

When Ohio State Has the Ball

Ohio State rushed for 84 yards in the fourth quarter alone last week. Granted, some of that was because Ohio State was nursing a lead, but it also is a reflection in the change of blocking scheme that better suits a Haskins-led offense.

Regardless of who is at Quarterback for the Buckeyes, the power blocking scheme proved to be successful against an otherwise dominant run defense and will limit the number of Read Option plays.

Once the running has been established and the Buckeyes use a heavy dose of Power blocking schemes, the RPO options will present themselves. With Wisconsin playing a lot of Zone Coverage, the backside slants should be open.

When facing a multiple front that Wisconsin uses, their undersized “Defensive Ends” will be the focal point of sealing the edge. Whether it’s a simple pitch or designed option, the Badgers have struggled to defend the outside runs. Northwestern gave Wisconsin a tough game by running their traditional pocket-passer on speed option plays and showed moderate success.

Ohio State can also incorporate misdirection to attack the edges. On this play the blocking scheme goes one way, including a pulling Jamarco Jones, creating leverage for the Wide Receivers and Tight End to set up blocks on the play side.

When Wisconsin Has the Ball

Expect a fair amount of pre-snap motion by the Badgers to create matchups and reveal the intentions of the Ohio State defense. With multiple Tight Ends, the Badgers are capable of a number of tight formation sets to set up the run.

Their staple formation is a tight formation with multiple Tight Ends to one side. With the Wide Receivers on the end of the line of scrimmage, this strains the contain defender, usually a Cornerback, to either set the edge or follow the receiver into coverage. With a Strong Safety reading run action, the Wide Receiver is able to create a big play.

The ability of the Wisconsin offense to set up blocks in space is pretty impressive. Here they cross-block, creating flow in both directions, while the Running back runs straight ahead.

With similar blocking and formation, the Badgers are able to utilize their Wide Receivers on key blocks at the second level. Here they fake a block on the Linebacker before releasing to the back of the end zone.

Let’s not forget, Wisconsin loves to run Taylor between the Tackles on basic Lead or Iso plays, but also strains the outside with Jet Sweeps. Expect a throwback off of Bootleg or Jet Motion if the Buckeyes are over pursuing the motion.

 

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