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…
Wisconsin enters the Big Ten Championship game 26th in scoring offense, averaging 34.8 points per game. Additionally, the Badgers rank 18th nationally in Rushing Offense (243 yards per game) and more importantly, Wisconsin ranks an impressive second nationally in third down conversions at 50.7%. Defensively, the Badgers…
One of the burning questions heading into the game versus Illinois was whether the Buckeyes would put more plays on film for Michigan to game plan for, or play a vanilla offense so as not to show too much. Ohio State wasted no time in showcasing a number of misdirection plays leading into The Game. In fact, the Buckeyes…
Following the loss to Iowa where there was very little creativity and near-criminal lack of carries for the Buckeye running backs, the Ohio State offense made the most of the mandate issued by Urban Meyer to run the ball. Meyer mentioned the use of a standard draw in his post-game press conference following the 48-3 dismantling…
There is a lot at stake this week versus a Michigan State opponent that has historically been a thorn in the side of Ohio State. Defensively, the Buckeyes should be motivated to prove last week was an anomaly and not the true identity of this collective unit. From an offensive standpoint, Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day need to prove they…
The Spartans enter this matchup versus the Buckeyes coming off a last-second field goal to defeat Penn State a week ago. Michigan State relies heavily on a stingy defense and timely offense to sit at 7-2 on the season thus far. Defensively, the Spartans rank 12th in Total Defense (303 yards per game) and an impressive 3rd nationally in…
It is no secret that covering kickoffs has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride for the Buckeyes this season, but not the well-maintained rides at the major amusement parks. This is a traveling carnie ride that comes with a waiver before riding. On the season, the Buckeyes have kicked off 65 times, good for 4th nationally.
Ohio State entered the game versus Iowa ranked near the top 5 nationally in Total Offense, while yours truly undermined the offensive prowess of the Hawkeyes, even referring to their offense as “archaic.” While most of us celebrated Halloween earlier in the week, it appears as though the Buckeyes celebrated by showing up late…
The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off a workman-like win over Minnesota last Saturday, pushing their record to 5-3 thus far on the season. The Hawkeyes are led by their defense which currently sits 44th nationally in Total Defense and 12th in Scoring Defense with 17.4 average points allowed. The strength of the defense lies in the linebacker…
Penn State entered the game on Saturday ranked third nationally in total defense, but showed some susceptibility against bunch formations and switch routes in the weeks leading up to the game versus Ohio State. A key factor that contributed to the success of the passing game on Saturday stemmed from a variation of the “Switch Concept.”
This game has the feel of a Bowl game, even a CFB Playoff game, and quite frankly could probably be analyzed for a few more weeks. This is a matchup of strength-on-strength no matter what phase you study, but let’s take a closer look at some of the key factors heading into the game versus Penn State.
