I did one of these for Texas A&M, so i thought it'd only be right that I do one for Ohio State. As a reminder this isn't a granular X's and O's breakdown like
@Lance Roffers. This is just observations taken over the course of watching six games. I decided to watch Ohio State's games against Texas, Illinois, Washington, Penn State, Michigan and Indiana.
https://youtu.be/jDmhERQ0pzw?si=0Wmk-eedsbJX_f12
Ohio State's Offense
Everyone knows that Julian Sayin has had a nice season since he was a finalist for the Heisman. He's methodical in his approach and does a good job of getting the ball where it needs to be. One thing I didn't really expect to see on film that appeared is his ability to play make. There's multiple instances where Sayin makes something out of nothing. Saying is accurate for the most part. He REALLY trusts his all-star receivers in Smith and Tate. At times he will throw the ball into an area and Smith and Tate will somehow come down with it. One thing that Sayin has shown in his last two games is poor decision making that has led to turnovers. Against Michigan he threw the ball to Smith with a CB sagging off and a S over the top. Against Indiana, Sayin threw a ball to Innis with S right in position to make the play. Hopefully that trend continues.
Ohio State does a really good job of distributing and spreading the ball around to different players on offense.
If there's a weakness in Ohio State's offense, it's their run game. I don't see Ohio State's run game being as dominant as seasons past. Ohio State doesn't have a game breaking RB this year. Their most explosive back is Bo Jackson(#25), a freshman. He has rushed for over 1k yards on the season and has taken over the role of lead back. Ohio State has a Miami native in CJ Donaldson(#12) in the backfield and he serves as their powerback. Ohio State will resort to using the tush push on short yardage situations from time to time. Ohio State's RBs do get involved in the passing game and have to be accounted for on a down to down basis.
Ohio State's Oline is a solid group. They work well together. I don't see any truly dominate players along their lines. They can be had on passing downs especially along the interior. In the run game, the OL does its job but they aren't road graters on film.
The TE group is led by a Purdue transfer in Max Klare(#86). Again, Ohio State's offense is well balanced. The TEs will get their fair share of targets. Klare isn't an elite talent but he is a reliable TE that will make the play when called upon. Will Kacmarek(#89) is their blocking TE. One thing that sticks out about Ohio State's TE is their sheer size they both look bigger than 6'4 240lbs.
The star of Ohio State's offense is Jeremiah Smith and he deserves every bit of praise he gets but Carnell Tate isn't far behind in sheer talent. I'll start with Smith. Everyone knows about Smith's speed and talent but Jeremiah is as physical of a receiver you'll see at the college level. He can beat you with finesse via route running or straight bully the CB to get into position to make a play on the ball. There was a play Smith made against Washington on a drag route that reminded me of the play Chris Bell made against us. Tate has more finesse in his game but his ability to track the ball in air is impressive. Tate and Smith are sure handed receivers. Iniss is their WR3 and primary punt returner, he's solid but nothing special in my opinion.
Ohio State's Defense
Ohio State's DL is solid collectively but no standout individual players. On the interior, Ohio State has a solid trio(#95, #96, and #98). Of those 3 players, #98 McDonald is the best among them on film. He flashed game wrecking ability earlier in the year against Texas and Illinois but I didn't notice him much in the Penn State, Michigan and Indiana game. On the edges, Miami native Kenyatta Jackson (#97) and Camden Curry (#92) lead the position. Curry being the more productive of the two as he has had double digit sacks on the season. On flim, I don't see anything special with either of them. Solid players that play hard. Curry has impressive power in his hands and a strong motor but I don't see elite athleticism or bend with him or Jackson. The best pass rusher on Ohio State's team is their star LBer Arvell Reese (#8) in my opinion.
Ohio State's Lber group is very good and looks like the best position group on defense. The group is led by Reese. He's at his best going forward and attacking the ball. His ability to rush the passer is impressive. He plays with his head on fire and displays speed and physicality. Reese vs Fletcher on pass protect plays will be must see TV. Reese's ability to chase down the ball is elite stuff. Sunny Styles (#6) is a good player too. Styles has the ability to cover. Strong position group.
Ohio State's secondary is much ballyhooed because of their star player Caleb Downs. It is a strong group on film. 3 players stick out when you watch film: #1 Igbignosun, #7 Matthews and #2 Downs. I'll start with Igbignosun, he's a long rangy corner. He's Ohio State's top corner. Something that surprised me was how he gets away with a ton of grabbing. He plays with fire but like I said, he's very handsy and at times gets away with murder. #7, Jermaine Matthews, is a good player. His ability to play the ball stoodout to me. Outside of the Indiana game, throwing towards Matthew's was a bad idea and usually led to turnovers. Caleb Downs is the star player in Ohio State's secondary. He's a very strong tackler. He plays very fast and with a high level of physicality even though he looks mininature on flim. I can't really tell how good his range and ball skills are because you don't see teams test him deep much. Downs is another one who gets favorable calls, look at that hit against Penn State that wasn't called targeting. As good as Ohio State's secondary is they didn't force a lot of turnovers. Most of the ints seen on film were off of carems. Lorenzo Styles is a good player in their backend that shows up from time to time on film.
During the course of film review, something that shows up game after game is how stingy Ohio State's defense is in the red zone. They don't allow TDs.
Ohio State's Special Teams
Ohio State's kicker is solid (16/19) but can be suspect at times. He missed a 27yd field against Indiana. He has only attempted one kick longer than 50yds and missed it so leg strenght comes into question.
Ohio State's punter averages 42yds per punt so he isn't anything special.
Innis is their primary punt returner and he doesn't scare me back there.
Key Takeaways
Julian Sayin is good but he has flaws. Sayin has had back to back games with turnovers. 3ints in his last 2 games after having 3 in the first 11 games. We need to build on that momentum and I know just the man for the job (Bryce Fitzgerald).
Sayin has some mobility but he isn't the athlete that Marcel Reed is. Get after him.
Sayin wasn't hit a ton on flim. Even in the Indiana game you don't see too many hits on Sayin, we need to make sure he feels us.
Ohio State's offensive line is solid but is clearly a step, or two, below A&M's. DL needs to dominate this matchup for us to beat Ohio State.
I question how good Ohio State's run game is. Jackson is a good young player but he isn't a special talent that can make something out of nothing. Donaldson is a solid power back but he doesn't instill fear on short yardage. Dollar Tree thunder and lightening.
Ohio State will spread the ball around on offense. We need to account for all eligible receivers, TEs and RBs on a down to down basis.
Max Klare cannot be a chain mover against us.
Damari Brown or Xavier Lucas need to cover Jeremiah Smith. He's too big and physical to play OJ or O'Connor on him consistently. I think Damari is best equipped to do so because of his familiarity with Smith. Keep a safety over the top of him. It worked well for Michigan.
We need to get hands on Tate. He isn't as physical as Jeremiah. We also need to make him feel us everytime he touches the ball. He has a slender frame.
Sayin will throw up prayers to his elite receivers. We need to come down with one or two of those. Can't let Smith and Tate dominate us on the 50/50 balls.
Ohio State's DL is similar to Texas A&M's but plays more sound. Their interior looks bigger than A&M's. If we can get push on McDonald it's going to be a long day for Ohio State. If McDonald gets penetration on the interior against Brockermyer it's going to be an issue for us because he has game wrecking ability.
I like our OL vs their DL but I really love the matchup of our tackles versus their edges. Curry won't be able to bully Cici and Jackson is nothing special.
This is going to be the best OL Ohio State has seen all season.
Marvell Reese has the talent to give us problems.
Beck and our offense needs to play with more tempo this game to allow more time on the playclock to make proper checks.
Beck and our OL will be the reason we win this game. Run game is going to challenged by Patricia. Beck HAS to perform.
We need to test Igbignosun. He's super handys and grabby. We should be able to draw a holding call on him.
Malachi is all world in my eyes but this is going to be his toughest test to date going against Downs and Matthew's.
The most a team has scored on Ohio State this season is 16, and that was Illinois. Texas scored 7, Penn State scored 14, Michigan scored 9, Indiana scored 13. Points will come at a premium this game.
This is going to be the best defense we've seen this season.
This is going to be the best defense Ohio State has seen this season.
I expect a low scoring game. 21- 17 type of game.
We're playing in a dome. Our kicker needs to hit his kicks this game.
As always, share what you guys are seeing that I might be missing....
