Know Your Opponent: Week Thirteen No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers head to Columbus to take on the No. 2 Buckeyes of Ohio State. The nation’s eyes will be on this game as the Hoosiers try and get a leg up in the race for the Big Ten title game.

Head Coach: Ryan Day (6th full Year at Ohio State)
Overall Record: 65-9(.878) 7th Season
At Ohio State:  65-9 (45-4)
Ohio State Bowl Games: 55 (26-29)
Last Year’s Record: 11-2 (8-1) Lost in Cotton Bowl
This Year’s Record: 9-1 (6-1)
Mascot: Brutus Buckeye
Colors: Scarlet and Gray
Outfitter: Nike
National Titles: 8
Conference Titles: 39
Heisman Winners: 7

Here is our Q&A with Alex Glietman of On3Sports

1. Ohio State is 9-1 (6-1) and is ranked 2nd in the nation. Obviously a great season so far, can you give us an overview of how the season has gone so far?

The season has gone fairly well from a thousand-foot-view, but it has been interesting when you take a closer look. Personally, I predicted Ohio State to go 11-1, with a loss to Oregon in the regular season, and then beat the Ducks in a rematch in the B1G Championship, so that prediction is still intact. I couldn't predict some of the interesting twists and turns that this year has brought, though. 

In the loss to Oregon, the defense got exposed a bit, and featured some pretty big changes in scheme and philosophy mid-season. Jim Knowles, the defensive coordinator, basically took over the front from Larry Johnson and has been more varied since that game, disguising looks more and finding ways to generate more pressure. There's still some issues with the secondary, but overall, definitely improvements since that game (we'll get into that more in a bit.

On offense, I came into this year saying this team would go as far as the offensive line would take them. Entering the Oregon game, the line play was pretty good, and everyone was feeling good about them. Then, star left tackle Josh Simmons, who was moving up boards as a first round pick, went down in that game with a season-ending injury. Enter Indiana-native Zen Michalski at left tackle who held his own the rest of that game, but was absolutely abysmal in the following game against Nebraska, which was surprisingly a nail biter. The OL's poor play was a big reason the offense couldn't do anything that game, and so the staff had to make some wholesale changes following that contest (Michalski also got hurt in that game and is still out, but that wasn't the reason for the change) heading into the Penn State game. They moved left guard Donovan Jackson to left tackle, moved last year's starting center Carson Hinzman to left guard, and had a whole new line. This group has performed very well the last three weeks, and it looks like things are back to normal again on that front.

Without getting too much in the weeds, this season is basically going how it's supposed to for Ohio State, but the amount of time that all three phases of the game have been clicking simultaneously have been few and far between.

2. Will Howard has come under some criticism for his play, but his numbers are great. Why are some people disappointed? What makes him really good?

I don't really know any Ohio State fans that are disappointed. I think a lot of people were nervous about Howard coming into the year, but everyone I have spoken to is really pleased with how he's played. Sure, he's had a couple of dumb turnovers, like the pick-six in the beginning of the Penn State game, and obviously had the brain fart late slide in the Oregon game, but I think overall the feeling is really good regarding Howard. The knock on him, I'd say, is he's inconsistent with the deep ball, and that has cost OSU some points at times this season. What makes him good is his toughness, experience, and his mobility. He's a gritty player who has played in a lot of big college football games (Including winning a Big 12 title a couple years ago), and who can really move, allowing him to escape pressure/sacks in the backfield, and also add another dimension to the Ohio State run game.

3. What are the strengths of the offense?

Where to start. I would say the run game is the strength that  maybe they don't lean into enough, but I think they may start to as we go down the stretch. They have two great ones in a thunder and lightning duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. As I mentioned, Howard can run too, and really brings another element to this offense. At receiver, they have one of the best duos in America in freshman Jeremiah Smith and senior Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate ain't too shabby either. The skill guys are absolutely the strength of this team, and they have a mastermind in Chip Kelly figuring out how to use them each week.

4. What is an area the Indiana defense can exploit?

While the offensive line has found themselves since that Nebraska game in wins at Penn State and Northwestern and at home against Purdue, I still think at the end of the day they have a guard playing left tackle and they have a guy who was a backup playing left guard. The right guard, Tegra Tshabola, is a first year starter who is physically dominant but makes mental mistakes sometimes. The right tackle, Josh Fryar, another Indiana-native, is just "above average" at best. When Ohio State gets in trouble they have a lot of penalties on the offensive line and put themselves behind the sticks. I think if Indiana can find ways to confuse that Ohio State offensive line in order to get to the QB and stuff the run game a bit, as well as maybe draw them into some false starts, they could have some success. Will Howard is usually good for a dangerous throw or two every game, so making him pay with a pick on one of those wouldn't be bad either.

5. Defensively, what do the Buckeyes do well? What do they struggle with?

As I said, I think Ohio State did a good job of identifying some issues after that Oregon game and fixing them. They have been more varied in their looks up front and have been more aggressive with blitz calls. They do a better job disguising their defense than they ever have under coordinator Jim Knowles. I think what they do well is they really make you work for points. Lots of times teams can move the ball between the 20s, but struggle to convert that into points. Caleb Downs, the transfer from Alabama at safety, is one of the best players I've ever seen, and his safety mates Jordan Hancock and Lathan Ransom are really good too. Where Ohio State struggles is generating a consistent pass rush, consistency in run fits and gap integrity (especially QB runs), and getting beat on deep balls when corners are on an island. The latter is what worries me in this game, as I think IU can hit a lot of back shoulder throws and deep balls against Denzel Burke and Desmond Igbinosun (who is way too grabby) if OSU does not scheme against that.

6. Are there any injuries that could impact this game?

Nothing really on the Ohio State side. Tight end Gee Scott Jr. got dinged up last game and if he misses this one, and fellow co-starter Will Kacmarek (hurt since Oregon) remains out, the tight end position could be a little thin for the Buckeyes. Other than that, they should be fairly healthy.

7. Ohio State Wins if...

They don't beat themselves. Don't do all of losing the turnover battle, getting penalties, not executing simple plays, etc. I think nobody would argue that Ohio State has the talent advantage in this one. They have a home crowd on their side. Their best and IU's best, they are the better team. They probably win this game 8 or 9 times out of 10. Just don't beat yourself and they should come away with a win.

8. Indiana Pulls the Upset if...

They win the turnover battle, win the penalty/penalty yardage battle, shorten the game and control the clock, and score touchdowns, not field goals, when they are in the red zone (while also holding OSU to as many 3s vs. 7s in the same situation). This is a winnable game for the Hoosiers, and I'm not sure I've said that any other time since I've been following these two teams playing each other. I think Indiana is going to give Ohio State's defense a lot of problems, so it's really about holding the offense to a manageable number and I think they do that by the things I mentioned.

9. Anything else we need to know?

Not really, think we covered it all above.

10. Prediction?

I'm still kind of working through my pick, but I think this is going to be a really good game that gets Indiana a spot locked up in the CFP field whether they win or lose. My feel right now is that I think this is a close game for about 56 minutes, with Ohio State scoring a late touchdown to clinch things out, and come away with a 38-27 win.