Something that I think will be a key in this game is Ohio State's ability (or lack thereof) to exploit Oregon's weakness defensively against the run.
In the first game Ohio State was only somewhat successful against the Ducks on the ground. As a team, the Buckeyes had 33 carries for 141 yards (4.3 avg) with a couple TD's. However, they weren't actually very successful outside of a few plays. TreVeyon Henderson hit a 53 yarder, Egbuka had 13 on a sweep, and Howard had 12. Those three runs accounted for 66 of tOSU's 141 yards (46.8%). Not counting those three plays, Ohio State had 30 carries for 75 yards (2.5 avg).
Penn State ran all over the Ducks in the B1GCG. Penn State lost because their defense gave up damn near half a hundred and because Allar and the PSU passing game were mediocre but they were GREAT running. They had 297 yards on 34 carries (8.7 avg) and even if you take out the longest of the runs, it is still pretty good:
- Kaytron Allen's long was 32
- Nicholas Singleton's long was 41
- Allar's long was 22
- Beau Pribula's long was 18
- Total of the above, 113 on 4 carries
Even taking those four carries away, PSU still had 30 carries for 184 yards (6.1 avg).
If Ohio State has success on the ground, I think that Oregon is screwed. If they have to bring their safeties up to contain Ohio State's rushing game, the tOSU WR's will maul them in single coverage.
