Ohio State Football: 4th and Short, questions following Week 6

A look at some of the biggest storylines surrounding the Ohio State football team as well as the situation other premier teams find themselves in after six weeks of play. Also, a look at how the College Football Playoff situation is playing out.

The Ohio State football team had quite the scare for three quarters Saturday afternoon during their post-big-game-hangover. The Buckeyes finally pulled away in the middle of the second half en route to a 23-point victory. Dwayne Haskins had a historic afternoon throwing for 455 yards and six touchdowns.

Despite the big win for Ohio State, questions are still raised on the defensive side of the ball when it comes to allowing chunk-yardage plays. Let’s take a look at how I think the Buckeyes should address those problems as well as the questions regarding all sorts of topics from around the country.

Q: How would you fix the problems on the [Ohio State] defense? Do you feel Ohio State’s special teams has made a significant jump from an ugly 2017 [season] for that group?

A: The biggest cause for concern for the Buckeyes are the big plays constantly being given up on defense. I would fix this by promptly hiring James Laurinitis to coach the linebackers as they have continually struggled to play in space. Poor technique such as proper tackling angles have also been a hindrance to the Ohio State linebacker corps.

The bottom line is simple, these problems are not going to get fixed until strong, vocal leadership emerges on the defensive side of the ball, especially while on the field. Playing assignment football and players doing their specific job consistently will be another driving force behind turning around this below average start to the season defensively for the Buckeyes.

As for Ohio State’s special teams, the units have looked much more polished so far this year. Now, that could be largely in part to the new fair catch rule on kickoffs but the punt coverage has been good as well.

Whatever the reason, the Buckeyes’ coverage on special teams is head and shoulders above where it was last year.