Ohio State Football: 2 keys for Buckeyes to win Big Ten East
2. Establish offensive flow
In both seasons where the Buckeyes failed to reach the Big Ten Championship Game, the catalyst for the Buckeyes’ loss was a poor showing on offense.
In 2015, any Buckeye fan can recall how the Buckeyes put up a measly 14 points at home against the Spartans, losing to a back-up quarterback and a kicker with a ridiculous celebration.
In 2016, Ohio State were able to put up one more TD than the ’15 MSU game, but struggled on offense and fell to Penn State. While the Buckeyes were still able to make the CFP, they could have been undefeated and faced the Washington Cougars instead of the Clemson Tigers after winning a rematch with the Wisconsin Badgers.
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If Ohio State can establish an efficient offense, not just against the East but also those pesky Big Ten West teams (20 points last year against Purdue, 24 against Iowa in 2017), they could cruise into the Big Ten title game.
Justin Fields will need to step up and lead the Buckeyes. If he can work well alongside J.K. Dobbins and mesh well with his impressive receiving corps, Ohio State should have no problem winning the Big Ten East once again.
A third key would certainly be an improvement on defense, but that will be addressed in the next article in this mini-series. I will address other keys for Ohio State to win the Big Ten title.
Next. Buckeyes have 4th toughest schedule in the Big Ten. dark
If the Buckeyes can succeed in these areas, they will once again win the Big Ten East and be on their way toward returning to the College Football Playoff.