Ohio State football: 3 things OSU must do against Tulsa

The Ohio State football team needs to get back to their winning ways by beating a team they should beat every time they step onto the field together.

I know, I know, it’s just Tulsa. Tulsa, who lost to FCS member UC-Davis in their opening game. Tulsa, who does not have a touchdown pass yet in two games. Tulsa, who got into an infamous brawl in their bowl game last year. Yeah, THAT Tulsa.

Well, here are a few things to keep in mind. Tulane nearly upset Oklahoma. Notre Dame needed a very late touchdown to beat Toledo…at home. Jacksonville State scored on a long touchdown pass on the game’s final play to beat Florida State. Tulsa led Oklahoma State early in the fourth quarter last week before losing by five points. I don’t care if they’re 0-2, they’re dangerous.

Here are three things I think the Buckeyes need to do to avoid an upset.

Be better on defense – You’re probably thinking, “They have to start being better on defense, but is it that important against Tulsa?” Yes, it is. Very much so and here’s why: in both of those losses Tulsa outgained their opponents. The Golden Hurricane had nearly 350 yards against Oklahoma State and averaged over five yards per play.

After giving up 269 rushing yards to Oregon, Tulsa’s five yards per carry average through the first two games is a concern. Although he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass, quarterback Davis Brin is completing 62% of his passes and looked far better against Oklahoma State last week than he did in the opener.

Five of his nineteen completions were for more than fifteen yards and he did not throw an interception. The Ohio State football team must put pressure on and make him uncomfortable. They can’t allow him to settle into a rhythm. Brin has been sacked five times so far. The Ohio State rush has to add to that total.

Control the line of scrimmage – Part of this one can apply to the section above, but I decided to include it here because the defensive line has to stop getting blown off the ball. I don’t claim to be an expert or insider, and I don’t know exactly how they are being coached, but when I see an All-American like Haskell Garrett getting shoved three yards down the field, I know there is an issue.

Garrett, Taron Vincent, and the other interior defensive lineman need to become a factor and win the line of scrimmage. As for the offensive line, I do not feel they played as poorly as some have opined, but it definitely was a subpar performance.

The Buckeyes averaged four yards per carry against Oregon, but there was rarely a clean hole and the line too often struggled to get any movement against the Ducks’ front seven. I thought they did a good job of protecting Stroud all day until the final two series. They must absolutely own the line of scrimmage against Tulsa, who has given up just 140 yards on 43 carries in two games. That’s just 3.3 yards per carry.

Dominate special teams – The Golden Hurricane gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown last week. OSU true freshman Emeka Egbuka took over returns against Oregon and looked impressive in averaging 28 yards on two opportunities. He’s capable of putting up even bigger numbers against Tulsa.

Conversely, the Hurricane have struggled mightily with their returns and have given themselves bad field position. The Buckeye kick coverage unit is very good at getting down the field in a hurry. Forcing Tulsa to play with a long field as often as possible will help the Ohio State defense.

The same can be said of punt returns. They’ve given up some yards to opponents, but have struggled to make anything happen with their own returns. Special teams is an area where I think OSU has a very large advantage.

Ryan Day said there will be changes to the defense. Until we see what changes are made and their effect, I don’t care if the Ohio State football team is playing an 0-2 Group of 5 team. With the exception of Akron, I consider everyone on the schedule a threat.