Ohio State Football’s defense has unique challenge Saturday

The defense of the Ohio State football team will have a unique challenge this weekend against Nebraska.

The Corn Huskers led by Scott Frost, have deployed rather interesting formations on offense this season. One of the most frustrating schemes for defenses to stop in college football is the triple-option. Ohio State will roll into town in Lincoln, Nebraska tasked with halting the unusual formation.

Nebraska has transitioned to an offense that puts forth many formations and concepts that challenges an opposing defense’s discipline. The switch by Frost makes sense due to Adrian Martinez (the starting QB) having a history of being an inaccurate passer who can turn the ball over in bunches.

The triple-option looks to attack how opposing defenses react to motions and misdirection. On any given play, this formation can look for as many as 3-4 keys on every level of the defense. Take a look at this great breakdown of what Nebraska can do in the triple-option.

This is exactly why the triple-option has always been a scheme that frustrates defenses. The formation presents a motion frequently with 3 or 4 potential ball carriers on any given play. The motion can be used as eye candy over and over again that simply tries to throw defenders out of position. Once the defense stops being disciplined, the wideout running the motion will eventually take the carry for a big gain.

Even though Nebraska sits at 3-6, this offense is rather well-coached with its numerous wrinkles. The triple-option is one formation to keep in mind that would be a nice challenge for the Buckeyes. However, this is an offense that uses several formations: a pistol formation, the triple-option scheme, and the common shotgun formation with a single back next to the QB.

All of the listed formations were present in Nebraska’s game against Minnesota a few weeks ago.

When the Husker offense has looked good, it does well in taking advantage of opposing defenses’ tendencies. Every defense has some kind of tendency, OSU is not vulnerable to this as Penn State just attacked the middle of the field consistently against the Buckeye’s zone.

It will be interesting to see if Nebraska tries to establish the run immediately with the triple-option, or do they opt to challenge the middle of the Ohio State defense through the air in their shotgun or pistol formations. Another concept they use often is the inside zone read, which the Silver Bullets should be used as they face Ryan Day’s offense in practice.

Nebraska cannot be taken lightly even with their poor record since they have been competitive with Oklahoma, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota, and Purdue. Plus, the Huskers’ home-field advantage is real with a faithful fan base.

The Buckeye run defense has been dominant since their early-season struggles holding their last six opponents to just under two yards per run (1.98 per attempt). The possibility of defending the triple option will be a unique challenge for the rushing defense that has held strong as of recent. Also, this could be more difficult with perhaps OSU’s best linebacker—Steele Chambers—missing the entire first half after his targeting vs. Penn State.

The Ohio State football team’s defense will see some unique concepts, particularly the triple-option, against Nebraska. This is yet another challenge that will help this young defense’s development.