Ohio State Football: Middle of offensive line needs overhaul

The last two games that the Ohio State football team has played have led to some troubling trends for the Buckeyes. Perhaps the most troubling of those trends is the inability to run the ball, specifically up the middle. The offensive line simply has not gotten much push.

While I was concerned after the Penn State game, I’m much more concerned now. Luke Wypler has not done a great job run blocking at center this season. Paris Johnson Jr. was so bad on Saturday that he got pulled after committing multiple penalties and getting blown off the line of scrimmage.

Something simply has to change up front. I think putting Matt Jones in at left guard and swinging Thayer Munford back out to tackle would be a start. Dawand Jones is a massive man and is fantastic in pass blocking, but he’s just too big in order to run block well because his pad level is so high.

Ryan Day needs to figure something out because the rushing numbers against Nebraska were simply unacceptable. As a team, the Buckeyes only managed 90 yards on 30 carries. TreVeyon Henderson only had 92 yards on 21 carries. That can’t happen.

That is especially true with Purdue coming into town this week. The Boilermakers are riding high after upsetting Michigan State last week. They held Kenneth Walker in check enough to beat the Spartans. That has to deeply concern Day as he prepares his team this week.

I’m not sure what the best configuration of the offensive line is for this week. Maybe they need to run more outside zones instead of trying to cram runs up the middle. Maybe that will get Henderson out in space more and allow him to do his thing.

Whatever the case may be, the offensive line simply hasn’t been good enough. If they don’t improve, the Ohio State football team risks getting beaten by Purdue for the second time in a row and ending their chances of making the College Football Playoff.