Ohio State Football vs. Utah: Three bold predictions
By Ryan Stano
We saw how badly the Ohio State football team struggled to stop the run against TTUN. It was something that ultimately cost them the game. It was also something that cost them the game against Oregon as well. It’s something that the Buckeyes need to do.
Even so, I don’t think this is something that can be fixed overnight. I don’t think they are able to stop Utah. The Utes run the ball extremely well and I would expect them to do the same on Saturday. Ohio State has given no indication that anything has changed since the last game of the season.
Ohio State also seems to be experimenting with some new formations on defense. It seems that Cade Stover has been getting some first-team reps at linebacker. It looks like the Buckeyes might try to run some traditional 4-3 sets on the defensive side of the ball.
That doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me. I don’t understand why they would want to get slower. That’s what it seems like they would do if Stover would actually get some playing time at linebacker. Maybe that’s their answer on how to stop the run better.
For whatever reason, this coaching staff seems to be steadfast in forcing players to convert to linebacker instead of using an actual linebacker in that spot. Tavion Thomas is a 1,000-yard rusher. He doesn’t care who plays linebacker. Expect a big day from him.
The next bold prediction has to deal with the Buckeyes on offense.