Ohio State Football vs. Michigan defined by toughness

The Ohio State football team has spent an entire year listening about they were soft last year against TTUN. They were soft up the middle and that’s why the Wolverines were able to run all over them. The lack of toughness is why the Buckeyes lost that game.

While they didn’t like hearing it, it was the truth. TTUN bullied Ohio State all game long and that’s why they broke the losing streak they had.  On both lines of scrimmage, the Buckeyes were dominated. Michigan is hoping for more of the same this Saturday in the Shoe.

Ohio State has spent an entire year trying to be tougher. They changed almost the entire defensive staff to help with that. They have a new offensive line coach. Everything they did in the offseason was to improve their toughness for this specific game.

The 2022 version of The Game will be defined by toughness. Whoever the tougher team is will win this game. Ohio State is the more talented team on paper without much of a doubt. What they need to show is the toughness they’ve shown all year long on defense.

The running game is the biggest question mark for the Buckeyes. Will they be tough in the running game? Or will they continue to struggle with short-yardage scenarios like they have most of this year? While I don’t think the Ohio State football team needs to lean on the running game to win, balance would be nice.

We’ll see if the Buckeyes are able to do what they need to do in terms of physical and mental toughness to win this game and avenge the loss from a year ago. Winning this game would seal their spot in the College Football Playoff and give them a shot to play for a national championship.