Ohio State Football vs. Michigan: Keys to victory

2. Ohio State football must strive for balance offensively but abandon it if necessary.

You always want the offense to be balanced. Running the ball and passing the ball effectively together is the best way to gain yards consistently and score touchdowns. But Ryan Day shouldn’t force balance if it’s not there. He needs to be adaptable quickly.

Ohio State has failed to run the ball well for the last month or so, especially in short-yardage situations. If they can’t do it again on Saturday, Day needs to be okay with just abandoning the run game completely and letting C.J. Stroud take over the game.

Air it out 55 times if you need to. Stroud and this passing offense are good enough on their own to gain yards and score a lot of points. That might change a bit depending on the forecast, but there won’t be any wind for sure. Stroud can still throw it in the rain.

Day can’t let his stubbornness for wanting balance get in the way of winning the game. This is a kitchen sink game. Do whatever is necessary to win, even if that means dropping back and throwing it every play. This is a must-win game for the Buckeyes.

I do think the Buckeyes will run the ball well enough where this won’t be necessary, but Stroud still could throw it 35-40 times in this one. I think it’s a pretty safe bet he goes over 300 yards passing regardless of what conditions he has to play in on Saturday afternoon.

The final key to winning this game is pretty simple.