Ohio State football team is a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award

Coming into this season, the biggest question mark on the Ohio State football team was the offensive line. In the last few years, the Buckeyes haven't been able to move the line of scrimmage enough to gut out some tough wins. That has been part of the reason they haven't won a Big Ten Championship since 2020.

Last year, the offensive line wasn't great. Ohio State football fans thought Justin Frye should have been fired. His poor recruiting hasn't helped, either. When Chip Kelly was hired as the offensive coordinator, the hope was his scheme could help Frye coach better.

So far, that has been the case. There was one game that the Buckeyes had horrible offensive line play and it was the game against Nebraska. Now that they have decided on their offensive line combination, the Buckeyes look formidable up front thanks to Kelly.

The Ohio State football team's offensive line is a finalist for the Joe Moore Award

In a surprising twist, the Buckeyes are actually a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award. That award is given to the best offensive line in the country every year. Never in a million years did any Ohio State fan think that it was possible they'd be a semifinalist for that award.

Ohio State isn't the favorite to win the award. Oregon and Indiana would have a better case right now, as would Army. Dominating performances against Northwestern, IU, and Michigan to finish the season could flip that around. It would also save Frye's job.

If the Ohio State Buckeyes win the Joe Moore Award, it would be the most surprising thing to happen to the program in quite a while. No one saw this coming three weeks ago. Even if they don't win the award, just being a semifinalist shows what a turnaround this unit has made.

Great play from the offensive line is the key for them to win a national championship. Let's hope they can keep it up after excellent games against Penn State and Purdue.