The Ohio State football team was able to win 12 games this season with an anchor on the offensive line. In fact, they won 16 straight games going back to last season after losing to TTUN. Since that game, they have been the best team in the country, at least until Saturday.
In the loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship, the offense stuttered in the red zone again. Instead of scoring touchdowns, the Buckeyes had to settle for field goal attempts. Jayden Fielding missed a 27-yard field goal, and that ended their hopes of winning a Big Ten title.
Once again, the play of Tegra Tshabola was a massive issue. He was beaten several times on the right side of the offensive line in the first half. This wasn't a one-off, either. He's been the worst offensive lineman all season long. Now, the Ohio State Buckeyes need to make a permanent change.
Ohio State needs to bench Tegra Tshabola once and for all
Tshabola was so bad on Saturday that he was blocking for a run play when a pass play was called. That kind of play from a senior cannot be tolerated. Once he was replaced with Gabe VanSickle, the offensive line stabilized. Still, the damage to Julian Sayin's internal clock had been done.
The Buckeyes are now going to be playing teams who are contending for a national championship. They can't get away with playing poorly up front on one side of the line anymore. Either VanSickle or Josh Padilla need to be inserted into the right guard spot instead.
Ryan Day knows what it takes to make a big run through the College Football Playoff. He needs to make a tough call during the most important time of year. Indiana took advantage of that deficency. Texas A&M or Miami will be looking at that same issue on New Year's Eve.