While Ohio State is being called a two-score favorite against Miami in the Cotton Bowl, the Buckeyes still have some changes to be made on offense to get the win.
Keep Your Best Players on the Field
A mistake the Bucks made against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game was not keeping their best guys on the field. On 9 of their 16 Red Zone snaps, the Buckeye offense didn't have Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate on the field. While their injury status, which was unknown to Buckeye Nation at the time, might have been the rationale for these decisions, it was still not a good call.
Their injury status was unknown to Indiana then, too. Nothing telegraphs that the passing threat doesn't need as much attention as taking out the two best wide receivers in college football.
It's not a knock against any player on the roster, but you also don't need to be going as deep into the depth chart as the Buckeyes did against the Hoosiers. Rarely will a running back take 100% of the snaps in a game, but there's no need to go four deep into the depth chart of tailbacks who get rushes in a big, close game.
The same is true of so many tight ends. Too many times this year, the Buckeyes seemed to try to use as many of their embarrassment of riches as possible, and in so doing, they undercut some of their top guys from getting much-needed traction.
It was an understandable strategy in the regular season to try and win and keep guys fresh for the potential long haul of a College Football Playoff run like last year. Once you start playing for hardware, as Coach Day put it, it is time to let your best carry you. They got a little away from that against the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship to the point where it cost them. Now it's time to let your stars carry you to victory.
Get Right in the Red Zone
Another big, and unfortunately familiar, way Ohio State struggled in Indianapolis is that they need to change in Arlington is in the Red Zone. Ohio State had two second-half drives against Indiana that went for more than 10 plays, more than 6:00, and more than 70 yards, got them into the red zone, but got them zero points.
That can't happen in a playoff game, and a victory is still won. While some of it goes back to keeping your best players on the field in crucial territory, it also goes to decisiveness.
Ohio State needs to know before kickoff what its plans are to pay off long drives into the red zone. Again, as previously mentioned, going to your best players in those situations will be a big remedy. So will sticking to your game. The biggest difference in Ohio State's 12-0 regular season as opposed to any other regular season in the Ryan Day Era, apart from 2019, was that the Buckeyes knew who they were and stuck with it.
They used their precision passing game from Julian Sayin to Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith to put pressure on the opposing defense and to open up opportunities for others. They didn't ask guys to thrive in situations they were either not used to or had struggled in.
In the Big Ten Championship, they asked Julian Sayin to make a play in the running game, something that hadn't been asked of him all year. They also asked Jayden Fielding to make a chip shot, something he's struggled with in his career. Should they have still converted on those plays? Absolutely. But, would they have been better off finding another way, whether with the run packages they've worked on all year with Lincoln Kienholz, or another kicker for the chip shot? Again, absolutely.
The good news is not only that these are fixable issues, but that last year, when faced with fixable issues after a loss right before the playoff, not only were they fixed, but the Buckeyes leaned on their strengths all the way to a national title.
That can be done again in 2025. The story of the 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes has been, when they play their game, they win. That will continue to be their story on Wednesday night in the last game of this year, which will hopefully lead to more playoff games and championships.