The Ohio State football team has a lot riding on this game on Saturday night against Tennessee. It is a game that could decide the fate of not just Ryan Day, but some assistant coaches too. Despite that looming over them, this team can still win a national championship.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the most talented rosters in the country. Even after that crippling loss to Michigan, they can beat anyone on a given day. They haven't put together a complete game yet, which gives them hope that they can still win a national championship.
Tennessee comes up from Knoxville, ready to beat the Buckeyes. The winner of this game will go to the Rose Bowl to take on Oregon. Ohio State is still the team that has played the Ducks the toughest so far this season. In order to get that rematch, they have to beat the Volunteers.
In order to do that, the Buckeyes have to do several things. There are three things that the Buckeyes must do in order to win this game and avoid getting upset at home. The first thing that the Buckeyes need to do to win the game has to deal with the running game.
1. Ohio State must find more creative ways to run the football
In order for the Ohio State football team to win this game, they have to run the ball better than they did against Michigan. One thing about Tennessee's defense is that their defensive line is very similar to what TTUN has. We saw how poorly Ohio State ran the ball when they tried to run it up the middle.
The Buckeyes have to find more creative ways to run the football against the Vols. Running it up the middle is going to be a problem. They'll have to do that a little bit, but they have to get to the edge as well. They have to find a way to get Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Hendeson in space.
Using those two running backs isn't the only way that they should want to run the ball. They need to get some receivers involved and get Will Howard involved in it, too. However they are able to run the ball, it gives them balance offensively. It opens up the passing game.
Ohio State will not fall into the same trap as they did against TTUN. They will make sure they get Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka more involved early in the game. That is the key to making sure this offense runs as efficiently as they can.
The second key for the Buckeyes to win this game has to do with their defense.