Reviewing an Ohio State 2018 Football Team

Ohio State can’t run the ball well at all, and can’t defend the pass either. But my, OH MY, can the Buckeyes throw the ball all over.

Nebraska will face off against an Ohio State football squad that finds themselves licking their wounds from a 49-20 upset loss to Purdue two weeks ago. In that game, Purdue exposed a bunch of weaknesses that had started to emerge in Ohio State’s season: the Buckeyes can’t run the ball very well (69th in the nation in rushing), they struggle to convert in the red zone (116th in red zone efficiency, with just 22 touchdowns in 37 trips), they commit way too many penalties (12th in the Big Ten with 66 penalties, averaging 75.9 yards per game, ahead of 13th place Nebraska, averaging 81.8 yards per game), and give up waaaay too many big plays on defense.

The Buckeyes do have sensational quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who’s averaging 350 yards per game passing, which is second nationally (trailing only a Mike Leach quarterback, of course) and completing over 71% of his passes. Haskins’ 3.75 touchdown passes per game average leads the nation, with only five interceptions. Haskins is not a threat to run, rushing for a net 56 yards on the season after subtracting sacks. Backup Tate Martell is, though, rushing for 121 yards in three relief appearances, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. He’s also completed 23 of 28 passes for 269 yards.

Neither J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber find themselves on a pace for a 1,000 yard season in 2018, rushing for 521 and 516 yards respectively through eight games. Both backs average fewer yards per carry this season, with Dobbins now averaging just 4.3 and Weber 5.4. That’s down from 7.2 and 6.1 respectively prior to this season.