Getting It Done: How Did The Buckeyes Fare?

Another Ohio State postseason game is in the books and the Buckeyes are moving on.

Ohio State’s impressive 41-21 win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl keeps national championship dreams alive as Ohio State will be one of the final four teams remaining in the College Football Playoff. We will know the full field by the end of the day after Georgia and Notre Dame play in the Sugar Bowl.

But we know who the Buckeyes play, they draw the Longhorns of Texas, and that game will take place in Dallas, a short trip from Austin (Texas).

That has not stopped the Buckeyes so far during this postseason run. Tennessee did its best to turn Ohio Stadium into Neyland North. Ohio State drew the No. 1 seeded Ducks of Oregon on the West Coast, a much shorter trip and Oregon did not have to play a first-round game. And now the Horns.

We will have plenty of time to get into what makes Texas tick, but for now let’s look back at some benchmarks that we set earlier in the bowl build-up in our “In Order to Win” series. We talked about both offense and defense, 10 things that Ohio State would need to do to win the game. We hit a great record in the Vols game, how about the game with the Ducks?

Will Howard needs to throw for three touchdowns & no more than one interception

This would be a hit with Howard throwing three passing scores, two to Jeremiah Smith and one to Emeka Egbuka. Couple that with zero interceptions thrown and the Buckeyes hit the mark. Really it just comes down Howard being sharp, which he was. Yes, the percentage was down, throwing at just a 65-percent clip, but 319 yards in what amounts to three quarters of pressure, the numbers could have been even bigger if head coach Ryan Day would have kept the pressure on with the offense.

Ohio State needs to run the ball for 4.5 yards per carry

The Buckeyes did even better than I ever could have imagined. Ohio State ran for a blistering 5.8 YPC, blowing past my benchmark. TreVeyon Henderson led the way with eight carries for 94 yards, meaning an 11.8 YPC mark while Quinshon Judkins was consistent all afternoon long, 17 carries for 85 yards, or a 5.0 YPC number. Will Howard had a couple of negative yardage runs to bring things down but was never sacked. The Buckeyes have now run for more than 150 yards over the past two games, a real bounce back after the previous couple of games. Ohio State is going to need to carry that forward against Texas, but more on that later in the week.

Target Jeremiah Smith 10 times

Ohio State targeted Smith 10 times on the button. Smith would go for 187 yards and two scores on seven completions. As I said earlier, Howard was not at his usual 80-percent clip but credit Oregon for making him uncomfortable at times. Are 10 targets enough for Smith in a game? If Ohio State can score 41 points per game, then the answer is yes.

Go 50-percent or better on third down

My first miss of this series, but I will accept it. Ohio State did not face many third downs in high leverage moments of the game and once you take the foot off the gas in the 4^th quarter and are just in ‘go home’ mode, it happens. Ohio State was 4-11 on third down in the game, but 3-6 on third in the first half. That means that Ohio State would go 1-5 the rest of the way, and while it is fair to say that the third quarter was still vital to the outcome of the game, I don’t feel as if I totally missed on this one.

Finish trips into the red zone with touchdowns

If I were judging myself harshly, I would give myself a miss on this one. I will leave it up to the reader, however. Ohio State made two trips to the red zone and scored both times, but it was one touchdown and one interception. The thought process here was that Ohio State couldn’t get into the RZ, feel poorly about the kicking game and come up empty. Well, we saw a pair of field goals in the game and the Buckeyes were efficient, putting up points in six of the first seven drives.

Record at least two sacks

People may look at 21 points scored by Oregon and think the defense wasn’t exactly sharp. This 20-point margin really was in a game where Ohio State outplayed the Ducks by about 50 points. Ohio State racked up eight sacks in this game after putting up zero in the October match-up. Just to add to things, Ohio State put up 13 tackles for loss, with Cody Simon and Caleb Downs leading the way with three TFLs apiece. Dillon Gabriel really was not allowed to scan the field with the Ohio State defense putting up increasing pressure as the game went on and the Buckeyes now have 12 sacks in the past two games.

Keep Tez Johnson in check

This one was a major passing grade for the Buckeyes and not for the Ducks. Johnson was targeted nine times, only hauling in five receptions for 32 yards and no scores. The Ducks never really were able to get a connection between Gabriel and Johnson. Traeshon Holden ended up being the major target with seven catches for 116 yards and two scores. It is easy to forget that the Ducks put up 299 passing yards in the game because Ohio State’s efficiency overshadowed everything else that happened in the game.

Hold Jordan James to 4.0 YPC or fewer

This certainly happened but unfortunately for the game itself, James suffered an injury and was limited in his action. He only had seven carries for 14 yards and that is very simple math, just a 2.0 YPC average. But it is not as if anyone for the Ducks were able to do anything, backup running back Noah Whittington fared worse on six carries for three net yards, a 0.5 YPC mark. The Ducks as a team averaged negative rushing yards after totals were sack adjusted.

Don’t let Dillon Gabriel beat you with his legs

Gabriel had 12 credited rushing attempts and that number on its own might put some worries in the minds and hearts of Ohio State fans. But remember, Gabriel was sacked eight times, meaning that he had four actual carries, and his long was a run of five yards. This benchmark was not only met, but it was also exceeded.

Be ready for anything

Oregon never had a chance to run any trick plays, being put in a hole early and never having a chance to see sunlight to attempt to climb back out. Ohio state dominated the game in every facet and for the Ducks, it felt that the things that were well-practiced were not working, let alone a gadget play or loose interpretation of the rule book. That is one way to keep your opponent from getting too cute, take their legs out immediately.

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