DALLAS — The critiques were there from the moment Ohio State was announced as one of the four teams to qualify for this season's first-ever College Football Playoff. Ohio State might be as physical, but it wasn't quite fast enough to keep up with Alabama and Oregon.
But as we soon found out — after the Buckeyes stunned the Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl then dominated Oregon to win the national championship — it was pretty much the opposite.
Ohio State was more physical. And the fourth-ranked Buckeyes were just as fast, if not faster, than both of their opponents on the way to the national title.
"They were subbing out a lot and you could tell they were kind of huffing and puffing," Ohio State junior offensive tackle Taylor Decker said following the win over the Ducks. "We were just hitting them and hitting them and hitting them, just going right at them right up the middle. Just running the ball up the middle and we know we're a tough, physical team and we can assert our will on people."
Teams are often one or the other. They're either fast or physical.
But the great teams — the national-championship winning teams — have the ability to do both and do it on both sides of the ball.
"We just kept trying to do our thing," Ohio State center Jacoby Boren said. "We tried to run the ball, just tried to punch the ball through there and eventually Zeke kept making more and more plays."
In Urban Meyer's offense, speed is vital at the skill positions.
He's made the H-back spot famous with guys like Percy Harvin flling that slot. Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall filled that role for this year's Buckeyes. Ohio State also had a talented group of wide receivers, including guys like Devin Smith and Michael Thomas who could break a long touchdown at any moment.
But the Buckeyes could also run the ball with the best of them. And Ezekiel Elliott was the catalyst of that attack behind one of the most-improved offensive lines in the country.
"The concept of our offense is a power offense in the spread set. That's ours," Meyer said. "It's a power offense, and that's why I'm going to recruit — rushing the ball, like what are you talking about and then you have to be armed with all the stats, which we are."
Ohio State's defense was able limit Oregon's high-powered, up-tempo offense, too.
The Ducks got their yards — they totaled 465 of them — but they struggled to put the ball in the end zone. That had a lot to do with The Buckeyes' ability to limit the big play, sans one 70-yard Oregon touchdown.
"The track meet wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The practice was more challenging," said Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell, who was named the game's defensive MVP. "It helped us get really well-prepared for this game. We managed the tempo real well tonight."
Ohio State managed the tempo of Oregon's offense and the Buckeyes dominated up front when they had the ball. It was the perfect combination of power and speed. And it's a large reason why Ohio State was crowned national champion.
"I knew that up front we definitely outsized them and we were more physical than them," Elliott said. "I knew that if we came out and pounded them all game that at one point they would break."
