As Luke Fickell strolls the sidelines New Year’s Day and Ohio State’s defense trots out onto the field and lines up for its first snap of the Fiesta Bowl, the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator will see something has has seen plenty of times before on the other side of the ball.
“I would say, for us, this is one of the more similar games to what our offense does,” Fickell said last week during Ohio State’s Fiesta Bowl media day.
The days of Ohio State and Notre Dame — two traditional Midwest powers — lining up in the I-formation and running the ball down the field are long gone, though. Both teams moved to spread-type look years ago with the arrivals of Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly and both have been successful.
Under Meyer, we know the Buckeyes’ offense is a power-spread type that’s primary focus is establishing the downhill running game. There are some quarterback runs mixed in, along with play-action passes down the field to open things up a bit.
Playing behind an experienced offensive line, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett and running back Ezekiel Elliott have been dominant, at times, working their craft together.
Notre Dame’s attack is somewhat similar, Fickell said, but it also has a couple of differences as no two offenses are going to be completely alike.
“They still run the ball and run it very well. They will also run the quarterback,” he said. “But they might line up in empty [backfield] a little more and do the dropback pass a little bit more.”
Like the Buckeyes, things for the Irish start up front with the offensive line. Led by future NFL first-round draft pick Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, Notre Dame’s offensive line averages 6 feet, 5.5 inches and 313 pounds across the board.
They pave the way for running back C.J. Prosise and quarterback DeShone Kizer. The Fighting Irish rank 25th nationally in rushing, going for an average of 215.2 yards per game. Prosise averages over 100 per game on the ground — 103.2 to be exact — while Kizer compliments him nicely from the quarterback position at 41.6 rushing yards per game.
But Notre Dame also has a passing attack it can hurt you with. And that all starts with wide receiver Will Fuller. The Irish passing game ranks 37th in the country at 256.3 yards per game. Fuller
“They have a real physical offensive line,” Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan said. “They have two NFL-caliber tackles and one that’s going top three, I think. That’s the main thing we need to worry about: If they dominate the line of scrimmage, then obviously they can move the ball.”
Ohio State hasn’t been nearly as effective in the passing game this year as it was a season ago, but the balance between run and pass both the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish strive for is what makes these two somewhat similar.
And while no two offensive units will ever be exactly alike, the hope for Ohio State is that familiarity with its own system will help it prepare for the game against the Fighting Irish.
“The reality is it is a similar type of offense focused around a great offensive line and a quarterback who can manage the game, throw the ball and run the ball very well,” Fickell said. “They also have great talent on the outside.”
