Since Urban Meyer arrived in Columbus in 2012, Ohio State's offense has been one of the best in the country.
I am not even going to start telling a coach who has won three national titles how to game plan for the biggest game of the year, but it might be time for the Buckeyes to dig deep into their offensive playbook and call for a few screens against Penn State on Saturday.
For the avid Ohio State football fan, you know that the Buckeyes have not utilized many screens, outside of the numerous bubble screens that have become a staple of the OSU run-pass option attack this season. Those are not the kind of plays I am talking about. I am talking about linemen releasing from the line, getting downfield and throwing blocks and the second and third levels.
Why now you might ask? Mainly because Urban Meyer has been raving all week about how aggressive Penn State's defensive front is.
"They just come after you. They're very aggressive with – their defensive line, it's not a read-and-react; they're up the field," Meyer said Monday. "And they menaced (Michigan). They were all over the place."
Meyer brought up Penn State's willingness to play aggressive up front again on Wednesday.
"They are very good at holding their (blitz) disguises," Meyer said. "We've got to be very methodical and move the ball downfield."
So how do you slow down a blitz-heavy, aggressive defense? You run screens. You make them think twice about firing out 100 percent at your quarterback. Ohio State hasn't called a running back screen in awhile, but it might be something the Buckeyes are considering this week.
Exhibit A, from Ohio State's 2009 win against Michigan wouldn't be a bad place to start.
We haven't seen Ohio State run a tailback screen in a long time, but the Buckeyes have shown this season that they have screens, outside of the RPOs, in their playbook.
If you remember back to 2016, almost anytime Ohio State went with an empty backfield, the Buckeyes had a tendency to call for a QB power with Barrett or a QB draw. Against Maryland, the Buckeyes came out in an empty formation on third-and-long and converted on a wide receiver screen to Parris Campbell.
Meyer noted in his Wednesday press conference that Penn State is one of the best pass defenses in the country (ranked seventh in the FBS). If the Nittany Lions continue the trend of playing zone coverage against Ohio State in the secondary and playing aggressive up front, hitting on a few screen plays could open things up for the rest of the night against the No. 2 team in the country.
