Speaking at Penn State's weekly Wednesday media availability, head coach James Franklin gave his own short scouting report of Ohio State's offense.
After dissecting the film, Franklin said the biggest thing that stands out about the Buckeye offense is the speed at which it operates, moving quickly to the line of scrimmage at the end of every positive play.
"I think the biggest thing is the tempo. We are a spread team, but we are not like a tempo team in terms of, we are not trying to run plays really fast," Franklin said. "That’s not really how we do it. They are a tempo team, and they are going to run plays fast."
Franklin, who is in his fourth season at Penn State, said he believes Ohio State's reestablished tempo on offense has a lot to do with the influence of Buckeyes offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
Wilson, who Franklin coached against for three years when the former was the head man at Indiana, said he sees Wilson's influence on Ohio State's offense not only in tempo, but in scheme as well.
"I think one of the things that is interesting is that Ohio State kind of has a model," Franklin said. "I think it is Ohio State's (offense), and some Indiana. In my opinion, at Ohio State, Urban (Meyer) has a system and whoever they hire, is going to run some form of that system."
That system that the Buckeyes are running seems to be clicking now, but didn't start off that way. After finding the gas pedal late in a win at Indiana in the season opener, Ohio State's offense faltered in a 31-16 loss at home to Oklahoma in Week 2.
Franklin said he believes Ohio State's early struggles were in part because Wilson was still getting acclimated to calling Meyer's plays and also learning to maximize the potential of Ohio State's personnel.
"Kevin Wilson is one of the better coordinators in the country, but when he first got there this year calling the plays, it took some time, because he wasn’t running his own thing," Franklin said. "Now, they are at a point in the season where they have figured out who they are and what their identity is. He knows what personnel he has and how to use it."
One player who seems to be adjusting to his offensive coordinator is quarterback J.T. Barrett, who has thrown 21 touchdown passes to just one interception this season. Barrett, has also added five scores not he ground and earned plenty of praise from Franklin, who is preparing for Barrett for the fourth straight season.
"J.T. Barrett is playing probably as well as we have seen him play. You’re talking about a guy who has had an unbelievable college career," Franklin said. "He is probably playing his best football right now."
Overall, Franklin said he is impressed with Ohio State's offense and the turnaround it has had, but also didn't seem overly surprised either.
"They had to figure it out. That is why now, you see them hitting on all cylinders," he said.
