When Ohio State leans on its power run game, good things usually happen. When it doesn't, the result is usually less than impressive.
The Buckeyes, behind a stellar performance from their offensive line, racked up 335 yards rushing against what was the Big Ten's top run defense en route to a 48-3 shellacking of Michigan State on Saturday.
In a week after Ohio State's top two running backs combined for just 11 carries, J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber combined for 27 carries and 286 yards, reiterating what Urban Meyer has said about the Buckeye program since his first year on campus.
"Coach Meyer talks to the team every week (and says) the motto of our team is 'We are an O-line driven program,'" Ohio State offensive lineman Demetrius Knox said after the game. "He says that if we can control the line of scrimmage, then we will win the game."
That is exactly what Ohio State did.
The game plan was evident from the first drive, as the Buckeyes attempted just one pass to four runs, the last of which resulted in a 47-yard touchdown run from Weber.
Meyer gave credit to Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa in his postgame comments for their game plan.
"The game planning was very good...and I thought the running backs ran really, really hard. Even when they got hit, it was a plus-2," Meyer said. "So you're in that second-and-four mentality ... and when you face a team that's that committed to the run, you have to have that kind of physicality of running backs. I thought our two backs played fantastic."
On just nine carries, Weber rushed for 162 yards while Dobbins added 124 yards on 18 carries, the most he has earned since a season-opening win over Indiana, when he ran the ball 29 times.
During the week leading up to the game, the calls for Dobbins to get more opportunities were louder than ever, and while he carried most of the load, it was Weber that exploded. The Detroit native rattled off a career-best 82-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, showing breakaway speed that had eluded him as a redshirt freshman.
That play was not lost on Ohio State offensive lineman Jamarco Jones, who said postgame that Weber posted an impressive 40-yard dash time in the offseason before suffering a hamstring injury.
"He ran a 4.3(-second 40) this summer laser time, and he showed it off on that run," Jones said.
Meyer acknowledged Weber's performance after the game, and said that adding Dobbins to the mix gives Ohio State a dangerous running duo in the Buckeye backfield.
"He's a much, much better player than he was a year ago. He was a good player a year ago and that darn injury – that hamstring was darn near surgical where that would have been the season," Meyer said of Weber. "He rehabbed it, rehabbed it. And a lot of credit to Mike to hang in there, just keep going, keep going, keep going. And the two of them today, you talk about the 1-2 punch, that was outstanding.
"Those two running backs we have are two of our better players."
The rushing performance didn't just benefit the Ohio State running backs, though. Quarterback J.T. Barrett carried nine times for 55 yards and two scores on the ground, adding a pair of passing touchdowns as well.
Though he did throw two interceptions, Barrett said the offensive line's performance helped him settle into the game, as the Ohio State front continued to push forward to the second level of the Spartan defense.
"Offensive line, I mean, when you play like that, really makes my job a whole lot easier. I think one of the main things with them is changing the line of scrimmage," Barrett said. "They met the 'backers instead of on the line of scrimmage, they met them three yards downfield. And our running backs did a great job making that unblocked defender miss and got some big hits."
With the game plan installed in the week leading up to the game, Jones said he knew that the game would be on the shoulders of his offensive line unit. That confidence, following a tough performance against Iowa, helped propel the Buckeyes to the convincing win, he added.
"Coach Wilson told us going into this game that he was going to rely on us a little bit more," Jones said. "It gives you more confidence because the coaches relied on us today. It's a great feeling to know that we were able to back up what our coaches said and put (the game) on us."
