We all know what is possible.
We saw a crazy run in 2014. This Ohio State team winning the championship would objectively not be as crazy as what happened then.
Yet, it still feels like it would be a surprise. The 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes have been marked by inconsistency and underperformance at times, while other teams looking like they could be the best team in the country.
Let's debrief the 2020 regular season.
The Short Story
Well, the short story is that Ohio State is 6-0, the Big Ten champion (again), and the conference's representative in the College Football Playoff, where they will take on a Clemson team that has beat them three times in the last eight years.
The 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes started off their season with easy but frustrating-at-times wins over Nebraska, Penn State, and Rutgers.
The Buckeyes then took a 35-3 lead over Indiana, looking like the best team in the country in the first half before looking like a Marvin Lewis Bengals team and almost choking the game away in the second half. Ultimately, though, the Buckeyes held on and won, a point that many #JV Hoosiers fans forgot when arguing that Indiana should be the Big Ten East representative in the conference's title game.
After a postponement against Illinois, the Buckeyes were left shorthanded against Michigan State but again looked like the best team in the country, crushing the Spartans by 40 points despite missing about 1/3 of their roster.
Another cancellation, this time against Michigan, frustrated everyone, but after nightmares of underperformances against Big Ten West teams swirled in Buckeyes fans heads during the first half against Northwestern, Trey Sermon's ground-and-pound performance won Ohio State yet another Big Ten Championship and earned them a date against Clemson.
Quick Breakdowns
Offense
The team has gone as Justin Fields has gone. When he is on, like he was in the team's first three games and against Michigan State, they are almost unstoppable. But when Fields struggles, like in the second half against Indiana or the entirety of the Northwestern showdown, it is hard for Ohio State to muster points.
Luckily, the run game has gotten it going lately behind Sermon, who rushed for 112 yards and a score against Michigan State and followed that up with a school-record 331 yard performance against Northwestern.
Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson have done virtually all of the receiving for the Buckeyes, and Olave's return to the lineup for the Clemson game will surely provide a boost.
The offensive line has been very solid outside of Harry Miller, who has a lot of work to do in the next week. Nicholas Petit-Frere has been one of the conference's best lineman and a pleasant surprise after his struggles a year ago.
As mentioned earlier, though, this offense will go as far as Fields will take it. Clemson's defense is beatable as Notre Dame showed early in the season. Can Fields redeem himself after a costly interception a year ago?
Defense
Like the offense, this unit has been plagued by inconsistency. Allowing just 22 points combined over their last two games is very good! Allowing 27 to Rutgers is not so good.
Remember 2018? An Ohio State team with a very good quarterback and an inconsistent running game had a defense which gave up a million big plays which ultimately were its downfall.
Now, obviously there are a few things that are different from 2018 (most notably, the Buckeyes actually made the playoff) but the big plays have returned after a one-year absence, and players such as Shaun Wade and Zach Harrison have not exactly been the stalwarts Ohio State fans were expecting during the year.
There have been some pleasant surprises, though. Haskell Garrett is one of college football's best stories, rallying to become PFF's No. 1 graded defensive lineman after being shot in the face just a few weeks before the season. Tuf Borland and Pete Werner have been solid all year long, and sixth-year Justin Hilliard is finally making a significant impact, making crucial plays.
The Buckeyes will have to generate significant pass rush against Clemson if they want any shot at winning the football game. Trevor Lawrence is too good to have time to sit back and pick his spots against a mediocre-at-best Ohio State secondary.
Underrated Things
Some of the best but not necessarily the most talked about moments from this year:
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba making a circus catch for his first career touchdown vs. Nebraska in his first career game
- Ohio State actually throwing to the tight ends in the Penn State game
- Justin Fields runs 60 yards down the field on a handoff to make a last-second (albeit unnecessary) block against Michigan State
- Larry Johnson wins his only game as a college football head coach against Michigan State
- Zach Hoover, a walk-on punter, fills in admirably against Northwestern
- Many, many others that I inevitably forgot
Biggest Question Going Forward
Well, it has to be the two I have already referenced in this piece:
1. Which Justin Fields will we get?
Will we get the Fields against Indiana and Northwestern (the one that showed he is actually human) or the robot, unstoppable Justin Fields we saw in the first three games?
2. Will the defense generate enough pass-rush to make up for a lackluster secondary?
I suppose there is a small chance that the secondary will actually play really well against Clemson. I would say that is very unlikely, however, making the defensive line paramount to winning this football game (and, if the Buckeyes can get that far, the same would go for a potential tilt with Alabama).
Zach Harrison's name has rarely been heard this year. Most of the pressure has come from the defensive tackles, but Ohio State needs more from its defensive ends.
