Seven Players Ohio State Needs to Step Up in Order to Beat Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinal

By Griffin Strom on December 13, 2022 at 8:35 am
Cade Stover vs. Michigan
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch/USA TODAY Network
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Ohio State can’t just roll the ball out and beat the No. 1 team in the country.

That much was clear after the Buckeyes’ rivalry defeat to Michigan, which finally saw an inconsistent performance cost Ohio State the zero in its loss column. Against Georgia, Ohio State will have to do better than that. Much better.

Perhaps Ohio State won’t need an altogether flawless showing to steal a national championship game berth from the reigning College Football Playoff champions, but it can’t afford nearly as many season-worst efforts from its personnel as seen in the final game of the regular season.

A number of Buckeyes have to step up and show out in the Peach Bowl in order to award Ryan Day his second CFP win as head coach at Ohio State, and Eleven Warriors has listed seven of them – and why – below.

C.J Stroud

As quarterback, Stroud is certain to shoulder a significant portion of blame for any Ohio State loss. He’s well aware of that fact and embraced it following the Buckeyes’ Nov. 26 defeat. But the third-place Heisman Trophy finisher should be far from the first Buckeye that is pointed to when evaluating what went wrong against Michigan. In terms of Pro Football Focus grade, Stroud actually had his third-best game of the season against the Wolverines, for what it’s worth.

Stroud's two late interceptions helped put the nail in Ohio State’s coffin, but both were passes that tipped off the hands of his pass catchers. Drops and questionable play calling both had a hand in hampering what could’ve been a better day for QB1, although criticism about Stroud’s willingness to use his legs more (after he finished with just two rushes for -3 yards against Michigan) may have some validity.

Given what’s at stake on Dec. 31, though, Stroud must turn it up another notch no matter how you feel about his performance against Michigan. After The Game, Stroud addressed the fact that his lack of rivalry wins or Big Ten championship hardware will hinder how he’s remembered by Buckeye fans. He has a chance to flip that script with a CFP win at the end of the month, and he’ll need his A-game to put up points on the nation’s 13th-ranked pass defense in opponent yards per attempt. The Bulldogs have given up just 11 passing touchdowns all season and have intercepted only one fewer pass than the scores they’ve allowed.

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TreVeyon Henderson and/or Miyan Williams

(Update: Henderson announced Tuesday night he will not play in the CFP due to his injury.)

Let’s be clear: We didn’t see either of Ohio State’s top running backs at 100% during the back half of the regular season. Henderson, who tweeted after the Michigan game that he’s dealt with torn ligaments and broken bones in his foot throughout the year, only appeared in only three of Ohio State’s past six games. Williams played in five of those, but took just two carries against Penn State, eight against Michigan and missed the entire second half against Indiana. As such, Ohio State’s drop-off in productivity on the ground only made sense.

But following the CFP selection show, Day said he expects the Buckeyes to be close to full strength for the Peach Bowl, and spoke about the running back room specifically. Hopefully, for Ohio State’s sake, both players will be completely recovered from any ailments after a five-week break between games. In fact, the Buckeyes may need that to be the case if they are to upset the No. 1 team in college football.

That might just make all the difference for an offense that was undeniably inconsistent over the latter half of the regular season. Ohio State averaged 228 rushing yards per game in the first six games, and while Georgia possesses the No. 1 rushing defense in the country (76.9 yards per game), a vintage performance by either Henderson or Williams (or perhaps both) would be a massive boost to the Buckeyes’ chances of springing the upset. 

Cade Stover

Nov. 26 is a day Stover would like to forget. And not just because of the final score. The Buckeyes’ top tight end had his worst game of the season against Michigan, and his PFF grade of 49 only underscores that statement. Dropped passes, missed blocks, you name it – Stover was not himself against the Wolverines.

The LB-turned-TE looked like the answer to all of Ohio State’s questions at the position for much of the season, and his production in the passing game was a revelation for a program known notoriously for its sparing usage of tight ends as pass-catching weapons. Much of the good favor Stover built up over the season was replaced with the bad taste of his Michigan performance overnight, though, which will leave many fans – and NFL scouts – looking at his next effort with an extra watchful eye. Not to mention, in a matchup with John Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers on the other side, Stover’s own showing may receive even more scrutiny by comparison.

Tight end play should hardly make or break Ohio State’s chances against Georgia, but a much-improved effort from Stover could be an X-factor in the end.

A WR not named Marvin Harrison Jr. 

Jaxon Smith-Njigba isn’t walking through that door. That ship has sailed for Ohio State, although Harrison has been more than worthy as a stand-in as Stroud’s top target this season. The problem is, Harrison alone can’t produce a win for the Buckeyes. Just look at the Michigan game for proof.

Even on a day that Harrison caught seven passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, Ohio State couldn’t score more than three points in the second half. He wasn’t the only Buckeye receiver to have a big day, either. Emeka Egbuka had a bigger day than his sophomore counterpart, hauling in nine passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. But after four 100-yard receiving days in the first six games, Egbuka’s big game against Michigan was the only time he topped the century mark after the bye week. As for Ohio State’s other starter, Julian Fleming hasn’t scored a touchdown or hit the 50-yard mark since the Iowa game.

Harrison can’t be the only one making big plays among Ohio State’s wide receiver corps on Dec. 31, and the Buckeyes may need standout efforts from all three starters to down the Dawgs.

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Cameron Brown

Poor defensive play call aside, Brown has to make that second-quarter tackle on Michigan wideout Cornelius Johnson. Well, either that or give up a game-changing 69-yard touchdown. I don’t need to remind you which outcome came to pass.

The Buckeye secondary got torched for 278 passing yards and three scores on all of 13 Michigan completions on Nov. 26, and Johnson’s first monster touchdown was what started Ohio State’s downfall. Brown should have held help behind him on third-and-long, but Knowles’ Cover 0 call left him out on an island. All it took was one missed tackle to give Michigan life after a slow start to The Game, and Brown provided them with it.

The fifth-year senior has been banged up for much of the year and missed the second half against the Wolverines. Recovery may be crucial for a better effort out of the longtime Buckeye veteran, who has been inconsistent at best in what is likely his final year at Ohio State. No Georgia wide receiver has more than 675 yards or five touchdowns this year, but Michigan’s pass-catching corps was hardly littered with standout stars either ahead of its matchup with the Buckeyes. 

Lathan Ransom

Ransom went from Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist to All-Big Ten snub in the matter of one game. The junior’s under-the-radar rise throughout the year likely had plenty to do with that as well, but Ransom hardly resembled one of the nation’s elite safeties against Michigan.

Left watching Wolverines run for 60-plus-yard touchdowns on multiple occasions on Nov. 26, Ransom finished with his worst PFF grade (54.9) of the season against Michigan. That’s a full 10 points lower than his previous worst of the year, with Ransom’s season grade sitting at 80.8.

Ransom’s stellar play early in the season imbued Knowles and company to trust him with the starting job over veteran Josh Proctor. He earned back that trust with interest for much of the year after that, but his Michigan performance was nothing short of a head-scratcher. Playing a team that put up 50 points in the SEC Championship Game, it’s safe to say Ohio State needs Ransom to return to form against the defending national champions.

Luke Wypler

Add Wypler to the list of Buckeyes who had their worst game of the season (in terms of PFF grade) against Michigan. Oh, and Ohio State’s starting center just might have the toughest assignment of any individual Buckeye in the Peach Bowl.

First-team AP All-American defensive tackle Jalen Carter is a projected top-three NFL draft pick come April, and he’ll be lined up opposite Wypler and the Buckeyes’ interior offensive linemen with bad intentions. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound behemoth is tied for the team lead with three sacks and is tied for second with seven tackles for loss. Against LSU, Carter had four total tackles, two TFLs, one sack and a pass breakup.

Wypler will spearhead the unit in charge of keeping him at bay in Atlanta, and it could be his hardest task of the season. Ohio State only gave up one sack against Michigan, but Wypler’s PFF grade didn’t reflect an impressive effort last time out.

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