The way Ohio State was dominated physically against Miami shouldn't have been a surprise, because it's been happening all year.
The truth about the Ohio State season is this: they played four legitimate opponents this season in Texas, Michigan, Indiana, and Miami.
In three of those four games, they scored 14 points or fewer, and they finished with a 2-2 record. What was the common denominator in each of those games?
An inability to compete physically. Ohio State has all of the flashy toys, the best wide receivers, the next star quarterback, but they lacked the foundation that every single football team in history needs. And on Wednesday night, it came back to bite them.
Against Texas to start the season, they were unsure of their running back rotation, and they were finding their way with a brand new offensive line, so there were some built-in excuses after that 77-yard performance against the Longhorns.
The next time they were tested wasn't until late November, when they went up to Ann Arbor, where they pounded the rock to the tune of 186 yards on 47 carries. This was the sight that everyone in Buckeye Nation needed to see. It was an offensive line and a run game that was nasty and really showed its ability to win the line of scrimmage.
If Ohio State got that the rest of the season, they would certainly be hoisting the trophy in Miami at the end.
Instant Analysis: Ohio State and Miami Just Played an Instant Classic, We React LIVEThe Ohio State Buckeyes and the Miami Hurricanes just completed an instant classic of a game. The 'Canes dominated in the first half and probably should have...Unfortunately, it was fool's gold.
The Buckeyes hit the road to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Hoosiers, who were known to have one of the best defenses in the country. They proved it against the Buckeyes as they sacked Julian Sayin six times, and the Buckeyes could only rush for 58 yards on 26 carries. A nasty performance.
Then, the Buckeyes had three weeks to solve their issues up front before taking on the Miami Hurricanes in the second round of the College Football Playoffs. The Hurricanes up front were hyped up in the week and a half leading up to the game; surely they wouldn't be able to match the hype.
No, they were every bit the part, and they too exposed the Buckeyes up front. Ohio State surrendered five more sacks against the Hurricanes and rushed for just 45 yards on 24 carries. They average 1.9 yards per carry.
1.9 yards per carry.
It's simply not good enough to compete at the top of college football and shame on the Buckeyes for not fixing the problem before it was too late.
Now, the Buckeyes get to stare down the offseason. Just like that, a season full of hope and promise comes crashing down in just a few quick hours.
The Buckeyes enter the offseason with a major problem to fix, and that is their physicality. How they are going to do it is yet to be seen, but they cannot think they are just going to roll into next season with the same approach.
Category: General Sports
