Ryan Day won it his way. And theirs.
In a bit of irony that was surely sweet for Ohio State's head coach, the Buckeyes beat their archrival by being the more physical team along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. But they were able to do so by presenting so many threats at the skill positions.
Day broke a four-game losing streak in the rivalry, thanks more to talent and execution than to scheme. The home team surely thought that a cold, snowy game in which Ohio State leaned on three-tight-end sets throughout the second half would have tilted in their favor. But this time, it was the team in Scarley and Gray that was hailed as the victors.
Here's what we go over in this week's video breakdown:
- Block destruction, not scheme, keyed Ohio State's run defense
- Matt Patricia didn't show much in pass coverage because he didn't have to
- Jeremiah Smith saw bracket coverage for most of the game
- OSU's execution up front was the best it's been all season
