Category: Samuel Baum

Do we really appreciate what Ohio State defensive end Chase Young has done this year?

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young has had a year for the ages. But do we really appreciate what he’s done in 2019?

By now everyone has heard about the dominance of Ohio State defensive end Chase Young. I’m sure other teams have gotten tired of hearing just how great he is, but in reality, the guy is truly a phenom that we are watching.

We might know it, but do we really know and embrace it. There may not ever be another guy like him at the defensive end position on the Banks of the Olentangy. Or at least, not for a very, very, long time.

While his accolades speak for themselves, the amount of awards he’s picked up during the college football awards circuit is astounding. In case you haven’t already been made aware, Chase Young added five trophies alone in the last week. Here’s a quick run down of all that’s happened for the junior defensive end.

Ready for this? Young averages more sacks per game than 37 teams in the country. That’s equal to about a quarter of all the teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Let that sink in for a minute. Especially seeing how he had to sit for two games because of accepting and paying back a loan from a family friend.

Let’s not mention the fact that the games he did play in he didn’t even play in all four quarters. Ohio State was so dominant in 2019 that he wasn’t needed often at the end of blowout wins. The point here is that the stats could have been even greater, like single-season NCAA record-setting greater.

While Buckeye fans love to compare the junior gamed-wrecker with the Bosa brothers, but their productivity didn’t even touch what Young has put on tape. Young has statistically had a better season than either brother ever had at Ohio State, and the games aren’t even over yet. All he did set the single-season sack record in Columbus with 16.5 sacks in just eleven games.

Then there’s tackles for loss. Young is tied Joey Bosa with 21.5 tackles for loss in just one season at Ohio State, but lets us not forget big brother Joey played 15 games, to again — just eleven for Young. There’s a good bet that record will fall as well on December 28.

While we will always look back at the Bosas with fond memories of their dominance, we’d be remiss not to mention the fact that we are watching arguably the best defensive lineman in OSU history.

Now all Young needs to do is score a touchdown. He’s done everything else after all.

The X Factor player for Ohio State Against Clemson is …

If Ohio State hopes to dethrone Clemson and get into the national championship game, it’ll need this player to come up big.

While it seems that everyone is picking Clemson to win the titanic struggle in the desert, maybe there is one specific player that can make all the difference in the world for Ohio State.

In the Big Ten Championship game, KJ Hill was crucial to the success of Ohio State with his ability to catch the underneath routes to balance the deep threat ability of Chris Olave. Everyone has raved about Olave since he emerged last year against That Team Up North, but KJ Hill is as reliable as it gets and is often overshadowed and underappreciated.

In the Wisconsin game, Hill had a game-high seven receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns. His performance in the second half is what allowed Ohio State to open up the deep passing game to Olave.

The tandem of Olave and Hill is crucial to the success of Ohio State, but without the underneath routes, the safeties can stay high and limit the deep threat. Hill is second on the team in touchdowns, but he often gets the tough and dirty underneath yardage that isn’t nearly as glorious.

In order to reach the pinnacle of where this Ohio State team hopes to end up in 2019, it’ll need to rely on the experience of Hill to keep the defense guessing in the passing game. The fact that Hill is Ohio State’s all-time leader in receptions says he’s up to the task.

Here’s where Ohio State can cause issues for Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl

The Ohio State football team has its work cut out for it against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. There’s one area that could be the difference.

While Vegas odds have Clemson as the favorite over a higher seeded and higher ranked Ohio State squad, it may just play to the advantage of the Buckeyes to play the underdog role in a game where virtually everyone is picking the Tigers.

It’s interesting how the narrative has changed from just one half of football even though everyone was on the OSU train during the regular season as the most complete and dominant team. Now, it must embrace the role of being slighted and find those advantages to pull one off against the defending national champions.

But here’s the deal. This will be a game in which the talent is equal. That means winning will come down to execution of advantages you have over other teams, and for Ohio State, the one thing that could cause issues for the  Clemson attack, is its ability to get to the quarterback.

It is clear that both teams have electric offenses and stout defenses, but with what we’ve seen, there’s a good chance we see some decent scoring in the desert night. So, a play here and a game changing play there could mean the difference between moving on to New Orleans vs. turning the page to the early signing period in recruiting.

If you’re looking for that one area that can change the game, it’s on the defensive line for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is leading the country in sacks with an impressive 51 sacks in thirteen games. While everyone knows that Chase Young has racked up a plethora of awards and leads the country in sacks with a total of 16.5, you can bet Clemson will look to limit him by double and triple teaming him. That’s okay. His dominance should allow for the emergence of other players up front.

That’s where Zach Harrison, BB Landers, Davon Hamilton, Jashon Cornell and gang come in. If you look at the film in the games against The Team Up North and Wisconsin you could say that teams were able to limit Chase Young, but that didn’t stop others from getting in on the act.

While it is easy to forget about the rest of the defensive line with such a big name as Chase Young, it is certainly important to recognize the others who have been such a big factor in the trenches. It may seem like everyone else’s stats seem quite small compared to Chase Young, but let’s realize that they all feed off each other.

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is a difference-making talent at quarterback. In order to win this one, Ohio State has to disrupt the flow of the passing game. The Buckeyes are more equipped to do that than any other team in the College Football Playoff.

This Ryan Day guy has been pretty good at coaching American football so far

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has had one fantastic season by all accounts and measures. Buckeye fans should feel lucky to have him.

So far Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has thoroughly impressed Buckeye Nation with an unblemished coaching record. And with the College Football Playoff looming in the near future, it gives Buckeye fans a unique opportunity to reflect back on the season to date, and to see just how truly blessed Ohio State is to have had such a seamless transition from Urban Meyer to the man wearing the headset today.

In the months before the start of this year’s season, so many speculated about an Ohio State slide. Instead, we saw quite the opposite. In Columbus, the expectations are incredibly high, and rightfully so due to the lineage of great coaches and players in the history of the program.

But Day has taken the baton (and whistle) handed to him by Meyer and somehow exceeded those lofty expectations by racing out to a unblemished record in truly dominating fashion.

Most analysts and experts outside the program believed Ohio State would be about a ten-win team with a couple of blemishes during the season. Some in the media didn’t even list Ohio State as one of the top three teams to win the Big Ten.

Undaunted, all the Buckeye program did under Day’s guidance is finish the season in the top five in total offense and defense. The dominance and superlatives are numerous. Ohio State leads the country in sacks and in third-down conversion percentage. The defense is 2nd in the nation in yards given up per game, and third in scoring.

Perhaps most important for many fans, Day prolonged the misery of That Team Up North by stomping the living maize and blue out of it — something every OSU coach is judged by.

While we don’t know how this season will end, we do know that Day has picked up where Meyer left off, and is sprinting ahead with a real shot at hanging another banner in the ‘Shoe.

I’d say so far he’s passed the test with flying scarlet and gray colors.

 

Can Ryan Day carry over the success with Ohio State in an underdog role?

Ohio State has been favored in every single matchup this year, but that’s not the case in the Fiesta Bowl. How will Ryan Day handle it?

With the regular season and another Big Ten Trophy in the trophy case at The Woody, Ohio State now turns its eyes towards preparing for the matchup in the desert against the reigning champs Clemson Tigers.

With the recent history against Clemson, it’s an intriguing matchup. Ohio State is 0-3 against the Tigers, and fans would love to get a sour taste out of their mouth after the 31-0 dominating game Clemson pitched against Ohio State in 2016. Could it be that this year will change the narrative against Clemson?

For the first time this year, Ohio State is an underdog in the Fiesta Bowl despite being the higher seed. In just a short week, it went from being the College Football Playoff’s No. 1 team, to now nearly everyone picking the Tigers to beat the Buckeyes and move on to the national title game. While it may be disappointing to many, it could also be just the extra motivation that the team needs to elbow its own way to a national title.

But let’s be clear here. While there are several players that were part of that 2016 team this one is very, very different. Whether it be coaches, players, or schemes, Ohio State is far different than when it got trounced in the desert last time out.

Some might remember that Urban Meyer was incredible as an underdog with a crazy and somewhat unbelievable 7-0 record.  Could Day be just as great with Urban in that category? Day has this calm presence and has faced adversity this year.

While the conference championship game was too close in the first half for comfort, it tested Day and his staff’s resolve, resiliency, and game-management on the biggest stage yet in his young coaching career. When it’s all said and done, all eyes will be eagerly awaiting the matchup in the desert in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl to see how he does.

Maybe he’ll show he can go from underdog to top dog?

 

After not getting a carry in the Big Ten Championship Game, will we see Master Teage in the Fiesta Bowl plans?

Ohio State backup RB Master Teague didn’t get a carry in the Big Ten Championship Game. What’s in store for him in the Fiesta Bowl?

Master Teague was named third-team all big ten this year despite not getting any carries against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin. That certainly makes one wonder how much part Teague will play with Ohio State’s gameplan in the College Football Playoff.

While some may say that Teague is being underutilized, it’s more likely that the dominance of starting running back J.K. Dobbins has taken away snaps from Teague as the Ohio State coaching staff goes with the hot hand and known commodity.

But now, not only does OSU have a fresh Teague, it has a starting running back that’s nearing 2,000 yards on the season.

To this point in the season, Teague has almost 800 yards rushing and has proven to be a dynamic complement to Dobbins in the running game. It makes some reminisce about the days of Boom and Zoom which was the combination of Boom Herron and Jordan Hall in 2009.

Dobbins and Teague though have better eye-popping stats, with the duo looking at the possibility of rushing for over 2,800 yards on the season once the curtain falls on the 2019 postseason.

So what does all of this mean for the Fiesta Bowl and hopefully beyond?

Of course we’re still going to see a ton of J.K. Dobbins, but look for Teague to be used in short yards situations, or as Dobbins gets gassed from the pounding he is likely to take against Clemson’s defensive front.

No matter what happens, with Dobbins expected to exit the college stage to the NFL after this season, it will most likely be Teague as the featured back next year. He looks to be the next one in the long lineage of great running backs in Ohio Stae history. Buckeye fans can certainly be excited about the future of Master Teague.

But first, I have a feeling we’ll see him a bit more on December 28 when Ohio State tries to slay the defending national champions and earn a spot in the New Orleans for a chance to win a national championship of its own.