Ohio State has not had a good first half against Northwestern and trail 10-6 at halftime. The offense has struggled to get the passing game going against a very good Northwestern defense. On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes have struggled to stop the run. Heading into the second half, OSU needs to focus on the rushing battle on both sides of the ball.
We looked at the five keys to winning this game, and it focused on the run games for both offense and defense. While there have been some ill-timed penalties, the running game has been the bright spot on offense. In the second half, Trey Sermon and Master Teague need to be a bigger part of the plan. This should open up the passing game as long as Justin Fields can get some play-action going.
The Northwestern defense is really good against the pass, and the play-calling has been questionable as it seems Ryan Day and his staff want to force the issue. The Wildcats struggle against the run, yet, Day is trying to prove he can pass, and it is not working. Force the run and play the game that is given to you.
On defense, the tackling has to be better. Peyton Ramsey is not adept at beating the defense deep, so stopping the run is the key to forcing Ramsey to have to throw. This also means that the secondary has to close the zones down. If the front seven can get some pressure, Ramsey will make mistakes.
There is still a whole half to go, but for the first half the Buckeyes were playing into Northwestern’s hands. It was not a great showing and there is still a lot of time left in the game. It starts with running the football and stopping the run.
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