Ohio State football should be able to dominate the trenches in just about every game this season. With one of the most talented lines on both sides of the ball, the Buckeyes will look to impose their will often.
On Saturday, they did just that. Ohio State ended with 170 rushing yards. Five players ended with a carry as TreVeyon Henderson led the bunch. He ended with 65 yards on 8 carries, an impressive 8.1 yards-per-carry average.
On top of Henderson, James Peoples and Quinshon Judkins both saw significant usage. Peoples ended with 6 carries for 30 yards and a touchdown. Judkins, an Ole Miss transfer, ended with a team-high 13 carries, 55 yards and a touchdown.
Over the last decade, the Buckeyes have had dynamic quarterbacks leading the way, but Chip Kelly, the team’s offensive coordinator, may flip the script. He’s going to establish the run game early and often.
Kelly did that Saturday, and head coach Ryan Day commented on it following the 52-6 victory.
“I thought Chip did a nice job, continually pushing the run. You could see that start to take its effect in the second half,” Day said. “I thought Chip called a good game. I really do. He knows what he wants to get done with this team. He wants to establish this run and that means maybe that’s not scoring 70 or whatever, but we need to establish the run late in the season.”
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Day and Kelly have a long relationship, so the former should trust the latter to control the offense. Kelly, who was the Oregon Ducks head coach when they had one of the nation’s most dynamic run games, should bring that style of play calling to Columbus.
With Judkins and Henderson in the backfield, he’ll have the talent to establish that run game, and the team’s offensive line has the chance to develop into one of the best. Expect those two to get a ton of action moving forward.
The Buckeyes will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Western Michigan at Ohio Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.