Simplifying on offense gets it done
Thinking is bad. That’s not a sentence that generally makes sense for a football team, or anything in life, really. But in a sport where the slightest pause can be the difference between success and failure, the ability to react instinctively is essential.
Since the offensive debacle that was Ohio State’s 31-16 loss to Oklahoma, the Buckeyes have been on a roll. Heading into Saturday’s game at Nebraska, they have averaged 52.5 points in their last four games. Some of that
can be attributed to inferior competition. But much of that is because Ohio State has decided to make the game as simple as possible.
“Put the ball down and go play,” center Billy Price said. “Quit thinking so much, because the minute you start thinking, you start playing slow. That’s when defenses have the upper hand.”
That doesn’t mean paring the playbook. If anything, the Buckeyes have expanded their offense in the last month. They’ve used more run-pass option plays (RPOs).
In last week’s 62-14 victory over Maryland, tight end Marcus Baugh lined up in the backfield as a quasi-wingback to provide more blocking help. Baugh delivered a block on Parris Campbell’s 24-yard touchdown run that he couldn’t have made if he hadn’t been in the backfield.
“We try to create a little bit of a different angle in a couple of blocking schemes,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. “It wasn’t a new play. We weren’t setting the edge on a couple of zone plays. It’s just a subtle change, but it helped in the run game.”
Wilson was hired to energize the Buckeyes’ offense. Expectations that the offense would click from the start with him at the helm hit a thud in the Oklahoma loss.
He blamed himself then for bad play-calling. A month later, his self-analysis of the defeat is still harsh. Wilson said it started in practice that week when he said he failed to establish a good rhythm.
“I got us a little all over the place,” Wilson said. “When you lose, you really start analyzing things. I just didn’t think I anticipated some things I needed to do to get us prepared.
“It hit me in the face. It hit me during the game, ‘We’re out of whack here.’ Sometimes it’s not just play calls, but the way you practice. We’ve tried to be a lot cleaner.”
And a lot of that comes from the quick tempo the Buckeyes are using.
“To me, our offense is still very complicated,” Wilson said. “(But I) try to eliminate clutter. One of the quickest ways to slow an athlete or a player down is to make him think.”
The challenge is to account for all the adjustments an offense must make while still keeping the defense on its heels.
The last four games have been encouraging, but the real tests won’t come until the competition stiffens. Wilson described the offense’s improvement since Oklahoma as merely being “OK.”
“There are a lot of things we can be so much better at, not to be arrogant,” he said.
Wilson was disappointed with J.K. Dobbins’ fumble against Maryland and is intent on making sure that the line protects quarterback J.T. Barrett, especially with a new right guard this week. Depth is always a concern.
“We’ve not hit our stride, but we’re moving in the direction where there’s positive momentum,” Wilson said.