Ohio State football: 5 reasons the Buckeyes will demolish FAU

2. The Buckeyes’ run game will remain strong

A strong component in the Buckeyes’ offense has always been their ability to run the ball. Whether it be with their quarterback or a tandem of running backs, their production on the ground has been a major tell when it comes to determining their success. However, rushing was a bit down last year. The Buckeyes rushed for nearly 1,200 less yards as a team and 1.5 less yards per attempt than the prior season. This makes sense though as last season was the first in recent history that the Buckeyes did not operate under a dual threat quarterback.

The Buckeyes’ pro-style offense was fun to see last season as they were led by quarterback Dwayne Haskins who broke many school records including total passing yards and touchdowns. This made it a bit disappointing that the run game could not keep up after averaging over five yards per carry last season. Running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber led the charge for the Buckeyes last season and averaged around five yards per carry. This is still pretty good but also moderately pedestrian as compared to the nearly seven yards per carry mark in the prior season.

Of course, there was quarterback J.T. Barrett to supplement the run game in the 2017 season as well. He averaged five yards per carry and had more rushing touchdowns than Weber or Dobbins. Barrett also had the second most rushing attempts. Having a quarterback who needs rushing attempts in order to get production is not preferred though. However, having a quarterback who does not have the ability to rush the ball at all is definitely a liability in the college football environment. Haskins had 79 rushing attempts and averaged only 1.4 yards per carry… a horrific statistic to say the least.

Justin Fields is different. He is a big quarterback who can throw the ball and run very well. Fields is the perfect middle ground between Barrett and Haskins. That is also presumably one of the reasons the Buckeyes preferred Fields over Tate Martell. Fields is capable of running a pro-style offense while simultaneously providing the threat of a run. Supplementing this with a solid run game will be essential to keeping this offense balanced.

The offense was relatively balanced last season with the far increased passing numbers up from 2017 but the running game needed to be more of a threat. The lack of run game was likely another bane to the defense as the Buckeyes didn’t have as solid of a clock management offense when leaning on the pass. The defense was on the field more than necessary which didn’t do the Buckeyes any favors.

The running back room will look a bit different this season. J.K. Dobbins will be returning for his junior season after leading the Buckeyes in rushing for the last two years. The departure of veteran running back Mike Weber hurts the Buckeyes’ depth at the position a bit but it also leaves room for the next man up. It’s been four years since the Buckeyes have had a true workhorse at running back. The truth is that the Buckeyes have not been able to reproduce the insane production of Ezekiel Elliott since he departed following the 2015 season.

It’s taken a combination of multiple running backs and J.T. Barrett to mask the production hole that was left by Elliott. He had 23 touchdowns and over 1,800 yards while averaging over six yards per carry in 2015. It seems highly unlikely that the Buckeyes will have a running back get that type of production alone this season. J.K. Dobbins is the clear favorite to handle the bulk of the carries this season. There hasn’t been much word concerning the running backs behind him but it does look like there will be some sort of timeshare in place once again in this backfield.

FAU is not a threat to the Buckeyes defensively. They ranked just 86th in the nation last season in rushing defense. This is actually more than 20 spots worse than they placed in the season prior. Coach Lane Kiffin may not be focusing on his defense as much as his clear strength looks to be on the offensive side of the ball. FAU will likely attempt to run the ball early as they’ve been very productive on the ground in the last season as they were ranked 14th in the nation in rushing yards per game. It will be important for the Buckeyes to establish the run early as well so the defense doesn’t get too worn out. It would not be in the Buckeyes’ best interest to allow the Owls to control the tempo with their upscale rushing offense even though they did lose their star running back after last season.

If the Buckeyes can establish the run early and get some stops on defense then they will surely handle FAU. The Owls have been less than proficient in the passing game and have been very prone to mistakes. If the Buckeyes can force the Owls to play from behind and air it out then they will be successful. All of this relies on game management stemming from J.K. Dobbins and the rushing offense.