Biggest Questions Facing Ohio State as They Prepare for Alabama

Here are several topics that Buckeye fans are discussing and will be following during the lead up to Monday's championship game.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are the best opponent that Ohio State has played all season, by a significant margin. I think Alabama is markedly better than Clemson. That certainly doesn't mean all hope is lost going into Monday's national championship tilt - but it does mean the Buckeyes have less margin for error against a team that has scored 50 points or more six times in 12 games this season.

As Ohio State prepares for Nick Saban's Crimson Tide, here are the most pressing questions facing the Buckeyes:

How healthy is Justin Fields?

This discussion starts and ends with Justin Fields. How healthy is he? Ryan Day said he definitely expects Fields to play, which is great news. But he has to more than just play ... he has to be effective. Fields said that he was dealing with pain after every throw he made against Clemson after Skalski's hit that wound up in an ejection for the Clemson linebacker. 

I absolutely think the Buckeyes can win this game, but without a healthy Fields that task gets much harder.

A Trey Sermon Encore?

Could Trey Sermon possibly have an encore performance that matches or eclipses something he's done the last couple weeks? Football is a numbers game and as an offense it's all about manipulating the defense. If a team respects the run, they'll put an extra guy or two in the box to make sure they have an advantage - which opens up passing options. But if the defense thinks the passing attack is a bit more pressing and they trust their guys to win 1-on-1 matchups, they're more likely to keep an extra defender in coverage. 

The run and pass compliment each other and the Ohio State offense has elite players in both areas. How Alabama chooses to scheme up the run defense is the question, but Trey Sermon certainly isn't going to take anyone by surprise after what he's pulled off the last couple games.

Battle in the Trenches

This game features some of the truly elite offensive and defensive linemen in the country. If you don't control the line of scrimmage in this game, you're going to have an awfully hard time winning. I think Ohio State's defensive line may have a slight advantage when Bama has the ball because the Buckeyes have had such good interior D-line play and the Tide are missing their All-American center Landon Dickerson to injury.

The health of Ohio State's offensive line is also important. Will starting left guard Harry Miller be able to come back from his CoVID diagnosis? Consensus All-American right guard Wyatt Davis says his knee is fine, but he's been helped off the field in two of the last three games now for the Buckeyes. The O-Line depth for Ohio State has been impressive, but you'd really like to have your best unit out there against a nasty Alabama front seven.

How Will CoVID-19 impact this game?

The coronavirus is an unavoidable storyline, as it has been all year. Neither team really wants to talk much about it, but it's omnipresent and could strike at the heart of either team at a moment's notice. In fact, both head coaches in this game have dealt with positive tests this year, and obviously the Buckeyes have had more than their fair share of players out the last couple weeks because of it. 

How healthy will each team be? And will any players that missed last game for Ohio State be able to return in time for the title game? We will learn those answers as the week progresses.

Buckeye Defense Needs to Play Their Best Game

Alabama's offense is absolutely loaded with NFL-bound talent. Who do you stop? Can the secondary keep the receivers somewhat in check? That job gets a lot harder if Jaylen Waddle returns this week. Can they contain Najee Harris the way they did Travis Etienne last week? Etienne and Harris are two different kinds of backs, but both equally effective. Harris is probably the best back in the country.

Bonus: Controlling Emotions

The Buckeyes insist that despite all of the time and energy expended on winning last week, the goal this year wasn't to beat Clemson. It was to win the national title. Still, the emotional energy extolled last game can't be ignored. How can they maintain their focus and come out sharp against a team that has bludgeoned defenses all year? They're certainly capable of it, and you'd like to think that preparing for and playing in a game like this will have everyone's focus. 

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