Ohio State Still Searching for Answers at Running Back
The Ohio State Buckeyes rushing attack this year has been fine, in the truest sense of the word.
It's certainly unfair to say they've been poor, but if you consider what they had in recent years with J.K. Dobbins and Ezekiel Elliott, it might be time to re-evaluate those expectations if you expected a similar output this season.
Master Teague and Trey Sermon both ran the ball 12 times each for between 60 and 70 yards in Ohio State's 49-27 win over Rutgers on Saturday. But both accumulated nearly half of their rushing yards on one carry. It's probably unfair to make any rash judgements against a Rutgers team that isn't close to being a title contender, but it's clear the Buckeyes are looking for a spark. DeMario McCall came in to run the ball late in the first half and Steele Chambers impressed by dashing 38 yards on a fake punt.
I really liked Chambers in the few carries he had against Nebraska Week 1, but he didn't get any opportunities to run the ball at Penn State. DeMario McCall seems to be more of an option on kick returns, as he's had his issues protecting the ball over the years.
As a team, Ohio State had 37 carries for 203 yards and two rushing scores. The running game certainly isn't a liability. But it seems to me that they are looking for someone to really take charge of the position as they approach the midway point of the season.
In the mean time, Sermon was injured late in the game but did not return. Ohio State has not provided an update on his status.
The flip side of the argument ... do they really need a guy to run for 100 yards per game on average? When Justin Fields is picking apart defenses as easily as he is, perhaps it's not as important to have a dominant rushing attack. It's hard to argue with the success the offense is having in general and maybe the Buckeyes don't need a dominant run game.
It's certainly working fine for now, and the fact is it probably will continue to work out for the next several weeks. But if this team wants to win a national championship in 2020, it can't be too reliant on throwing the ball ... even if you have the best quarterback in the country.
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