Ohio State Rolling on Offense by Rolling Personnel at Random

The beauty of the Ohio State offense from a fan's perspective is the enviable depth and talent head coach Ryan Day has divided carries, catches and touchdowns between so far this season.

The dilemma of every defense Ohio State faces is decifering which personnel package is coming and when will it show up so there's an adequate plan in place to stop it.

But if you thought those three OSU graduate assistant coaches over on the sideline in distinctly different-colored shirts, feverishly signaling to quarterback Justin Fields, were charged with keeping the players and the plays straight for the Buckeyes, you thought wrong.

No rhyme, reason to it; just results

Those guys are probably doing something significant to the game's outcome, but Day admits even he is not so detail-oriented to worry about which of his two running backs, three tight ends or eight receiving options are in the game.

"We kind of just roll guys, whether it’s receivers, running backs, we just roll them," Day said. "We don’t really look to see who’s in the game."

That seems odd in this age of situational substitutions, personnel groupings. no-huddle, high-temp attacks.

What about that whole idea of catching a defense with too few linemen to stop the run, too few defensive backs to stop the pass or linebackers too slow to cover backs or tight ends deep down the field?

Well, while some teams obsess about it, Ohio State is so deep across the board, Day doesn't even worry about it, even on the offensive line.

Two backs, three tight ends, eight receivers all dangerous

"It’s hard to, whether it’s tight ends, receivers, even in the O line sometimes, to organize all that and to say, 'OK, we’re going to have this guy in the game on this play,' " Day said. "It just doesn’t work."

Something is certainly working for OSU so far.

Actually, just about everything is.

The Buckeyes enter a 7:30 p.m. Saturday home game against No. 25 Michigan State (ABC-TV) averaging 52 points per-game via 254 yards passing and 231 yards rushing.

Here are the weapons Michigan State must find a way to stop:

Quarterback Justin Fields has scored seven rushing TDs and thrown for 16 without an interception.

Running backs J.K. Dobbins and Master Teague have combined for 980 rushing yards, via per-carry averages of 7.1 and 6.4 yards, respectively.

Four OSU receivers have 10 or more catches, , while eight different Buckeyes have caught touchdown passes.

Fields has seamlessly transitioned into the role Dwyane Haskins held a year ago, when OSU was much more of a passing team because Haskins could not run the way Fields can.

"I think every leader needs some street cred," OSU passing game coordinator Mike Yurcich said. "You have to produce to a certain degree and he's produced. I tink he feels more confident commanding the troops.

Fields' dual-threat abilities clearly make OSU more dangerous, not just inside the opposing 20-yard line, where the Buckeyes struggled a year ago with Haskins in Shotgun Formation, but all over the field.

"I think that the way we teach concepts, the way we teach plays, we want versatility," he said. "If some guy does something really, really well, then we try to enhance that. But the things they don’t do well, we just try to work on those things so those guys can play in the game.

"When you’re playing with tempo and you’re calling plays, you can’t really worry too much about the game. Is it ready? Is the play game ready? Are those players ready to go play in the game? Are they at starter level? If they are, then let’s put them in the game and let’s go play.”