Ohio State's run game is the lone weak point for the Buckeyes in 2025

The Ohio State Buckeyes have had an incredible 2025 season.

They sit No. 1 in the country, they boast an undefeated record, have an elite defense and one of the top young offenses in college football. However, with so many positives to display for a team, there is one glaring negative.

The run game.

The Buckeyes are currently sporting a three-man running back room, consisting of freshman Bo Jackson, sophomore James Peoples and senior CJ Donaldson. The combination of those three has contributed to the rushing game, which displays an average of 160 yards per game and 4.73 yards per carry, both of which are middle of the pack in the Big Ten.

With a strong passing game, it isn't necessarily a negative. However, when slip-ups do arise and sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin gets drained down the back half of the season, the running game will need to take over and be effective.

Before the game against Illinois, against the University of Minnesota, the Buckeyes rushed for just about 4.4 yards per attempt. Against Washington, it was a similar eye-catching struggle of 4.38 yards per attempt.

But, the team's worst of the season came against Illinois this past weekend.

Even in the Buckeyes' 34-16 win over the Fighting Illini, the rushing attack recorded its second-lowest average of the season at 2.86. Donaldson carried the ball 13 times for 44 yards, Jackson was just behind on carries with 10 for 47 yards and Peoples took five handoffs for just seven yards.

The offensive line cannot be blamed for the rushing game struggles. The guys up front have been great.

They have an experienced group that looked strong and agile against the Fighting Illini. When they placed their blocks and tried to open up holes for the running back, they formed. Jackson going out with an injury didn't help in Week Seven, because the explosiveness was lost after that.

Of the three backs, he's easily the best. His agility and bounce are something that is unmatched by most freshmen in the college game, and Donaldson and Peoples certainly don't have the same skill set.

The one positive for Donaldson has been his runs inside the red zone as he has six touchdowns this season, two coming against Illinois.

However, Jackson is averaging a near three yards per carry more than Donaldson and two more than Peoples. That's a drastic difference, especially given Jackson has the same amount of carries as Donaldson and 18 more than Peoples. Jackson also leads both other backs in each receiving statistic.

So what's the fix?

Honestly, Ohio State doesn't need to use Donaldson and Peoples as much. They both don't have the speed and movement that Jackson does, thus making the running game stagnant when they get handoffs.

It may be due to the fact that Jackson is just a freshman, but if the team wants to have a strong balance in the rushing and passing game, they may have to just commit to making Jackson the RB1.

It's becoming more and more obvious that when he touches the football, good things happen. To start the season against Ohio and Grambling State, he put together back-to-back 100+ rushing yard games. He then followed up those two with 80 yards against Washington and 63 with a touchdown against Minnesota.

He needs carries and targets out of the backfield to develop. With such a high ceiling, he has a chance to be a game-changer for the team down the back half of the season.

It's time for Bo to be the lead back, and maybe, just maybe, the Buckeyes can exterminate their one lone weakness in 2025.