Ohio State’s offense has found their recent success by keeping it simple

“Put the ball down and go play. Quit thinking so much, because the minute you start thinking, you start playing slow. That’s when defenses have the upper hand.”

Ohio State center Billy Price via Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

Sometimes simple is better. Just ask the Ohio State offense, since they have been thriving since simplifying things following the loss to Oklahoma. In the four games since the loss to the Sooners, Ohio State is averaging 52.5 points per game. What has helped Ohio State to find so much success on offense is the usage of more run-pass option plays.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson admits the Ohio State offense is complicated, but what he has been trying to do following the loss to Oklahoma is to remove the “clutter”, as he calls it. Wilson realizes that what slows a play down the most is when he has to think, and because of that he is working to simplify things.

So far the adjustments have worked, but it remains to be seen if the Buckeyes will be able to find the same success when they line up against Penn State, Michigan State, or Michigan, but at least Ohio State is working in the right direction to putting together a gameplan that could help them make it back to the College Football Playoff.

“I’m excited. I love a good hostile environment. Even though we lost, Penn State was pretty cool last year. Wisconsin was really cool. It’s just cool seeing so many fans wearing the same thing and going crazy.”

Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa via David Jablonski, Dayton Daily News

It might not quite have the mystique as in years past, but plenty of Ohio State players are excited to head to Lincoln for the atmosphere on Saturday night. The Buckeyes are more than three touchdown favorites over the Cornhuskers, but there’s no doubt the Nebraska fans will make themselves known at Memorial Stadium.

Saturday night’s game will mark just the second time ever the Buckeyes have made the trip to Lincoln. In 2011, Ohio State jumped out to a big first half lead, but they couldn’t make it stick, with Nebraska winning 34-27. Joe Bauserman decided the game needed some fan participation, as he threw numerous footballs into the crowd.

Ohio State will be hoping for a little better result than the last time they had to deal with a raucous crowd on the road in primetime game. Last year Ohio State slipped up against Penn State, and if the Buckeyes want to keep this year’s tilt with the Nittany Lions as a marquee game, they’ll need to add to Nebraska’s misery this year. The Buckeyes should be able to handle everything Nebraska and their fans throw at them, but at least it’ll give them some more experience on venturing into enemy territory for the rest of the season.

“I think he has a slight trust in me now. Come practice, we work on that all the time. Come the game, it comes easy because we work on it throughout the week. Come gametime, we’ve got to make it happen every week.”

Ohio State wide receiver Binjimen Victor via Tim Bielik, Northeast Ohio Media Group

Ohio State has a new target in the redzone and his name is Binjimen Victor. The sophomore wide receiver has four touchdown receptions this season, and all but one of those touchdown catches has come from inside the 20-yard line. The only touchdown from Victor that was longer than 20 yards came against Rutgers, where Victor was on the receiving end of a 23-yard touchdown from J.T. Barrett.

At 6-foot-4, Victor is an easy target inside the redzone for Barrett to try and find. With each week Victor not only is getting better, but his chemistry with Barrett becomes even stronger. The scary part about Victor as a wide receiver, is he still has plenty of room to improve. The Florida native is still pretty raw as a wide receiver, which is why he hasn’t seen more balls thrown his way. Also, Victor could add some weight to his frame, which would make him even harder for defenders to handle.

The wide receiver even knows that he isn’t where he wants to be right now, but if he is already this good then the Big Ten could be in trouble over the next few years. Victor has everything that teams are looking for as a wide receiver, he just has to put all the pieces together.

“The NCAA, there’s a couple of good guys, but internationally there’s still some guys that can wrestle pretty hard with me, and I want to compete against them and that’s where you learn the most about yourself.”

Ohio State wrestler Kyle Snyder via Jeff Helfrich, The Lantern

What more is left for Kyle Snyder to do? The Buckeye is already a NCAA champion, world champion, and Olympic champion. All those accomplishments and he is only just 21 years old. Now as Snyder preps for the 2020 Olympics, he is trying to challenge himself as much as possible.

Snyder is planning to not only wrestle at Ohio State this year, but he will also be a part of the World Wrestling Clubs Cup in December, as well as the Ivan Yarygin Memorial Grand Prix in Russia at the end of January. Unlike other sports, Snyder can take part in these classics because it won’t hurt Ohio State’s standing all that much when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.

Snyder isn’t the only Buckeye who will compete overseas this year, as junior Joey McKenna will be a part of the United States Under-23 World Team, which will compete in Poland in November. While Snyder is already at the top of his game, the experience will only help McKenna the rest of the season, as Ohio State looks to add another national title to their trophy case.

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