Ohio State is one of a handful of teams projected to contend for a national championship this fall, but if the Buckeyes haven’t fixed their issues defending the spread, they could be out of the title race by mid-October. That may seem like a dramatic statement now, especially for a team with the nation’s longest active winning streak and 13 starters returning to the fold (including Heisman hopeful Braxton Miller at quarterback) this season. Ohio State, though, is coming off a 2012 campaign where over half of its opponents spread the Buckeyes’ defense out with an enormous amount of success. In fact, it wasn’t until Ohio State faced some of the more traditional offenses in the Big Ten that the defense started performing at the level Buckeyes’ fans are used to seeing. The start of the season was something completely different. All but one of Ohio State’s first seven opponents (Michigan State) ran some version of a spread offense, and during
Continue Reading: Ohio State Football: Will OSU Struggle Defending the Spread This Season?
