How Ohio State rode its inside and outside zone run game, explosive pass plays designed for Don Brown's coverage schemes, and a key halftime defensive adjustment of switching to nickel, man-free looks to a 56-27 victory over Michigan.
Ohio State rode its zone run game, explosive pass plays, and halftime defensive adjustments to a comfortable 56-27 victory over Michigan.
The Buckeye offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage against the Wolverines’ undersized defensive tackles throughout. Ohio State relied primarily on split inside and outside zone, along with tight zone in short yardage situations.
To run inside and outside split zone, the Buckeye tight end frequently motioned in from an outside flanker position to the opposite side Y-off alignment, flipping the offense’s run strength. This forced the Michigan hybrid “Viper” to follow back into the box and required the Wolverines to re-set their force support and run fits – often leading to a lack of defensive contain.
While Ohio State head coach and play caller Ryan Day mixed inside zone and outside zone between the twenties, he relied almost exclusively on wide zone inside the ten yard line. Near the goal line Michigan largely played cover 1 man. So the Buckeyes often ran wide zone away from twins wide receivers, pulling the two defensive backs out of the box. The split zone action from the tight end then pulled the Viper away from run support, and the Ohio State interior offensive line superbly executed the lateral blocking scheme.
