Look, we all have eyes. We all saw the same thing tonight in The Horseshoe. Bo Jackson is the best running back on Ohio State’s roster, and while he still has things that he needs to improve upon — as all true freshman RBs do — he gives the Buckeyes the best chance to have a productive running game, and therefore, the best chance to win.
At this point, this column isn’t arguing for Bo Jackson to be Ohio State’s RB1; it’s just stating a fact: Bo Jackson is Ohio State’s RB1. Does that mean in two weeks,
Jackson is going to start the game in the backfield against Washington? Not necessarily, but I think that Ryan Day realizes that his offense has the best chance at success with No. 25 carrying the ball. So, whether he is the technical starter or not, I think the days are gone when Jackson doesn’t get starter-level carries.
In the moments of the game when the Bobcats were putting the most pressure on OSU, it was Jackson who came in and made a play. On the night, he finished with nine carries for 109 yards (12.1 ypc). But even if you take out his 64-yard run that came up just short of the goal line (which is obviously not how stats work), he averaged a healthy 5.625 yards per carry. C.J. Donaldson also had nine carries, but only totaled 39 yards. Thanks to some late fourth-quarter success, James Peoples had 47 yards on seven carries.
Those other two guys are solid ball carrier options, and I think they still have plenty of value to give the team, but Jackson just opens up the offense in ways that the other two guys don’t. For all of the awfulness that Paul Burmeister and Chris Simms spewed on the Peacock broadcast (seriously, how many guys named Jaylen do they think are on this roster?), Simms did make a really important point.
Ohio State has the best wide receivers and tight ends in the country, but to fully take advantage of those weapons, you have to make defenses respect the run. If a defensive coordinator doesn’t feel like he needs to guard against the ground game, he can turn his full attention to defending the pass. If the defensive line can routinely handle the vast majority of rushing attempts (with maybe a little help from a linebacker or two), defensive coordinators will be able to allocate extra players to defending the pass, making it harder for Julian Sayin to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, et. al.
So far through three games, I just don’t get the feeling that either Donaldson or Peoples is going to strike fear into the hearts of opposing defenses… Jackson, on the other hand, very well might, and I think Day knows that.
The OSU offense looked dramatically less capable against OU when Bo was out of the game, especially when it was back-to-back plays, with Bo popping a solid gain on the first, and C.J. or James getting stonewalled on the second.
Now that the team is done with the non-conference schedule, things change as Big Ten play starts. While the B1G is no longer the three-yards-in-a-cloud-of-dust conference, but having success on the ground remains an invaluable part of Ohio State’s recipe for success. So, in my mind, Jackson should never come off the field.
Obviously, if he breaks off a long run and needs a breather, he should come out. On third-and-longs, when the Buckeyes are clearly going to be passing, it makes sense to put Donaldson in, who is a more experienced and proficient pass blocker. Maybe you even go with C.J. in short yardage (although I wouldn’t). But other than that, Bo Jackson needs to be on the field for every snap of consequence the rest of the season.
I know that fans and the coaching staff alike had hoped that James Peoples and C.J. Donaldson would be some sort of poor man’s TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, but that just hasn’t been borne out through three games. So, based on the backs currently at your disposal, it needs to go from a 1-A and 1-B setup to a clear 1, with a distant 2-A and 2-B behind him.
If you are concerned about Jackson hitting a freshman wall or his body not being ready for the wear and tear associated with being a running back in college football, sure, keep an eye on his snap count early in the season, but when it matters, he needs to be the guy lining up behind Julian Sayin.
And here’s the thing: If I know this, and you know this, you know who also knows this? Ryan Day, Brian Hartline, Carlos Locklyn, and Tyler Bowen. With an off week coming up before the Buckeyes travel to the Pacific Northwest to open the Big Ten schedule against Washington on Saturday, Sept. 27, there is time to truly drill down on the areas that the freshman back needs to improve upon before the team’s next game.
He obviously isn’t going to suddenly become a TreVeyon Henderson-style well-rounded back, who is just as likely to rip off an 80-yard TD run as he is to absolutely stand up a blitizing linebacker in just two extra weeks, but with his playmaking ability and extra attention on pass pro and ball security between now and the Big Ten opener, I am fully confident that he will give the Buckeyes the best chance to not only beat the Huskies, but to repeat as national champs.
Ryan Day has shown a different side of himself since his fourth straight loss to Michigan. He has almost completely embraced his inner Saban, and I think installing the freshman as RB1 will be the next piece of evidence to prove that (he could also consider moving Brandon Inniss out of the WR3 and PR1 spots, but that’s a conversation for another column).
Tonight in Ohio Stadium, on a jankety streaming service named after a colorful, mostly flightless bird, we all witnessed the start of the Bo Jackson Era in Columbus; now all we need is for Ryan Day to make it a reality.
