The two teams Ohio State lost to this season are now playing in the national championship next Monday night.
On one hand, it shows that Indiana and Miami are both really good teams. But on the other hand, it shows how far,
at least right now, the Buckeyes are away from winning a national championship in one key area.
Indiana and Miami both beat Ohio State this season. The Hoosiers are a flashy team, but they can still win at the line of scrimmage. Miami, though, straight up bullied the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals.
It’s no coincidence that these two teams are playing for a national championship. The line of scrimmage is still a vital part of the game, and the Hoosiers and Hurricanes both excel in that area.
When Indiana beat Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship in December, they laid the blueprint for other teams on how to beat the Buckeyes. The Hoosiers pressured Julian Sayin up the middle, and then they sealed the edges so he couldn’t escape the pocket.
That’s a part of Sayin’s game that still isn’t quite there; His ability to get outside the pocket, when he gets pressured up the middle, and make plays to Ohio State’s elite receivers.
Miami basically copied the game plan Indiana used in the Big Ten Championship to shut down Ohio State’s offense in the Cotton Bowl. They got constant pressure on Sayin with their defensive front of Ahkeem Mesidor and Ruben Bain Jr., which flustered the young quarterback into mistakes against Miami’s talented secondary.
The Buckeyes saw in their two biggest games of the season that trench warfare is still vital to winning in the Postseason. Any team, the Buckeyes in particular, can have all the playmakers in the world. But they become moot points if their offensive line can’t keep the quarterback upright.
Amid the humbling and disappointing end to the 2025 season, Ohio State saw what they must revert back to if they’re going to win in the postseason in 2026.
The blueprint has been laid. We will see how the Buckeyes respond.
