Ohio State Football Faces Locker Room and Line Questions

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Ohio State Faces Questions After Back-to-Back Losses

Ohio State’s loss to Oregon was stunning, particularly after the fake punt. The team did not appear to recover from that play, and the game snowballed from there. After consecutive losses, there will be plenty written about the state of the program.

The next three games should reveal a lot about the locker room. If Ohio State wins out, there is still a complicated path to the Big Ten championship, although the team will need help, potentially from USC. More importantly, Ohio State must look the part after failing to do so over the past two weeks.

The Oregon game appeared to be a perfect opportunity to bounce back from the struggle against USC. The expectation was that the offense would get moving and the defense would make adjustments, but it seemed as though little changed during the week of practice. That raises questions about the locker room and how the team responds moving forward.

Ohio State must win its final three games. Even if the team does not reach the playoffs, finishing strongly could create momentum going into next year.

There are also questions about the program’s culture in the NIL era, especially with a reported 51 new players at Ohio State. Some players grow up wanting nothing more than to play for the Buckeyes, while others develop that connection after joining the program. That level of love for the program may be a missing piece, even though the roster remains highly talented.

The defense also lost all 11 players from the national championship unit to the draft. With players such as Arvell Reese now producing on Sundays, some decline on that side of the ball was inevitable, though the size of the drop has been surprising.

The central question is whether the problems come from scheme, coaching or player execution. There may be broader cultural concerns, but there have also been specific game issues, including the fake punt and poor open-field tackling over the past two weeks.

Dominant college football teams tend to share one trait: strength along both lines. Ohio State’s national championship teams and its best teams over the last 15 to 20 years were strong up front on both sides of the ball. This season’s defensive line has not looked as good as those past units.

The offensive line has also fallen short of expectations despite returning three players who were integral to the national championship run. The team has struggled to run the ball consistently outside of the USC game, and Julian was under pressure even before his injury.

Teams such as Georgia, Alabama, Utah and Notre Dame have succeeded in the trenches. Ohio State has not played to the potential or expectations many had for the team at the start of the year.