Ghosts of Playoffs Past

31-0.

Chances are that's all you've heard about since, well, forget Selection Sunday, you've heard about this ever since it was obvious that Clemson was going to run the table and one of LSU and Ohio State was going to be stuck facing them out in the desert. And yet Ohio State's performances in these situations shouldn't be judged by their most recent showing, a sample size of just one game; we deserve to take a look at all of these matchups in recent memory. No, no, not Ohio State's rich history against Clemson; I've already covered that in another post. Rather, Ohio State being back in a playoff game for the seventh time this century (if we categorize the BCS national championship as a two-team playoff). I've spend the last couple weeks taking some trips down memory lane to relive each of Ohio State's previous six playoff/BCS appearances (sometimes for the first time since seeing them live) and seeing sticks out and what patterns arise. Yes, college football looks drastically different today than when the Miami Hurricanes were cock of the walk back in 01-02, but there are still lessons to be learned for this Saturday's upcoming matchup.*

*Past performance is not indicative of future results. But let's have some fun anyway!

2003 Fiesta Bowl: #2 Ohio State 31 - #1 Miami 24 (2OT)
Game summary in one sentence: Buckeye defense plays the game of its life and offense avoids game-turning disasters.

Rewatching this game, two things really jump out at me: (1) the Hurricanes were not ready for the multiple looks the Buckeye defense were throwing at them, and (2) Craig Krenzel was an absolute wizard escaping pressure. Krenzel was rolled out on practically every dropback to avoid Miami's pass rush up the middle and was sacked only once all night, though he was knocked down over 20 times. Krenzel finished as the game's leading rusher both by total yards and yards per carry. For everyone who said Ohio State could never win a national title with JT Barrett at QB, they essentially did in 2002 against an offense featuring two Heisman finalists.

And it was because of the defense. Miami's first snap of the game was a sack (the Buckeyes finished with 4 on the night) and the Buckeyes forced 5 turnovers. They had an answer for everything but Miami TE Kellen Winslow, Jr. And for everyone who thought it was fashionable to pick on Dustin Fox, he did a better job covering Roscoe Parrish than Gamble did against Andre Johnson, and Fox forced two turnovers to boot, the second of which should have iced the game late in the fourth quarter.

It's eerie how many of this game's iconic moments were foreshadowed:

• On Roscoe Parrish's first punt return attempt (a fair catch), the announcers warned about how dangerous he was. Parrish was bottled up the entire game on returns until his last chance, late in the 4th, which set up Miami's last second tying FG. Interestingly, Parrish had just fumbled a few plays early after a long reception.
• Chris Gamble (on defense) got called for a super weak holding call in the second quarter, tugging on the back of Andre Johnson's jersey, much less egregious than either (1) the holding call that was missed on Gamble's near-reception late in the 4th quarter, or (2) the famous pass interference call on a pass to Gamble in OT.
• Just before half, Willis McGahee took a quick completion and Will Allen rammed right into his knee. In the second half, just as Miami started to get its run game going, Allen tore off every CL in McGahee's knee on a similar hit.
• Just after half, Cie Grant blitzed Dorsey on 3rd down, forcing a quick throw to McGahee, who stopped just short of the sticks anticipating a hit from Dustin Fox and failed to pick up the first down, forcing a Miami punt. This foreshadows both (1) the hit to McGahee described above, and (2) Grant's iconic game-ending blitz on 4th down in 2OT.
• In the third quarter, facing a 3rd and 6, Krenzel hits Michael Jenkins but Jenkins jumps to catch the ball and his feet come down just out of bounds. This foreshadows both (1) the 3rd down throw to Gamble late in the fourth quarter that was incorrectly ruled out of bounds, and (2) the huge completion to Jenkins near the sideline on 4th and 14 in OT.

Never forget that Lydell Ross had significant carries in a national championship game that Ohio State won, including being part of 3 of OSU's 4 touchdown drives.

2007 BCS National Championship: #2 Florida 41 - #1 Ohio State 14
Game summary in one sentence: Buckeyes make the least of limited opportunities on both sides of the ball.

It was uncanny watching the Florida offense operate in this game; it was like watching 2010's era Ohio State work over 2000's era Ohio State.

If field position doesn't win ball games, it does a lot of the heavy lifting. Florida got the ball in Ohio State territory on 4 of their 7 first half possessions through a combination of dumb personal foul penalties, turnovers, and turnovers on downs, and turned those opportunities into 24 points, i.e., more points than Ohio State scored all game.

Hand in hand with field position is 3rd down conversions. In the first half, Florida was 7 for 10. Ohio State? 1 for 5. The Buckeye D tightened in the second half and held UF to 3 of 9 but the irreparable damage was done by that point.

Running the ball with Antonio Pittman was working all game except when it was most desperately needed, on a 4th and 1 from the Buckeye 29 after the Buckeyes clawed back to down 7.

You wouldn't notice it unless you watched this game right after the Miami championship, but somehow Craig Krenzel is a more slippery runner than Troy Smith. I can't count the number of times Troy ran directly into the Florida pass rush.

2008 BCS National Championship: #2 LSU 38 - #1 Ohio State 24
Game summary in one sentence: Buckeye miscues tip competitive game in favor of opponent.

Watching this game hurt the most because it was the only one of the losses the Buckeyes could've realistically won. The Buckeyes jumped all over LSU early and had a 10 point lead, and it wasn't because of fluky plays.

2007 had maybe the second best collection of LBs in Buckeye history (after Hawk, Carpenter, and Schlegel in 2005), but James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman had a quiet game compared to the third amigo, Larry Grant. Laurinaitis had 18 tackles and Freeman had 14 but neither had many impact plays.

On the other side of the ball, Brian Hartline was the only receiver doing any work. Boeckman just should have looked his way on every pass play.

Up 10-3, Ohio State punts and LSU fumbles inside the 20, then falls on the ball. The next two drives were an LSU TD and an OSU blocked field goal. What could've been...

Speaking of what could've been, if I had to pick the most important play of all 6 of these games, it would be the roughing the punter on LSU's opening drive of the second half. Down 24-10, Ohio State forced LSU into a 4th and 23 and had a chance to retake all of the momentum, and Austin Spitler dove for the punter's foot instead of diving in front of his foot to block the punt. Instead of getting the ball in LSU territory, LSU kept the ball at Ohio State's 45.

Capping that same drive, Matt Flynn found Early Doucet at the 5 yard line and broke 3 tackles on his way into the endzone for LSU's fourth straight TD drive in a row (other than an end of half kneelout). Shockingly, the defense actually finally showed up after that embarrassment, but again, the damage was done.

And a lot of the damage was done on, you guessed it, third down. First half third down conversions: LSU 8 for 10, OSU 2 for 7. The defense settled down at halftime (LSU went 3 for 7 in the second half) but the offense didn't (1 for 6 in the second half).

2015 Sugar Bowl: #4 Ohio State 42 - #1 Alabama 35
Game summary: Buckeyes make lion's share of mistakes but not enough to waste clear advantage on both sides of the ball.

If Craig Krenzel was slippery, Cardale Jones was a dump truck running against this Bama D. Linemen, linebackers, safeties, it doesn't matter, Cardale will run you over, and he will seek the contact despite there being nobody left behind him on the depth chart.

Having a run threat weapon like that is how you flip the script on third down. After the Florida and LSU debacles, OSU opens the first half going 7 for 10 on third down (and most of them were 3rd and loooong). Bama went 2 for 13 on third down all game. The Buckeyes cooled off a bit in the second half (3 of 8) but big plays made the difference.

If Ohio State doesn't spew the ball all over the field in the first quarter this game is never close. Zeke started gashing Bama for a 54 yard run on Ohio State's first drive and he never looked back. Go back and watch that 54 yard run; it's even better than the more famous 85 Yards Through the Heart of the South.

The only other negative for the Buckeyes was the play calling in their goal-to-go situations:

• Cardale run for no gain
• Cardale pass incomplete
• Cardale pass incomplete (field goal)
• Cardale sack for loss of 8 yards
• Cardale completion for 5 yards
• Cardale pass incomplete (field goal)
• Cardale run for loss of 1 yard
• Cardale pass incomplete, with DPI
• Cardale pass to Marshall for loss of 1 yard (at this point in the game, Zeke has 111 yards on 10 carries but whatever)
• Zeke run for 3 yards
• Zeke run for 3 yards, FIRST TD OF THE DAY

I lied, one last problem. Late in the game, with a 2 TD lead, Ohio State seemed determined to let Bama back in the game. First, Tyvis Powell and Doran Grant both decide to bite on a double move and allow a 50 yard bomb over their heads. Then, the Bucks try for a home run ball instead of eating clock and feeding Zeke. Thankfully, Bama's clock management skills on their last drive are terrible and their Hail Mary is devoured by Tyvis Powell.

One of the most fun things about rewatching these games is the "hey, it's that guy!" moments where forgotten players get a chance to shine. The most "hey, it's that guy!" guy from this game is WR Corey Smith, who blew up multiple Alabama kickoff returns inside the 20 (Urban's coffin corner kickoff strategy was masterfully realized in this game) and had some nice blocks to go along with a catch.

2015 College Football Playoff National Championship: #4 Ohio State 42 - #2 Oregon 20
Game summary: Buckeyes' multiple mistakes barely slow down a complete domination.
I still can't believe Oregon was a 7 point favorite in this game. Did the oddsmakers even watch the Sugar Bowl? At any rate, it looked like they would be vindicated early. Oregon score, Buckeye punt, and Oregon is only stopped by a drop on 3rd down on their next drive.

Zeke was great against Wisconsin and Alabama, but he was virtually unstoppable in this game, as was Cardale on the scramble. After their first drive, the Buckeyes did not punt again until halfway through the fourth quarter (except for a punt right before half as OSU tried to run out the clock and failed). There are four turnovers sprinkled in that mix, but all were on drives on which the offense was moving the ball. The all-important third down? Ohio State converted 5 for 8 in the first half (plus a fourth down conversion), compared to Oregon's 2 for 8.

I love JK Dobbins, and I think he's going to have a big game against Clemson, but give me Zeke any day of the week for his speed advantage and outstanding blocking prowess.

Oregon made a few mistakes as well (mostly drops on wide open deep balls) overall the Buckeye D was pretty solid all day. WR Byron Marshall and RB Travis Tyner (not Royce Freeman for some reason) were the only Ducks to find any room to work.

2016 Fiesta Bowl: #2 Clemson 31 - #3 Ohio State 0
Game summary in one sentence: Unimaginative offensive game plan squanders good defensive effort.

This was the only loss in the bunch that was not a total team failure by the Buckeyes. The defense actually played pretty well, notwithstanding the 31 points. Both second half touchdowns were on short fields, and the defense scored two interceptions early in the game, one to set up the offense with a scoring opportunity (missed field goal #1) and one to end a Clemson scoring threat.

Oh, and Cameron Johnston was unimpeachable: 7 punts averaging 49.7 yards, with a long of 61 and 3 down inside the 20.

The offense didn't just suffer from a lack of preparation; the in-game decision making was maddening as well. On Ohio State's first drive into Clemson territory, Michael Jordan went down to an injury and was replaced by Demetrious Knox at LG. On third and 1, the Buckeyes run JT TO THE LEFT and Knox misses the snap count, standing there like a statue while the DL devours JT. Tyler Durbin, who at this point is a total head case after missing two easy FGs against Michigan, then blows a scoring chance.

The receiving corps was a hellscape this year. After the departure of Devin Smith and Michael Thomas, the only upperclassman of note was Corey Smith, and the only other options were the young guns Noah Brown, Binjamin Victor, K.J. Hill, Terry McLaurin, and Parris Campbell (who was involved kickoffs only), who at this point, we know, were not getting any meaningful guidance from their position coach. All day it seemed like the only guy JT even looked at was Curtis Samuel, who was had 9 catches on 11 targets. OSU's other receivers? 7 catches on 22 targets.

Not that the coaches trusted the receivers or JT anyway. I don't think I saw a deep route until the game was practically out of hand and the Buckeyes just said "screw it" and started chucking it on every play (which, incidentally, gave them their best drive of the game).

Also, for a team that supposedly couldn't throw down field, Ohio State showed zero commitment to the run game. Mike Weber didn't get a single carry until halfway through the second quarter and didn't get a second until the second half. Of course, he did fumble on his second and third carries, so maybe the coaching staff knew something we didn't...

Once more, the third downs tell the story. Clemson went 8 for 17 (not a bad performance by the defense) and Ohio State went 3 for 14, including an abysmal 2 for 9 in the first half.