How bad was Ohio State’s game plan vs. Michigan? Where Chip Kelly went wrong and what’s next……Read more

How bad was Ohio State’s game plan vs. Michigan? Where Chip Kelly went wrong and what’s next

I knew the film of Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to Michigan wasn’t going to get any better once I rewatched it on Sunday night, but I didn’t think it would get much worse.

It did.

This is going to be a different film study than normal. I’m not going to use as many clips, because, to me, this wasn’t a scheme issue. Ohio State was outmatched up front and the coaching staff decided it wanted to stick to a plan that wasn’t working. That’s what cost Ohio State the game.

So let’s get into what happened and what’s next.

Worst called game by Chip Kelly of the season

I don’t know the intricacies of Kelly’s career enough to know if Saturday was the worst called game he’s ever had, but I know that if he was hoping to get a call from the NFL this offseason, those chances just took a hit. He was completely outclassed by Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

Everybody knew that the only way Ohio State could lose that game is by letting the Michigan defensive front dominate. Guess what it did?

Last week, on The Athletic’s “Until Saturday” podcast, my colleague David Ubben asked me if I thought Ohio State would stretch the field instead of trying to run into a brick wall over and over again. I told him the Buckeyes would run into the brick wall over and over again. That’s because that’s what Kelly has done this year.

The problem is, he hadn’t faced a defensive line as good as Michigan’s all year. Throughout the season, he was able to mix things up with counters, sweeps, stretches and RPOshttps://ftsportsnews.com/?p=8247&preview=true to move the defensive line. He did that a few times on Saturday and the runs popped for big yardage, like Quinshon Judkins’ 15-yard run on fourth down, which came off a heavy look that seemed like a quarterback sneak was coming.

But too often Kelly decided he wanted to trust an offensive line that did nothing recently to deserve that trust. Ohio State ran for just 0.62 yards before contact per rush, according to TruMedia, compared to its season average of 2.46. If you think that’s bad, Ohio State ran for only 0.21 yards before contact against Indiana. The only difference is that Indiana couldn’t tackle as well and Ohio State averaged more than 4 yards after contact as opposed to just 2.3 yards after contact against Michigan.

This was the most mind-numbing call of the season. Ohio State spent all season being an aggressive offense that wanted to impose its will on defenses. Until Michigan, when it tucked its tail between its legs and tried to leave the game on the foot of Jayden Fielding.

 

Tegra Tshabola hasn’t been consistent this year. And I’m not trying to pick on him, because nobody on the offensive line played well on Saturday, but I’m using this to prove a larger point. You have Michigan’s star defensive lineman Mason Graham lined up against Tshabola. And the call is a draw — against a team with no quality corners on the field? Graham won this rep with ease.

 

Now, would Ohio State have gotten the first down even if Graham got stonewalled and Tshabola won? No. The entire second level was waiting on the run.

 

This is coaching malpractice. You are Ohio State, arguably the most talented team in the country, with three NFL receivers on the field. Throw the ball