OSU must develop run game

The news was almost buried — which is pretty amazing when one considers its import.

When it was announced last week that Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller was injured and would miss the 2014 season, many Buckeye fans in northeast Ohio put the news aside.

After all, there was the Browns quarterback battle going on and the national media was sniffing around wondering why coach Mike Pettine didn’t proclaim Johnny Football the starter no matter how unprepared he is.

We also were waiting, in the aftermath of LeBron James’ return, for the Cavaliers’ Kevin Love trade to be finalized. As Cleveland fans, some of us were waiting for something to happen to screw things up. Isn’t that the way these things go for Cleveland fans?

The college football season as a whole has seemingly snuck up on us even though it will be considered a monumental season, the first in which a playoff will decide the national champion. And maybe part of the reason the Buckeyes and their injured quarterback have not been top of mind is the recruiting ability of coach Urban Meyer.

I’m not one who follows the recruiting wars all that closely, but Meyer has brought in a boatload of skill position players, hybrid receiver-running back types who share one particular quality — speed. Meyer continues to remake the Buckeyes into the image of a Southeastern Conference team in order to compete on a national level.

Miller’s replacement, redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett from Texas, was identified in the days following the injury as a good “distributor” of the ball. He apparently is gifted at getting the ball quickly into the hands of the skill position players on the edge and letting them do their thing.

That’s all well and good and no one is predicting the Buckeyes are headed for a .500 season because of the loss of Miller. But despite his sometimes inconsistent passing ability, Miller did provide another quality running threat in the backfield alongside the also-departed Carlos Hyde.

Remember this, Buckeye fans. An offensive attack based on speed is wonderful in September and October but Big Ten November weather is a different story.

In order for any Big Ten champion to make the four-team playoff field, it probably will have to go undefeated or have just one loss. In order to do that, the Buckeyes will have to win five games in November, three in Columbus, one in East Lansing, Mich., and one in Minneapolis.

Go look at the map and then check out the weather reports — wind, rain, wind, snow flurries, wind, 30-degree temperatures, wind. In order to win football games in November in Big Ten country you must be able to run the ball. With four starters gone from the offensive line and its two top running threats gone, Ohio State must develop a running game as the season goes on.

The Buckeyes might be making progress in their ability to succeed in December or January at warm-weather sites or in domes, but they won’t get to those games if they aren’t able to win outside in November.

Doug Chapin is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Email him at dchapin@vindy.com