Ohio State Needs to Lean Into Its Strengths to Finish Strong in the Cotton Bowl
Ohio State enters the Cotton Bowl as a two-score favorite over Miami, but if the Buckeyes want to close out 2025 with a win - and keep their national title hopes alive - they’ll need to clean up a few things on offense. The Big Ten Championship Game offered a clear blueprint for what not to do. Now it’s about course correction.
Play Your Best - and Keep Them on the Field
Let’s start with the obvious: you can’t leave your top weapons on the sideline in the red zone and expect consistent results. Against Indiana, Ohio State had 16 red zone plays.
On more than half of them - 9, to be exact - neither Jeremiah Smith nor Carnell Tate was on the field. Whether that was due to injury management or a rotation decision, it sent the wrong message to both the opponent and the scoreboard.
Smith and Tate aren’t just elite talents - they’re arguably the top wide receiver duo in college football. Taking them off the field in scoring territory doesn’t just limit your options, it telegraphs to the defense that the passing threat has been dialed down. And in a close game, those are the kinds of decisions that come back to haunt you.
It’s not about knocking the depth on this roster - Ohio State has one of the most loaded skill position groups in the country. But there’s a time and place for rotating fresh legs, and the red zone in a championship game isn’t it.
The same goes for the running back rotation. It’s understandable to keep guys fresh during the grind of the regular season, but going four deep at tailback in a tight postseason battle?
That’s a luxury that borders on overcomplication.
And tight ends? Yes, they’re a big part of Ohio State’s offense, but when you’re cycling through too many personnel packages, it can disrupt rhythm and take the ball out of your best playmakers’ hands.
In the regular season, you manage reps. In the postseason, you let your stars win you games.
Red Zone Execution: Fixable, But Urgent
The red zone issues weren’t just about who was on the field - they were about what Ohio State was doing once it got there. In the Big Ten title game, the Buckeyes had two second-half drives that checked every box: double-digit plays, over six minutes each, more than 70 yards. And yet, they came away with zero points.
That simply can’t happen in a playoff environment.
Some of the solution ties back to personnel - again, get your best players involved when it matters most. But a big part of it is about identity. The Buckeyes need to walk into the Cotton Bowl knowing exactly who they are and what they want to do in scoring territory.
During their 12-0 regular season, Ohio State was at its best when it leaned into its strengths: precision passing, tempo, and letting Julian Sayin work the field with confidence. Sayin’s connection with Smith and Tate was a major reason the offense clicked. When they stuck to that formula, they controlled games.
But in the Big Ten Championship, they got away from that identity. Asking Sayin to be a threat in the run game - something he hadn’t done all year - was a head-scratcher.
So was relying on kicker Jayden Fielding for a chip shot, given his well-documented struggles in that area. Sure, you want your players to execute when called upon.
But there’s also something to be said for putting them in positions where they’ve already shown they can succeed.
Would it have made more sense to use Lincoln Kienholz in a red zone run package? Probably.
Could another kicker have handled the short attempt? Possibly.
The point is, the Buckeyes had options - and they didn’t go with the ones that played to their strengths.
The Good News? This Team Has Done It Before
The encouraging part for Ohio State fans is that these are all fixable issues. In fact, they’ve been fixed before. Last year, after a late-season loss, the Buckeyes regrouped, leaned into what they did best, and rode that wave all the way to a national title.
That kind of turnaround isn’t just possible - it’s already part of this program’s DNA.
The 2025 Buckeyes have shown that when they play their brand of football, they win. It’s that simple. Now, with the calendar about to flip and the stakes at their highest, it’s time to double down on that identity.
Let Sayin sling it. Keep Smith and Tate on the field when it matters.
Trust the system that got you to 12-0. If Ohio State does that, they won’t just win the Cotton Bowl - they’ll be a serious threat to run it back and defend their crown.