Why the Ohio State football team is so concerned with the offensive line

The Ohio State football team needed an interception on the final drive of the game in order to beat Nebraska. Winning the game 21-17 after coming off a bye week was not what the Buckeyes had in mind. One of the biggest reasons why the Buckeyes struggled in that game is the play of the offense line. It was the worst that the unit has played all year.

Not having Josh Simmons is a disaster. Zen Michalski replaced him at left tackle and it did not go well. He got beaten on both pass plays and run plays, so it’s not like he was great in one area or the other. He got hurt at the end of the game, so he might not even play against Penn State this weekend. It’s a massive concern for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The offensive line is a big problem for the Ohio State football team

The Buckeyes don’t have a good answer for replacing Simmons at left tackle. It sounds like they might be swinging Donovan Jackson out to left tackle and shuffling the guards around. Even if they do that, the lack of depth is a massive problem. There’s no guarantee that Austin Siereveld and Tegra Tshabola will hold up at guard if that’s what they decide to do.

Penn State has a really good pass rush when they have their guys healthy. Not only that, but they do a great job of stopping the run. They only allow 93 yards per game on the ground, which is eight-best in the country. Having an offensive line that is struggling doesn’t bode well heading into this game.

The Buckeyes are in trouble if they can’t run the football again in this game. It’s what the offense is built to do. The offensive line needs to show that they can win the line of scrimmage. Otherwise, the Buckeyes will be adding another loss to their total.