Ohio State Football: The Buckeyes' Best Weapon To Beat Florida in the Gator Bowl

Lost in all the Urban Meyer news and the frenzies that have come from it is the fact that there's still one more game to play.

Yes, the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl, which will be the second time in four years that the Buckeyes will face Florida in a January bowl game.

OSU is still in search of their first bowl win over an SEC team after their Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas last season was vacated.

And neither team compares to where they were just a few years ago.

Ohio State lacks the defensive punch that they have had in the last few seasons, and the Gators just don't have the consistent explosive plays their offense generates.

But the Buckeyes do have something that could be a huge advantage on the field in Jacksonville—the power run game.

The Gators are ranked No. 40 in run defense in the country, far and away fourth in the SEC.

And what OSU does best offensively is run the football, especially between the tackles, which is where the Gator defense is not very stout.

Backs Dan Herron, Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde each have had good games this year and bring different elements to the offense.

Herron is the experienced leader with great vision, Hall is as versatile as there is on the team, and Hyde is the hammer—a big back with surprising speed.

And QB Braxton Miller is also a dangerous runner, though he runs more with pure elusiveness and quickness. For a freshman, he has incredible vision.

Florida's defense will likely apply pressure at the point of attack because they, like most teams OSU has faced, won't respect the pass.

And they don't have a reason to do so.

But OSU has been able to run the ball pretty well in spite of those problems and occasionally complete a few passes.

That won't fly in the Urban Meyer offense that actually should use more modern offensive concepts.

Take ease Buckeye fans, for Jan. 2 will be the last time you have to suffer through a Jim Bollman game.

Hopefully, the offense can be better under Tom Herman. But really, can it get any worse?

But with the power running attack of Ohio State, the Buckeyes might be able to power their way to a Gator Bowl win.

 

Follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim for the latest college football news and updates.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1000237-ohio-state-football-the-buckeyes-best-weapon-to-beat-florida-in-the-gator-bowl

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