Chip Kelly’s impressive offense will be sorely tested by Iowa’s defense, ranked 18th in total defense, and averaging 13.8 per game. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The Ohio State offense has seen little resistance in a 4-0 start. How it does against Iowa’s defense will say a lot about just how far Chip Kelly’s unit has come in his first season.
Columbus, OH – With each passing game in a football season, questions are answered or left hanging.
Left hanging is especially true this season for Ohio State’s offense without high-level, early-season tests. Each opponent has been better than the last, but none have been top tier, even if Michigan State looked better than expected last Saturday.
Ohio State’s offensive talent is undeniable. The execution has been mostly crisp. And while the evolution of the offense has been on a positive trajectory, questions linger despite the splashy highlights delivered each week.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
How good is this offense, really? How will it perform against high-level defenses?
What we can answer so far is this: Through four victories, Chip Kelly’s offense made scoring touchdowns look easy. Anything less would have been cause for concern.
Finally, however, easy paths to the end zone are not what the No. 3 Buckeyes say they expect Saturday against unranked Iowa, a program whose identity puts the D in defense.
“This is challenging our whole building this week,” head coach Ryan Day said on Tuesday.
On the other side of the Iowa challenge – no matter what kind of game it is – opinions about the offense may vary but will be more well-defined. Not a final analysis but more data to crunch.
Phil Parker is the architect of the Iowa defense. This is his 13th season as defensive coordinator, and he has been with head coach Kirk Ferentz for all of Ferentz’s 26 seasons. Four of Parker’s past six defenses have ranked in the nation’s top 10 in total defense. Last year the Hawkeyes were No. 2 and first in the Big Ten. Through a 3-1 start that includes a loss to Iowa State, the Hawkeyes are No. 18 in total defense and allowing 13.8 points per game.
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“They understand how they’re being attacked,” Day said. “When you’re playing against a defense like this, you better line up and play and know what you’re doing. Ultimately, it comes down to what our players know and what they can execute.”
The Buckeyes are fast learners in their first season in Chip Kelly’s offense. Some of the key players – quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith – are in their first season as Buckeyes. The schedule has given them the chance to acclimate.
“It’s every coach’s job to make things that maybe aren’t simple, simple,” Day said. “They’re not easy, but you got to make them simple. As coaches, it’s one to two, it’s A to B, and it’s not always that easy, but, it’s simple, and that allows players to play fast.”
The Buckeyes offense is hitting on all cylinders, through the air, and on the ground (TreVeyon Henderson, above).
As much as Ohio State’s talent wows with its speed, this offense has what every offense, regardless of talent level, needs to score against the best defenses, according to Day.
“The sign of a really good player and a really good football team is when guys are willing to do the dirty work,” Day said.
Against Michigan State, for example, when Smith coasted freely around the right side of the line of scrimmage on a reverse and almost effortlessly into the end zone, nothing about that play was as easy as it appeared. The dirty work accentuated the pretty play.
On that play, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and tight end Gee Scott made blocks on the edge that sprung Smith. Egbuka, who got more attention for his catches, yards and touchdown, blocked a linebacker.
“If you saw him on the field, he was fired up after that play when Jeremiah scored,” Day said. “To me, that’s winning football. He had some really big plays again in this game, but he does all the dirty work.”
That play further emphasized the importance of Smith’s addition to the offense. He’s scored six touchdowns in four games and is the most explosive weapon in a cache of explosive weapons. Smith is high on defensive coordinators’ scouting reports, and now they have to be ready for him running.
“That’s the tricky part – how much can you do because of all the other things that are going on?” Day said. “That’s the idea of putting stress on the defense. There’s no question that people want to know where No. 4 is on the field.”
Deploying Smith to different spots will reveal a lot about what Iowa most wants to stop. And Kelly vs. Parker will have the feel of a chess match at times. But Kelly said it’s not about trying to out-scheme. It’s not about trying to run a play for the sake of running a play. Are all 11 ready to execute the play is the key to any call, he says.
With Smith, Egbuka and Carnell Tate catching most of the passes and the rotation of TreVeyon Henderson and Judkins running the football, Kelly was asked Tuesday about goals he has for how many touches each player gets.
He gave the right answer. And one – based on the team-first, selfless talk we’ve heard this season – the playmakers are likely to agree with.
“The ability to have weapons at all spots makes the defense have to defend all spots, so we’re not trying to specifically go to one or another,” Kelly said. “We’re just trying to see how they deploy versus these formations and what their tendencies are, and then what are our best chances.”
Kelly projects a healthy respect for Iowa’s defense that routinely is strong up front, produces All-American linebackers and puts a defensive back every now and then into the first round of the NFL draft.
“They really, truly teach their system, and they develop players,” Kelly said. “It starts in recruiting for them. They know exactly what all 11 guys skill sets are and what are required for them to execute the defense that they deploy.
“It’ll be the best-coached defense we’ve faced all season long.”
And more questions about Ohio State’s offense will be answered.
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