With the college football championship just around the corner, we’ll take a look at one of the teams that will be competing. The Ohio State Buckeyes were able to shock a lot of people by dismantling Clemson behind stellar play from quarterback Justin Fields. Now, they will need to repeat a lot of the things they did right in order to emerge victorious against Alabama. Let’s take a look at this online betting matchup and some points to keep in mind for Ohio State.
Four Keys for Ohio State
Keep Moving The Ball Through The Air
This team was most successful when it chose to throw the football against Clemson and will need to once again to keep up with this explosive Alabama offense. Fields threw for 385 yards and a Sugar Bowl-record six touchdowns en route to a 49-28 win. Fields was on target with great help from his top target Chris Olave who reeled in six receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns. That has to carry over.
Run The Ball, Control The Clock
Of course, the passing game earned a lot of attention but the running game was fantastic, too. It particularly stepped up after Fields was injured. The Tigers knew that the Buckeyes were going to run and Clemson still couldn’t stop it. Trey Sermon finished with 192 rushing yards and a touchdown as Ohio State held the ball for nearly eight more minutes. Doing that again will put the Buckeyes in a good position to win and cover the college football odds.
Force Turnovers
If you want to win a football game regardless of talent, you have to be safe with the football and avoid careless turnovers. This team cannot afford many mistakes against the Tide so it will need to practice ball security and Fields will need to avoid interceptions. On the other end, the Buckeyes are going to have to make some big plays on defense to give their offense extra opportunities. They got an interception last week against Clemson and will need one or two more to try and get an edge.
Capitalize In The Red Zone
This is something that a lot of teams preach. Ohio State can’t win by kicking field goals, it is going to have to put up touchdowns once in the red zone. Alabama is far too good on offense for the Buckeyes to win by kicking field goals. They need to have a great red-zone plan and will need to execute to perfection.
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