Ohio State’s offense defines the current era of college football as well as any. The Buckeyes are averaging better than 40 points per game for the 6th straight season.

This is the age of scoring.

And that makes the defense the Bucks are about to face all the more extraordinary.

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Georgia is allowing fewer than 13 points per game for the second straight season. The Bulldogs have slipped a bit this year, falling from 10.3 ppg allowed in 2021 to 12.8 this season. That’s what happens when 5 members of your defense are taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The Dawgs are at their most impenetrable against the run, and it’s there that they are actually slightly improved from a year ago. Georgia is allowing 76.9 rushing yards per game compared to 78.9 in 2021.

With no TreVeyon Henderson at their disposal, will the Buckeyes become the first team in the past 4 seasons to crack the Bulldogs on the ground?

Kirby Smart’s brainchild

Only 2 teams have bested 4 yards per carry against Georgia this season.

Missouri, the team that came closest to beating the Bulldogs, gained 102 yards on 21 carries in a 26-22 loss. Oregon gained 140 yards on 31 carries in the season opener, but did so in the context of a 49-3 loss. (Florida also gained 100 yards on the ground against Georgia, though the Gators averaged only 2.9 yards per carry in doing so.)

No team has gone over 5 yards per carry or 200 rushing yards in a game against Georgia’s defense since 2018. Alabama averaged 5.4 yards per carry and rushed for 3 touchdowns in the 2018 SEC championship game, and LSU gained 275 yards on 51 carries in a 36-16 win over the Dawgs that October.

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Kentucky’s Chris Rodriguez Jr. is the most recent running back to gain 100 yards against Georgia. In 2020.

The Bulldogs have allowed only 4 gains of more than 20 yards on the ground all season.

That’s what Ohio State’s offense finds itself up against.

Rarely do we ask whether the Buckeyes are capable of moving the ball on the ground against an opponent, but in this case it’s applicable.

And based on this season’s results, it feels like that answer could go in either direction.

How Ohio State has fared against top run defenses

The Buckeyes have faced 4 top-20 run defenses this season, producing a decidedly scattered bag of results.

  • Wisconsin (No. 10 run D): 43 carries, 258 yards, 2 TDs
  • Iowa (No. 13 run D): 30 carries, 66 yards, 1 TD
  • Penn State (No. 14 run D): 26 carries, 98 yards, 3 TDs
  • Michigan (No. 3 run D): 29 carries, 143 yards, 0 TDs

The Iowa and Penn State games were in back-to-back weeks, at which time there was considerable fretting done over Ohio State’s ability to run the ball. Outside of a late 41-yard TreVeyon Henderson touchdown run, the Buckeyes has 25 carries for 57 yards against the Nittany Lions.

Despite Henderson’s limited availability since the Penn State game — he only played against Maryland before his foot injury finally shelved him for the season — Ohio State has hit the ground running.

In November, the Buckeyes led the B1G with an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Ohio State averaged 212.5 rushing yards per game, which was second only to Michigan in the conference.

The Michigan game is probably the most encouraging sign for the Buckeyes heading into the Peach Bowl.

Chip Trayanum, a former linebacker who was 4th on Ohio State’s running back depth chart, managed 83 yards on 14 carries. There was some creativity in getting wide receiver Xavier Johnson a couple carries for 24 yards. And it also didn’t seem like the best Ohio State is capable of doing since the game plan weirdly limited Miyan Williams and Dallan Hayden to 10 combined carries.

There’s no replicating Georgia’s defensive front, but the Wolverines may come the closest nationally. On a yards per carry basis, Michigan is actually slightly stingier, allowing 2.92 yards per carry to Georgia’s 2.93.

Iowa, at 2.88 YPC allowed, is better than both, which adds another layer of context to Ohio State’s worst rushing performance this season.

So too is Wisconsin (2.91 YPC), which allowed the Buckeyes to romp for 6 yards per carry. No other team averaged more than 3.4 YPC against the Badgers this year.

How vital will the run game be to Ohio State?

Georgia, which ranks 49th nationally in passing yards allowed, is vulnerable through the air. LSU managed to throw for 502 yards against the Bulldogs in the SEC championship game.

Much like the Iowa game, Ohio State could theoretically pull out a win without doing much on the ground. But it seems likely Smart’s defense will sell out to defend the pass and dare Ohio State to see if it can make anything happen on the ground. Smart’s defenses aren’t beat the same way twice in a row.

Beating Georgia likely demands a semblance of balance. The numbers are unlikely to match the Wisconsin game, when Ohio State threw for 281 yards and rushed for 258. But establishing the ability to do both is paramount.