Al Golden | Ohio State Offense Presents Challenges Everywhere

Jeremiah Smith may have garnered a great deal of the attention, but in reality, it’s the collection of the Ohio State offense put together that have made the Buckeyes - and their elite freshman receiver - so difficult to defend this season.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden is tasked with slowing that offense down in Monday’s National Championship Game and it’s one he acknowledges will be tough. 

Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Golden pointed to “every piece” of the Ohio State offense as challenging. 

“I think the quarterback is playing really well,” Golden said. “They're hitting on their downfield shots. They're creating. Their first-down efficiency is really improved. They're not in a lot of third-and-longs.

“They're just operating at a really, really high level. They're running the ball well. Their running backs are great competitors. The quarterback's making good decisions. Tight ends are really doing a nice job. And then obviously the vertical threats.”

Trying to limit somebody like slot receiver Emeka Egbuka will make it more difficult to slow down the other receivers like Smith and Carnell Tate. Trying to focus on taking away the pass game will leave you susceptible in the running game and so on. 

“If you try to take the slot away, you've got 4 (Smith) and 17 (Tate) on the perimeter,” said Golden. “If you're light-boxed, they're big and strong enough to run it inside. If you leave the tight ends alone, it's a tough one-on-one match-up. There's a reason why they score like they do.”

The Buckeyes are averaging more than 37 points and 425 yards a game this season

The matchup will be a bit of a cat-and-mouse game.

“They know there are certain things that we feel like we have to take away,” Golden said. “And we know there's certain things that they think that they can make hay on, that they can exploit. We're trying to neglect ours and exploit theirs. And they try to do the same thing. We'll see how the game unfolds.

“But this is the beauty of where we're at. I want the players to enjoy the battle, enjoy the competition, and know that it's not going to be easy and it's going to be all day. It's going to take all day and everyone. And you just gotta find a way.”

Ohio State quarterback WIll Howard has thrown for 919 yards and six touchdowns in playoff wins over Tennesee, Oregon and Texas.

“I think Will is playing really good right now,” Golden said. “He's making good decisions with the football. He's distributing the football. I think he's using his weapons really well.

“I think he's playing at a high level, and obviously it's the confluence of all that coming together right now that we have to try to pull apart, that we have to try to defend. That's what's making them formidable right now. 

“It's skill. It's running back. It's tight end. The o-line is playing well. They've overcome some injuries there and Will is pulling the trigger for them. So we have to do a great job combatting that.

The wideouts obviously present challenges.

“If you overcommit to one guy, then Tate has a big game or 2 (Egbuka) has a big game or the running backs have a big game,” said Golden. “We're just going to have to pick and choose how we want to defend and when we want to take chances or be aggressive. 

“It is a formidable group…we try to learn a little bit from each opponent they play, but at the end of the day we are who we are, and we have to be our best, play our best.”

Part of being who the Irish are is playing man defense and pressuring the quarterback, something Golden said Notre Dame would have to do early.

“You can't let anybody be comfortable back there and whether that's generating four, five, six-man pressures, however it manifests, we just have to find a way to not let him be comfortable. To be honest with you, when it's time to rush the passer, we need to have a good pass rush. We need to win. That's definitely an underlying challenge in the game.

“There are very few teams out there that have weapons in all three (receiver) spots and then the two running backs and the tight ends. They present a lot of different challenges, and our job is to manage what direction that they go and how we adjust on game day and adapt.”

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