Five things you need to know about Ohio State vs. Miami

While Miami and Ohio State are not regular opponents on the football field, they have been staunch opponents on the recruiting battlegrounds over the last five years. Miami fans still have a bitter taste in their mouth from losing out on Jeremiah Smith and falling short in the 2002-2003 national championship game.

As Miami and Ohio State get set to face off on New Year’s Eve, here are five things you need to know.

1. Veteran vs. youth

At the helm of this Miami offense is Carson Beck. Beck came into college as a freshman at Georgia in 2020. He has appeared in 52 games over his six-year college career thus far.

This season with Miami marks Beck’s third full season as a starter. Beck is as experienced as they come in college football. However, despite the experience, Beck has not been able to shake his interception problem. Beck threw 12 interceptions last year as the starter at Georgia and has 10 thus far this season with Miami.

For Ohio State, everything is a first for Julian Sayin. From his first start against Texas, to his first Michigan game, to his first Big Ten Championship, and now to his first start in a playoff game. Despite Sayin’s youth, he has dazzled this season.

2. No-run zone

Both the Buckeyes and the Hurricanes bring elite rush defenses to the table. Ohio State currently has the fifth-best rushing defense in terms of yards per game allowed. Miami’s rush defense sits at sixth.

Ohio State is allowing 83.7 yards rushing per game, and Miami is allowing 86.6. Miami’s rush defense has even shown its prowess against some elite rushing offenses like Notre Dame. Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame was held to just 33 rushing yards against Miami.

Getting Bo J/.ackson and Ohio State’s run game going will be a major key to success in this game.

3. Outside threats

Every college football fan is aware of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. But Miami brings its own elite wideout to the table.

Malachi Toney, a true freshman, is an absolute speedster. Toney does it all. He is primarily a receiver, but is often used in the return game as well as in the rushing attack. Toney currently has 1090 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns on the season.

Toney had the lone touchdown for Miami against Texas A&M, but he was largely held in check. In his prior two games combined? 25 catches, 272 yards, two touchdowns. Toney has to be accounted for at all times.

4. Elite on the edges

Ohio State’s edge-rushing duo of Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson has combined for 17.5 sacks on the season. Arvell Reese is adding another 6.5 to that duo. Across the field, however, is an even higher-rated edge-rushing duo.

Rueben Bain and Akheem Messidor have combined for 16 sacks and 25 tackles for loss. Bain is a projected top ten pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Messidor is expected to be a first-round draft pick as well. Miami’s duo may very well be the best in the country.

With Tegra Tshabola banged up, and Gabe VanSickle expected to take his place at right guard, protecting Julian Sayin becomes paramount in this game. Ohio State has allowed just 11 sacks this whole season, but in the lone loss against Indiana, Sayin was sacked five times.

5. Offensive coordination

After Ohio State’s lackluster offensive performance against Indiana, and in conjunction with Brian Hartline moving on to coach South Florida shortly, Ryan Day has elected to take over play-calling duties. Hartline has been the primary play caller throughout the season, but Day felt it was the right time to take the reins back.

Many curious eyes will be on Ryan Day’s offense to see if he is able to figure out the lingering red zone issues for the Buckeyes. As for Miami, their offensive coordinator, Shannon Dawson, has been under some increased scrutiny over Miami’s 13-point output against Texas A&M. In particular, Dawson expressed some serious frustration with Urban Meyer’s analysis of the Miami offense.

Regardless, both offenses are coming off poor performances. To state the obvious, the team that figures out the offensive woes will likely advance.