Ohio State is a peculiar team if you look at them. You saw them lose to Michigan but also forged their motivation out of that loss. Since then, they have routed other teams. Now, only two wins separate them from a national title. If you were to make a call and pick one man who gets the job done for them, it’s Will Howard. But the ride is not over. Even Ryan Day knows it. While everyone has the Buckeyes as their favorites, their coach remains honest about their issues on the field.

Day shed light on his team in a media interaction as he discussed the coming CFB playoff semifinal against the Texas Longhorns. You must have read how the winner of the Cotton Bowl is expected to win the whole thing. Why? Because the Buckeyes are explosive, and their passing game has bamboozled other teams. Meanwhile, Texas’ defense has stood out. Not to mention the home crowd support advantage. However, if you noticed, you must have seen that their snaps are fewer this season. Why so?

Day pointed out that fewer snaps helped not only the linkup play but also the team’s health. He said, “We felt like by cutting down the number of snaps, it would certainly help with the link the season and the health of our team.” That’s not only it. More huddles allowed Howard to take control and resulted in offensive cohesion.

Day continued, “But also getting in a huddle and having Will Howard look 10 guys in the eye and break a huddle together kind of grew as the team as the season went on. And there was a little bit a part of that that we felt like gave us a little bit of an edge. We don’t always do that, but it has allowed us to be more cohesive on offense”

How did that play out? It allowed Ohio State to score fast and launch more offensive plays. No, it’s not a joke. Even Steve Sarkisian has accepted it publicly.

Will Howard and Ohio State’s fewer snaps, more offense approach

In the same press conference, the Texas head coach declared, “The reason they have the least amount of snaps is they’re scoring so fast. There’s so many big plays that are happening. There’s some joke in there, but there’s some reality. They’ve been extremely explosive offensively.”

Where does it leave Howard? He has thrown for 630 yards and five touchdowns in the playoffs so far, and he is the reason the Buckeyes are in the semis. You can also expect him to rely on his ability to nullify the Longhorns’ pass-rush ability. But if you are a Texas fan, then your hopes rest with Colin Simmons. How? The Longhorns’ defensive leader has registered nine sacks this season, and Sarkisian will ask him to tackle Howard’s menace and play the disrupter role. It’s a straight matchup between Ohio State’s offense and Texas’ defense, and it might depend on how effective the Longhorns are in shutting down Howard & Co.