Bobby Carpenter has a warning for Ohio State fans who watched Wisconsin dismantle USC and thought the Buckeyes could pull off the same performance. The former Ohio State linebacker doesn’t think the Buckeyes’ roster is built for it. Ohio State is 6-1, ranked No. 2, and headed to the Coliseum on Halloween night without Julian Sayin, who is out for the season with a throwing-shoulder injury.
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The run game that has to carry the offense has never settled into anything stable, making Carpenter question whether Ryan Day can rest easy about the USC game after all.
Speaking on 97.1 The Fan podcast, Carpenter said USC will need to adjust its approach against Ohio State, but he cautioned the Buckeyes against trying to replicate Wisconsin’s game plan. He believes that Ohio State lacks enough personnel to match the formula that Wisconsin pulled against USC.
“They’re going to have to move and do some stuff they maybe haven’t done, but I don’t know that it can look like what Wisconsin did,” Carpenter said, according to an X post by 97.1 The Fan. “I mean, you look at Ohio State, without Ja’Kobi Jackson, Bo is like an overly physical runner. Now, Isaiah West maybe could be. Legend Bay’s probably not as much. I mean, I don’t know that you have the ingredients on your roster to be able to do the same things Wisconsin did.”
Wisconsin won 24-7 in Madison, and USC finished with minus-17 rushing yards on 25 carries, five sacks included. The Badgers ran for 142 and threw for 58. If USC can’t stop the run and can’t run it themselves, the Buckeyes have a way to shorten the game and take pressure off Luke Fahey if he starts. But Ohio State is 74th nationally in rushing offense, 64th in yards per carry, and got 78 yards on attempts against Indiana. This isn’t Wisconsin’s kind of ground game.
The Badgers’ offense ranked 103rd nationally and scored seven points against UCLA the week before. Jayden Maiava, who had thrown three interceptions all year, threw two in the first quarter, was sacked five times, and went 31-of-50 for 258 yards. USC went scoreless in the second half and missed two field goals. Wisconsin won up front, which is Carpenter’s point: you need people who can beat blockers, not just run into them.
Ohio State’s backfield is thinner than it looks. Ja’Kobi Jackson led the team with 6.0 yards per carry and six rushing touchdowns, then had Lisfranc surgery after the Maryland game. He is expected to miss USC and Oregon matchups. Bo Jackson has the team lead in yards, but carried 3.1 yards per carry against Indiana.
West had 22 carries over the first five games. Meanwhile, Bey has 15 carries for 56 rushing yards, having missed the games against Illinois and Iowa.
Day has said the offense is efficient but needs more explosiveness. Left guard Luke Montgomery noted that blockers are losing defenders in the final stretch of plays. Fahey’s mobility is an asset, similar to how Sayin used his legs for short-yardage keepers.
Bo gets opportunities in space when defenders have to respect the quarterback run threat. Playing West and Bey more often also gives Bo additional chances to find a rhythm. If Ohio State keeps Jeremiah Smith on the field, it could leave Bo open for a touchdown, just as in the Indiana game, when the Hoosiers focused on the wideout on fourth down and left Bo open in the end zone.
However, none of that matters if the quarterback can’t operate, as Fahey and Tavien St. Clair now battle for the QB1 spot.
Luke Fahey’s first start raises concerns for Ohio State
Fahey is likely to make his first start in front of a sold-out Coliseum. he threw two passes against Indiana and ran twice for negative two yards; St. Clair is behind him
“We’ll regroup… we just may need to do things just a little bit differently,” Day said, regarding the QB change after the Indiana game.
Ohio State is a 6.5- to a 7.5-point favorite, and USC is coming off the worst offensive game of Lincoln Riley’s career, so the setup favors the Buckeyes. But concerns remain about whether Ohio State has the offensive line, running backs, and steady quarterback play to win the kind of game Carpenter believes it needs to.
With Oregon following on November 7, there is less room for error and to make quick adjustments.