Ohio State football: 5 bold predictions for Rose Bowl clash vs. Washington

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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 30: Peyton Henry #47 of the Washington Huskies kicks a fieldgoal against the Utah Utes during the Pac 12 Championship game at Levi’s Stadium on November 30, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

2. Field position will be a big deal in this one, especially for Washington

This isn’t a high powered offense for the Huskies. This isn’t a unit that puts up almost 50 a game. They barely put up 30 per game. What does that mean? Two things — No. 1, they have to take advantage of every opportunity they have to put points on the board and No. 2, field position will be a big deal for the Huskies as they attempt to put together scoring drives to win this game.

How did Ohio State beat Michigan State? Yeah, scoring more points than the other team helps, but that isn’t what won this game for the Buckeyes. It was field position. Ohio State’s punter Drue Crisman pinned the Spartans deep time and time again with the Big Ten’s best punting game.

On the other side, you have Washington. The Huskies have been horrid in terms of punt coverage, sitting at dead last in the Pac-12 and 120th in the nation. What does that tell me? The Pac-12 itself is bad and Washington is just that much worse.

Basically, if Ohio State can pin Washington deep again and again, this is their game to win. Washington can’t sustain long drives and if they are forced to do it over and over again — things will get dicey for the Huskies in a hurry.

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