There’s no sugarcoating it. Ohio State’s offensive line had its worst performance of the season in the Cotton Bowl.
Lincoln Kienholz and Devin Brown were under constant duress, whether it was traditional four-man rushes or blitzes. It felt like Kienholz was backpedaling with a defender in his face from the snap of the ball on every other passing down.
“I thought (Kienholz) battled his tail off,” Ryan Day said. “But clearly we didn’t help him up front. Didn’t run the ball well enough.”
Ohio State ran the ball for just 2.9 yards per carry and gave up four sacks with eight quarterback hurries.