GLENDALE, Ariz. – Although Ohio State achieved the offensive balance coach Urban Meyer seeks, it was not exactly even-steven between the pass and the run in their rout of Notre Dame.
1. The Buckeyes ran 54 times, half of them by Ezekiel Elliott, and they threw only 3 times. Elliott scored four touchdowns and rushed for 149 yards in his final game as a Buckeye, leaving as the second all-time rushing leader at the school. He would have been my choice for Offensive Most Valuable Player, not quarterback J.T. Barrett.
2. The lesson seems to be what the Browns' Mike Pettine is always talking about: If you can run the ball, you can beat almost anyone, given enough of an air game to back a couple of defenders out of the box.