Ohio State’s distribution of playing time in The Game is another piece of evidence that could be used to make the case that OSU’s game plan was too conservative against Michigan.
Ohio State used only 52 players against Michigan, its lowest total of the season, as the Buckeyes relied as heavily on their starters as they have all year. Each of their primary 11 players on offense played at least 40 of the Buckeyes’ 62 offensive snaps against the Wolverines while nine of their 11 defensive starters played more than 50 of Ohio State’s 59 defensive snaps.
The lack of rotation was particularly striking on the defensive line, where all four of Ohio State’s starters played at least 52 snaps while Kayden McDonald was the only backup to play double-digit snaps.