5 keys to Ohio State beating the Texas Longhorns Saturday night

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For the third year in a row, two blueblood programs, Ohio State and Texas, will meet on the football field. The history between the two was few and far between until recently, with the Buckeyes winning the last two to take a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series. Now, the two big-money programs will meet again, and it'll either be the Longhorns evening things up, or Ohio State expanding to a two-game series lead that might last for a considerable number of years.

Either way, it's going to be one whale of an atmosphere, and likely one whale of a game in Austin, with the winner putting itself in great shape when it comes to resume building for the College Football Playoff. The loser, on the other hand, will be behind the eight ball, with little room for error the rest of the season.

We've already asked our writers to make some predictions for this one, but as with any contest where the talent is equal, there are keys to the game which will determine the outcome and make some pretty special memories for the winning side.

In this case, here are our keys to the Scarlet and Gray coming out on top in Texas on a Saturday night prime time affair.

Get the ball to Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith

Yes, there are weapons galore on the Ohio State offense, but the nuclear option is all-everything wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith. The last two meetings between these two behemoths went down to the wire largely because the Longhorn defense was able to contain the effectiveness of Smith. Sure, he pulls defenders his way with all the attention he garners, so others can take advantage, but the Buckeyes' chances of winning any game go up significantly if they are able to launch the Smith grenade early and often.

New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was brought in to help the offense, and with his NFL experience, the hope is that he's able to scheme up different ways to get Smith in situations where he can get the ball, or get open to have Julian Sayin find him down the field and turn in more explosive plays. It's a must against a quality opponent in its own backyard.

Get the Texas offense off the field on third down consistently

The Ohio State defense was mighty good last week, but that was against an opponent that's nowhere near what it'll see Saturday night. We still expect Matt Patricia's unit to be very good this season, but I don't know that it's realistic to expect the OSU defense to throttle a talented Texas offense all night.

The Longhorns will make some plays, score some points, and frustrate the Buckeye defense at times. However, if Ohio State can make enough stops consistently on third down, then that will limit the time the defense has to be on the field and keep Texas from scoring in bunches and getting the crowd in the game.

Get Bo Jackson over 100 yards for Ohio State

Yes, the Sayin to Smith or Sayin to McCuin connection is going to be a thing, but Ohio State will have to be balanced and get things cooking on the ground. Bo Jackson is the bell cow back there with an ability to hit a home run, and as long as he gets over 100 yards, that means the offense is doing its thing to keep Texas off-balance.

This is going to be a physical game, and when the Buckeyes can lean on that Texas defensive line, it'll only help to open things up for the dynamic playmakers on the outside in the passing game. To do that, the offensive line has to open holes for Jackson and let him make plays.

The Ohio State offensive line must hold up in pass protection

It's not just the ability to push around the Texas front that the offensive line will have to be great at. The guys up front also have to be able to keep Julian Sayin clean and in the pocket. If arguably the most accurate passer in college football can stand back and go through his reads (Smith No. 1, then the rest), it's going to be a long day for the Texas secondary.

However, as we saw last year against Indiana and Miami (FL), Sayin is human and had a tough time completing passes when there was pressure in his face. So, especially the right side of the line has to hold up and keep the rushers out of the backfield. All the other keys to this game don't mean anything if the O-line doesn't come to play.

Make Texas quarterback Arch Manning throw the ball

Another thing the Ohio State defense cannot afford to do is let Arch Manning get loose on the ground. He's going to look to pass first, but we've seen that he's more than adequate when it comes to designed runs and when he pulls it down because everything else has broken down. The Buckeys have to have a plan to stop that.

Don't be surprised if Ohio State uses a spy to look Manning up and shadow him on every play so that he can't move the chains in crucial and key situations with his legs. With Ohio State's secondary, if the Buckeyes can make Manning throw the ball, there's a much better chance of success defensively in this one.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 5 keys to Ohio State beating the Texas Longhorns Saturday night

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