The Cotton Bowl has been the site of highs and lows for Ohio State center Carson Hinzman. The high came last year as the Buckeyes walked off the field at ATT Stadium after knocking off Texas in a College Football Playoff semifinal showdown. Hinzman was vital to the Buckeyes’ offensive success agai nst the Longhorns, and he is using that as a sign that he can perform at a high level when it’s crunch time. The low came in the 2023 edition when, after starting 12 games at center, he was benched in favor of Matt Jones. That was a forgettable 14-3 loss to Missouri, a game that set the stage for the Buckeyes’ 2024 run to the national championship. That was in the not-too-distant past and is also being used as fuel. More recently, the Buckeyes were pushed around by Indiana in the Big Ten Championship game and allowed a season-high six sacks against an aggressive Hoosiers front. Cotton Bowl foe Miami plays the same way – aggressive, with power and attitude. So things will need to be cleaned up if the Buckeyes want the offense to hum. “I’ve been in this position last year,” Hinzman said. “Somewhat similar of a situation where you see some things and you’re like, ‘OK, as the season progresses, maybe sometimes you get away from the fundamentals.’ But that’s exactly what we’ve been doing the past couple of weeks to get ready to play some of the great defensive rushers that we have coming up.” Hinzman says Ohio State is approaching the game with a chip on its shoulder. “Playing offensive line here, you develop an edge,” Hinzman said. “When the edge isn’t portrayed or shown in the game, it definitely fires the guys up a little bit. At the end of the day, if we’re playing at our best level, we can play with anyone in the country. The message throughout the room is just to get back to who we are.” The Buckeyes are, at their core, a power attack. They have run 451 times this season, averaging nearly 4.7 yards per carry, and have been over 30 carries in five of the last six contests. Running the ball shows physicality, and when the Buckeyes are physical it opens things up on the outside for receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Miami has allowed less than 2.9 yards per carry and eight touchdowns on the ground, so ground success will not be easy for the Buckeyes. “I think it comes down to being efficient on those early downs… being in charge of keeping (quarterback) Julian (Sayin) safe,” Hinzman said. “I think these games come down to being able to make positive throws and completions and keeping us on schedule.” It helps the offensive line to have Sayin under center, and it helps Sayin – still a neophyte in many aspects – to have a veteran presence such as Hinzman to lean on. “Early on it was great to have a guy like Carson, a vet, who can really just help bring me along,” said Sayin, a first-year starter. “We work great together. I think we’re on the same page with everything in protection.” Hinzman is looking forward to dissecting a Hurricanes’ defense which ranks fourth nationally in sacks. He will be better in tune with what Miami does as the game approaches, but his first impressions were just that – impressed. “The interior is good,” he said. “They’re elite-level defense. It will be a challenge for us to go out and play competitively. It’s obvious they get pressure. The edges are elite, and the interior guys are very good, so it’s going to be good opportunity for us to show what we’re about.” There is a slight worry that the 25-day layoff between the Big Ten title game and the Cotton Bowl could bring some rust, but Hinzman believes a return to the basics, to hard-nosed, aggressive football, will keep the Buckeyes focused and hungry. “We always say the foundation we build on is going to be the thing that carries us through all of the storms,” Hinzman said. “A little bit of space and a little bit of a gap right now has let us get back to the basics, back to the fundamentals.” The Big Ten season did not end the way Ohio State had hoped, but this new era of college football provides a shot at redemption for the best teams, even if they stumble along the way. The Buckeyes are treating this like a new chapter, and they do not want the ending to come on New Years Eve. “It’s easy for teams that have a really successful regular season get complacent, and that’s not at all where we’re at,” Hinzman said. “We have a new team right now – or a much different team than last year. I feel like everyone has the same message and goal in mind.” ...read more read less