DALLAS -- It wasn't the substance of J.K. Dobbins' answer about whether or not he liked Ohio State's game plan heading into its Cotton Bowl matchup against USC on Dec. 29.
It was how he said it.
First, here's what Dobbins said when asked how and why he liked the plan for the game:
"I do like the game plan. ... What does stand out about USC's defense is they're very athletic, and it will be hard to do great things against them. ... I feel like we match up with them pretty well. We're going to be physical, and hopefully it will be the same as the last few results."
Nothing spectacular in there. But if you saw his wide eyes and smile, you would've thought you were seeing a player getting ready for a major workload against the Trojans. So Dobbins' might have tipped Ohio State's hand, albeit in not such a surprising way.
The Buckeyes entered this season fixated on the passing game. It got to the point that perhaps they were focused too much on that at the expense of losing their identity as a power running team. We've seen a shift in game plans since losing to Iowa.
Through the first nine games of the season (with some blowouts and others in which Ohio State had to throw to get back in), the Buckeyes averaged nearly 37 pass attempts. In the four games since, it's been about 21 in wins against Michigan State, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Don't be surprised if this season ends the same way the 2015 season did, when abandoning the run against Michigan State cost Ohio State a shot at the playoff, and the Buckeyes followed that up by running a combined 108 times in wins at Michigan and over Notre Dame in the non-playoff Fiesta Bowl.
So that Dobbins seemed amped about a running back-centric game plan isn't surprising. He also would never say he wasn't in favor of the plan, no matter what it was. So take that into consideration, too.
When we watched practice on Tuesday, there were some new passing concepts with the running backs. We'll see whether or not that shows up in the Cotton Bowl. What seems certain, though, is Ohio State has one game left, and intends on doing what it's always done best to win it.
Run the ball.