Ohio State Needs Ezekiel Elliott to Justify His Rant Against Michigan

Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott made headlines last Saturday when he called out the coaching staff and play-calling following the Buckeyes' 17-14 upset loss to Michigan State.

The Spartans came in with an ultra-aggressive defensive game plan—loading the box and daring Ohio State to beat them over the top.

J.T. Barrett wasn't called to consistently challenge Michigan State down the field as the Buckeyes stayed conservative, and that worked early when they leaned on Elliott, who ran eight times on a 10-play touchdown drive early in the second quarter.

But in the final 42 minutes of the game, Elliott got just three carries and Ohio State produced only two first downs in a historically poor performance for an Urban Meyer-coached team.

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Ohio State's 132 yards of total offense are the fewest in a game by any Urban Meyer-coached team.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 21, 2015"

Elliott blasted the play-calling after the game, via Ari Wasserman of Cleveland.com:

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I'm disappointed in the play-calling. I'm disappointed in the situations that we were put in, and I wish it all played out differently. It is very disappointing. In the one drive that we had where we kind of had some momentum after we scored on the strip-sack, the plays we ran, we ran a lot of gap schemes and we were gashing them. You guys saw that on that drive. We had a lot of momentum. 

Honestly, we didn't see those plays for the rest of the game. Those plays weren't called anymore. I asked for those plays to be called, and they weren't. It just hurts. It hurts a lot because of how we lost. I feel like we just weren't put in the right opportunity to win this game. We weren't put in the right situations to win this game.

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Was this a sign of an eroding locker room or honest disappointment from Ohio State's star running back? Meyer indicated that it was the latter and everything was resolved leading into Ohio State's huge showdown with rival Michigan this Saturday.

"If we find a way to win this game, I imagine we won't be talking about this much longer," Meyer said, according to Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com. "It's sealed, as far as our team and the team room is concerned in the locker room."

And for Ohio State to win this game, it'll need Elliott to shine against an even stingier Michigan defense.

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Statistically speaking, the Wolverines defense is considerably better than the Spartans', which held Ohio State to a season-low 132 total yards and 14 points. Under new head coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan ranks second nationally in total defense and fourth in both rushing and passing defense.

Elliott went into the Michigan State game as the most dependable back in the country, eclipsing 100 rushing yards in 15 straight games dating back to the 2014 season. And as Ohio State was bouncing back and forth between Cardale Jones and Barrett at quarterback this year, Elliott was Ohio State's steady hand guiding the offense through tough times.

The Buckeyes would be smart to turn back to him against Michigan because not only is he their best offensive option, he also has a lot to prove against the Wolverines.

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.