The record 2-10-1 is well known by Ohio State fans, and while Ryan Day has already done more than John Cooper outside of the Michigan game by winning a national championship last season, he still wants to avoid being known as another Buckeye coach who couldn’t beat his rival.
Last year, there were a few reasons that the Buckeyes lost The Game. Whether Will Howard just wasn’t the same after he was hit hard early on or if Day wanted to prove the Buckeyes were “tougher” than the Wolverines, many people think Ohio State ran the ball too much.
On 26 rushes, Ohio State ran for just 77 yards (3.0 yards per rush) and couldn’t get into the end zone on the ground. The very first drive of the game, the Buckeyes were able to make it into field goal range thanks to the success of the passing game, despite the fact that the Wolverines were trying to do everything they could to take Jeremiah Smith out of the equation — which they ended up being pretty successful doing, holding him to five catches for 35 yards.
There is the fact that the Buckeyes were backed up into poor field position multiple times, forcing them to be a little more conservative than they might have been otherwise. And a second quarter Howard interception to set Michigan up on the OSU 2-yard line certainly didn’t help.
Ohio State’s best offensive drive of the game was toward the end of the second quarter when the clock forced it to throw the ball down the field. That ended up being the only touchdown the Buckeyes scored in the game.
It’s an extremely simple and watered down way to look at this game, sure. There is so much more that goes into game planning. But the Buckeyes can’t go into this game being a team that tries to establish the run so that it can then pass the ball. That’s not what the Buckeyes are as a team, and it’s not what the Buckeyes have been as a program since Day took over.
Just look at the strengths of this team, and the game plan becomes as obvious as it can be. If Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate play, the Buckeyes have the best wide receivers in the country. Julian Sayin was the Heisman favorite and the most efficient passer in college football history until those two came out of the game. And top that all off, the Buckeyes’ pass pro has been great, giving up just six sacks the entire season.
Smith has already said that he will likely play in the game. As we saw against UCLA and Purdue, even when it is just him on the field with no Tate, he demands so much attention that it opens up a lot more options for the offense. And even with all of that attention on him, Smith can still consistently get open and find holes in zones.
I’m not breaking any news here. Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Julian Sayin are good at football. Everyone knows that. With the three of them playing as they have been together the most of the season, Ohio State’s offense is possibly the most efficient in the country. Use that to your advantage. Don’t fall into the trap of playing Michigan’s game again.
If Day wants to beat Michigan on the ground — I think he got over that idea after last year’s stunning loss and subsequent extremely successful passing attack in the CFP — that takes years to build. This team was built to succeed by establishing the pass first, and playing the run off of that. That’s what Ryan Day is good at.
Based on the feeling around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center this week so far, Ohio State seems looser. The whole “routine” approach that Day has brought this season might be the reason for that.
But it also could be because the Buckeyes know that they are the better team going into this game, and if they just play to their strengths, like they have been all season, the results will look like the rest of their games this season have as well.
The “toughness” talk has died down a lot this season from the Ohio State program. I don’t think they feel like they need to prove that anymore. Nobody talks about how tough your team is if you just win every game. And I think that’s what’s on the Buckeyes mind this year — winning.
