A common belief upon the arrival of Chip Kelly, was that the OSU offense would become a blend of Chip Kelly's diverse running game and Ryan Day's passing prowess. However, that concept doesn't necessarily work. You need cohesion. You're running game has to be such, that it plays into your passing game. This is also true vise versa. It took 2 drives for me to note the difference in what OSU was doing offensively, and the impact that Chip has had on this offense. Let's get to it.
The first notable playcall that I saw was the RPO quick out. Kelly returned to this play several times throughout the day. In the past, Day often attached bubble screens to RPO's as a way to keep the edge contained. In this matchup, against a heavy Cover 1/3 scheme, Kelly picked on the cushioned coverage with quick outs. This play resulted in a rare drop, but the concept was nice, and worked later in the game.
Not only were the RPO styles new to OSU offenses, Kelly also brought his favorite mid-range play to the Buckeyes as well. Commonly referred to as "Sail", Kelly puts a slight tweak on it and calls it "Noise". The PA to the running back makes this play look like a Naked Boot leg. However, instead of EE clearing out the center of the field, he breaks his route back to the sideline to create a 3 levels look down the sideline.
Kelly isn't always doing something magical. Any OC or even Madden player will tell you 4 verticals is borderline unstoppable, and Kelly turned to it for the Buckeyes first score. With EE and Jerimiah likely to be lined up next to each other throughout the season, safeties are going to be in peril. Simple read for Howard to set up a 1-on-1 for either Smith or EE depending on the safety
Outside zone, as in years past, continued to be an issue. So much so, that Kelly stopped calling OZ only a few drives into the game. To still test the defense on the outside, Kelly relied heavily on "Pin and Pull". In this scheme, the pinners and pullers are identified based on defensive alignment. O-linemen with a defender directly to their inside (away from the playside) pin the defense away, while the linemen without defenders directly to their inside pull. Here, both guards pull, while the rest of the line pins the defense away. The beauty of this outside run, is that it does not require horizontal blocking. It is still to be seen how effective this style of rushing game can be against opponents who are more aggressive in shooting gaps and attacking pullers. Akron was very hesitant.
Another Kelly wrinkle is his oft-mentioned same side inside zone. After a miscue by McLaughlin on the games second drive, the Buckeyes began feasting on this play later in the contest. As you can see, the Akron front is shifted towards the typical play-side. However, Judkins stays to the left. A fold block by McLaughlin is used to alleviate a positional disadvantage.
Not all was pretty in this game, and I don't want to hide those negatives. However, most of these seem to be attributed to a few errors that are correctable (other than OZ. Stop it). Overall, the WR unit blocked very well. However, on this play, Carnell Tate whiffs, on what could've been a 8-10 yard gain for Judkins. Simmons tried to get out an help Tate, but that was not his responsibility to do so.
RPO's, RPO's, and more RPO's. By my count, over 70% of Howard's completions came via the Run/Pass option. JJ Smith was able to snag his 2nd touchdown on what Madden (and now CFB 25 players!) know as RPO Peek. Peek RPO's simply mean you are reading a 2nd level defender, such as a linebacker. While some posters were quick to jump on Howard for making an ill-advised throw, his read was perfect. The LB steps forward on the fake handoff, opening up a sliver for Howard to beam a pass into JJ's facemask. Honestly, you can't do it better than that. Those are exceptionally difficult plays to execute, and it will have to be seen whether OSU is comfortable relying on plays like this in big games.
"Coach they are running zone to the same side. We need to shift our alignment". Bet. This shows how simple diversity can help the run game. With the D-line shifted away from the playside, OSU simply runs IZ, and Judkins makes a nice cut. Shout out to Sievereld on this play as well. Play below this one is the next IZ run, which yields similar results. There was a stark contrast in running game success after OSU hit their first big gain using same-side IZ. Akron was constantly getting mauled inside. Seth McLaughlin looked like Billy Price on this one. My god. HUGE upgrade.
As an ode to long-time Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien, Kelly called on his predecessors favorite passing scheme. HOSS. This is a simple mano a mano scheme. Spread out the defense, and let your slot WR work 1-on-1. Day relied on this play heavily during the 2021 season with JSN.
Overall, I was surprised at how RPO heavy this offense was. This was NOT a "vanilla" gameplan. OSU threw it all out on the table and to their credit executed them exceptionally well. Howard looks great making the reads, and he is seamless in the transition from handoff to throwing. The running game was better than I originally remembered, especially once I realized most issues were common.
- Hinzman was bad and got benched early in the game for it
- Simmons should not be used to pull. Fryar is very good at pulling, so all crack-tosses should go in his direction
- All OZ is bad.
This offensive line is big, and with the diversity of IZ, and inclusion of Pin and Pull, there is a foundation that this line can build off of. Fryar was very good pulling. Tegra and McLaughlin bodied dudes inside. Sievereld also played very well at times.There is still more to add as well. While this game did feature a ton of RPO's, we saw very little from the QB run game. While not necessary during this portion of the season, do not be surprised if some of these RPO's, turn into de facto Triple Options.
Key stat of the game: 0 sacks and 0 TFL's allowed by the O-line.
