Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media early Tuesday afternoon and touched on a variety of topics ahead of Saturday's season-opener against Lane Kiffin's Florida Atlantic squad.
Questions were all over the map ranging from what Day expects from Kiffin's offense, how many offensive linemen we might see and even a query from athletic director Gene Smith on what happened to the beard Day flashed all during fall camp.
A host of questions also touched on Ohio State's shiny new quarterback, Justin Fields, and how often his legs might be used in the offense.
Fields' talents also served as a backdrop to one inquiry as to whether or not Day feels better about how the Buckeye offense might more successfully generate touchdowns in the red zone:
Q. As you study this from last year coming into this year and going through camp, how do you feel about the way you guys executed scoring touchdowns in the red zone and whether it will be more of a strength than it was last year?
COACH DAY: I thought early on we did some good things throwing the ball. We got jammed up in two games. One of them was the Purdue game where we were not very good down there in the red zone. Then we came back after that week and kind of changed our philosophy a little bit down there. I thought from then on we were pretty good down there in terms of numbers.
That’s something we’ve spent a lot of time on in the offseason and figured out a way to do that. It’s a plan to win; you’ve got to score touchdowns when you’re in the red zone.
We have a good defense and special teams. We’ll have opportunities to get the ball down there, so we’ve got to make sure we’re scoring touchdowns in that area.
Q. When you had to use a lot of those — in the Nebraska game particularly, a lot of those heavy packages, does having someone like Justin maybe make you less reliable in having to get those extra bigger bodies out there; is that the plan?
COACH DAY: Well, he definitely has the capability to run more than Dwayne did. More like J.T. That’s something that’s obviously a weapon down there. As you get lower, that safety starts to get in the box. He’s less likely to be in the middle of the field. He gets closer.
So the numbers kind of favor the defense as you get tighter down into the red zone. Having the ability to have a quarterback who can run helps with those odds.
If you don't recall, generating points in the red zone was a bit of a bugaboo last year as the Buckeyes ranked a dismal 116th out of 130 total FBS teams scoring on just 77.1% of their red zone trips.
| TRIPS | SCORES | SCORE % | NATL RANK | TD | TD% | FG | FG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 54 | 77.1% | 116 | 43 | 61% | 11 | 16% |
As for scoring touchdowns instead of field goals when it did register points, Ohio State's offense ranked No. 66 in the country with a 61% touchdown rate.
The loss at Purdue contained the worst statistical red zone performance of the year as Dwayne Haskins and company scored just twice – both field goals – in five trips. The empty possessions included a missed field goal, a turnover on downs and a meaningless end-of-half situation as the game ended with Ohio State at the Purdue 17 yard line on the wrong end of a 49-20 ass kicking.
The Buckeyes also went 1-for-2 in the red zone with a touchdown and a missed field goal against Penn State and 3-for-5 at Michigan State featuring two touchdowns and a field goal along with a missed field goal and a fumble.
After the win in East Lansing – Ohio State's 10th game of the season – the Buckeyes' red zone scoring percentage stood at 74%, generating touchdowns 59% of the time.
| OPPONENT | SCORES / TRIPS | TD / FG | FAILS |
|---|---|---|---|
| @MARYLAND | 7 / 8 | 6 / 1 | FUMBLE |
| MICHIGAN | 5 / 6 | 3 / 2 | HALF (LOL) |
| NORTHWESTERN | 4 / 6 | 4 / 0 | FUMBLE, MISS FG |
| WASHINGTON | 4 / 4 | 4 / 0 | N/A |
| TOTAL | 20 / 24 | 17 / 3 | 2 FUMBLES, 1 MISS FG, 1 HALF |
As Day suggested, Ohio State was significantly better in the red zone down the stretch, particularly over the final four games, especially in scoring touchdowns.
In 24 red zone trips over the final four games, Ohio State scored points 83% of the time, finding the end zone on 71% on those possessions. Even better, out of the 20 red zone scores, 17 were touchdowns. (Oh, and the 83% is a bit deflated because of the one "failed" red zone trip against Jim Harbaugh as Urban Meyer had Haskins graciously take a knee twice from inside Michigan's 10 yard line to run out the clock in a 62-39 drubbing.)
It's hard to definitively say if it was decisive factor in Ohio State's red zone improvement over the final four games but I do find it interesting that Haskins – a pure passer with limited skill/desire on the run – seemed to find an extra gear down the stretch.
Over those four games, Haskins racked up 69% of his season total in rushing yards, totaling 74 yards on 38 carries (good for 50% of his season's rushing attempts).
As Day noted when talking about Fields, having a quarterback that can run helps even out the numbers when space gets tight in the red zone and safeties play closer to the line of scrimmage.
It's probably not a coincidence that when Braxton Miller was under center for the Buckeyes in Meyer's first two years in Columbus, his teams finished 16th and fourth, respectively, in red zone scoring posting an 88% rate in 2012 and a ridiculous 95% rate in 2013.
Not quite as effective but still solid, with J.T. Barrett – another quarterback used extensively in the running game – Ohio State posted an 85% scoring rate (49th) in 2014 and an 87% in 2015 (40th).
Day also recently talked about finding that right balance of utilizing Fields' legs versus making smart playcalling decisions to limit his hits knowing the season is basically cooked if the quarterback were to miss significant time.
As such, it might be worth watching to see if it is within the red zone that Day opts to lean on Fields in the run game much more heavily than between the 20 yard lines.
