Fresh off a 54-10 thrashing of Iowa, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media on Tuesday to review the win over the Hawkeyes and preview this Saturday's matchup at No. 13 Penn State.
Despite the many successes realized in a 44-point win, the fact of the matter is Ohio State could've fallen short in many areas and still handled Iowa on talent alone.
That said, Day has his eyes on the biggest of college football prizes and with that in mind, rushing for 66 yards on 2.2 yards per carry, and just 2.7 yards per attempt when adjusted for one sack, isn't going to cut it against the upper crust.
Sure, elite teams can win games in multiple ways but there's no doubt Day is focused on achieving better balance in run/pass production after last season ended with two losses, in part due to an inability to line up and run the ball with success even when the defense knew it was coming.
When you have the balance and you're getting four and five (yards)on a run as opposed to one, two or three, it makes a big difference. – Ohio State head coach Ryan Day
To Day's point, with Iowa at times selling out to stop the run and other times Ohio State simply not executing, the Buckeyes' 66 rushing yards were not only a season-low by over 100 yards, they also accounted for just 18% of the offense's total yards on the afternoon.
The ineffective run game showing against Iowa came after the Buckeyes cranked out at least 237 yards in four straight games, with the rushing output accounting for anywhere between 37-61% of the offense's total yardage production.
| OPPONENT | RUSH YARDS | % OF TOTAL YARDS | PASS YARDS | % OF TOTAL YARDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOTRE DAME | 172 | 44% | 223 | 56% |
| ARKANSAS STATE | 168 | 31% | 370 | 69% |
| TOLEDO | 281 | 37% | 482 | 63% |
| WISCONSIN | 258 | 48% | 281 | 52% |
| RUTGERS | 252 | 61% | 161 | 39% |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 237 | 39% | 377 | 61% |
| IOWA | 66 | 18% | 294 | 82% |
Even after the struggles to generate yards on the ground versus Iowa, through seven games, the Buckeyes are still achieving 40% of their total offensive yards via running the football.
So far, that's a solid uptick over last season when Ohio State generated just 32% of its total offensive yards via the run game. The 32% clip tied the 2018 squad for the lowest rushing yardage production since Day arrived in Columbus as an offensive assistant ahead of the 2017 season.
| SEASON | RUSH YPG | NATL RANK | PASS YPG | NATL RANK | % YDS RUSH | % YDS PASS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 243.2 | 17 | 262.8 | 36 | 48% | 52% |
| 2018 | 171.2 | 63 | 364.3 | 2 | 32% | 68% |
| 2019 | 266.8 | 5 | 263.1 | 36 | 50% | 50% |
| 2020 (8 G) | 256.9 | 8 | 262.5 | 37 | 49% | 51% |
| 2021 | 180.3 | 47 | 380.9 | 3 | 32% | 68% |
| 2022 (7 G) | 204.9 | 21 | 312.6 | 15 | 40% | 60% |
Day would like to get the run game momentum back on track starting this weekend against a respectable Penn State front seven and keep it going down the stretch.
How effectively Ohio State can run the ball will not solely determine victory or defeat over the next four games but with Michigan coming to town at the end of November, being able to control the line of scrimmage and run the damn ball even when the Wolverines think it's coming will almost assuredly go a long way in exacting revenge.
