Ohio State head coach met with the media on Tuesday to discuss outcomes from the win over Youngstown State as well as preview this week's matchup with Western Kentucky.
Only elite offensive teams can truly dominate both through the run and through the air and while the Buckeyes are gaining traction in the passing game, the rushing attack is still looking to find its footing.
A lot has to go right for a running game to click but make no mistake, Day is expecting more from his offensive line, starting with consistency, to get things going.
Their effort and finish was much better and there were some good plays where I thought we came off the ball but overall consistency is something we're working on and we gotta get better. We expect on 3rd-and-1, 3rd-and-2 or 3 to execute and get first downs. There were a couple penalties in there as well we need to clean up.– Ryan Day on his offensive line
Through two games, Ohio State has averaged just 4.6 yards per carry which through the small sample size ranks just No. 62 in the country.
Truth be told, the struggles in the run game aren't a new thing.
| YEAR | OPP | ATT | YARDS | YPC | LONG | OPP YPC RANK | LEADING RUSHER | ATT | YARDS | YPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | YSU | 27 | 123 | 4.6 | 30 | FCS | HENDERSON | 5 | 56 | 11.2 |
| 2023 | INDIANA | 31 | 143 | 4.6 | 19 | 56 | TRAYANUM | 8 | 57 | 7.1 |
| 2022 | GEORGIA | 32 | 119 | 3.7 | 27 | 3 | HAYDEN | 9 | 43 | 4.8 |
| 2022 | MICHIGAN | 29 | 143 | 4.9 | 24 | 10 | TRAYANUM | 14 | 83 | 5.9 |
| 2022 | MARYLAND | 43 | 160 | 3.7 | 18 | 40 | HAYDEN | 27 | 146 | 5.4 |
| 2022 | INDIANA | 43 | 340 | 7.9 | 71 | 69 | WILLIAMS | 15 | 147 | 9.8 |
| 2022 | NORTHWESTERN | 35 | 207 | 5.9 | 44 | 104 | WILLIAMS | 26 | 111 | 4.3 |
| 2022 | PENN STATE | 26 | 98 | 3.8 | 41 | 13 | HENDERSON | 16 | 78 | 4.9 |
| 2022 | IOWA | 30 | 66 | 2.2 | 13 | 2 | HENDERSON | 11 | 38 | 3.5 |
| 2022 | MICHIGAN STATE | 46 | 237 | 5.2 | 26 | 85 | HENDERSON | 19 | 118 | 6.2 |
Dating back to last season, Ohio State is riding a five game streak of failing to break the 5.0 yards per carry barrier. And over the last 10 games, Ohio State's run game has only averaged at least five yards per carry in three times. Four of those seven failures did come against defenses ranked in the top-15 in yards per carry allowed but that doesn't take away from the disappointment.
Ineffective offensive line play is certainly a factor but injuries in Ohio State's running back room have also been an issue. With TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams injured at multiple points last season, although healthy so far this year, the Buckeyes have had four different leading rushers across those last 10 games.
Of those single-game leading rushers, just six of the 10 games saw that leading rusher average at least five yards a pop. Also of note, the Buckeyes haven't had a ball carrier eclipse the 100-yard mark since Dallan Hayden went for 146 on 5.4 a carry five games ago versus Maryland.
Again, it's clear Day's offenses will always be pass first and that's not a bad thing. That said, being able to effectively move the ball when the Buckeyes do choose to run is still of value.
Dating back to Day's arrival in 2017 as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the current 4.6 yards per carry - which as noted is derived from an extremely small sample size - stands as the lowest mark since the 2018 squad averaged 4.2 yards per carry.
Every other season since 2017, the Buckeyes averaged anywhere from 5.4 to 6.0 yards per rushing attempt.
For what it's worth, in Ohio State's six losses under Day, the Buckeyes averaged 5.1 yards per carry or less in each contest with a low mark of 3.7 versus Georgia in 2022 and high mark of 5.1 in the national championship loss to Alabama in 2020.
No singular stat decides a game but revving up the running game surely wouldn't hurt the 2023 Buckeyes.
