Focusing on "improvement week" instead of an opponent as the Buckeyes don't play again until September 21 against Marshall, head coach Ryan Day met with the media on Tuesday to discuss his program.
When it comes to improvement, that was certainly the case for Ohio State's running game as the Buckeyes churned out 273 rushing yards and six touchdowns last Saturday against Western Michigan after posting 170 yards on the ground in a season-opening win over Akron.
With the open week, Day and company seek to build off the performance against the Broncos. Asked to reflect on what was different with his offensive line and running game last Saturday versus the opener, Day complemented the group's effort and attention to detail.
I think it was cleaner. I think there's still... This is everybody across the board. You look up at the end of the game and the score is what it is. We weren't looking at the score.
But there was effort. There were good plays. There was one play, Josh Fryar's running 50 yards down the field.There's a couple plays where Tegra's (Tshabola) taking somebody and finishing them into the ground. Seth McLaughlin up at the second level finishing guys on the long run. Or the long throw to Jeremiah where he turned and obviously ran away from everybody. Josh Simmons, which everyone's looking over here, he's finishing a guy into the sideline.
That's, to me, what we need to continue to work on and focus on and build on. That being said, I think that things were cleaner. But it's just a start.Bigger challenges ahead. But there is encouragement out of that group. I did think that the guys who came in in the second half, offensive line was a group that, again, was it perfect? No. But I did feel like coming out of this game it was better than it was the last couple years where we were finishing at the end of games. Guys were competing.
If you don't play 15 plays you can't grade out a champion. But if you grade out over 80% and play less than 15 plays, we call it honorable mention. There was a long list of honorable mention players coming out of this game and a few of them were on offensive line.
That effort for four quarters helped spawn OSU's most rushing yards in a single-game since the Buckeyes cranked out 340 against Indiana in 2022. Ohio State averaged 7.0 yards per carry last Saturday, also good for the best mark since that same thrashing of the Hoosiers. With the offensive line paving the way, scarlet and gray ball carriers found the end zone six times last weekend, good for the most since the Buckeyes racked up a half dozen against Maryland in 2019.
| SEASON | OPPONENT | ATT | YARDS | YPC | RUSH TD | OPP RANK - YPC ALLOWED | OPP RANK - YPG ALLOWED |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | AKRON | 33 | 170 | 5.2 | 2 | 126 | 124 |
| 2024 | W. MICHIGAN | 39 | 273 | 7.0 | 6 | 119 | 126 |
| 2023 | INDIANA | 31 | 143 | 4.6 | 2 | 67 | 82 |
| 2023 | YOUNGSTOWN ST. | 27 | 123 | 4.6 | 2 | FCS | FCS |
| 2023 | W. KENTUCKY | 33 | 204 | 6.2 | 3 | 112 | 123 |
| 2023 | NOTRE DAME | 27 | 126 | 4.7 | 2 | 24 | 28 |
| 2023 | MARYLAND | 33 | 62 | 1.9 | 1 | 20 | 34 |
| 2023 | PURDUE | 49 | 152 | 3.9 | 2 | 48 | 45 |
| 2023 | PENN STATE | 41 | 79 | 1.9 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023 | WISCONSIN | 43 | 181 | 4.2 | 1 | 41 | 41 |
| 2023 | RUTGERS | 29 | 139 | 4.8 | 1 | 55 | 43 |
| 2023 | MICHIGAN STATE | 32 | 177 | 5.5 | 2 | 64 | 70 |
| 2023 | MINNESOTA | 35 | 215 | 6.1 | 2 | 100 | 64 |
| 2023 | MICHIGAN | 28 | 107 | 3.8 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| 2023 | MISSOURI | 33 | 97 | 2.69 | 0 | 38 | 32 |
As fun as it was watching Ohio State run roughshod over the Broncos, it's hard to tell if the Buckeyes will enjoy strong success when the competition heats up. Through the small sample size of just two games, both Akron and Western Michigan rank near the very bottom of college football in rush yards per game and rush yards per carry allowed. The Buckeyes have certainly taken advantage, averaging 221 rushing yards per game on 6.2 per try.
Last year, Ohio State's run game was downright abysmal for large stretches and ended the season averaging just 4.2 yards per carry - the worst mark by a Buckeye squad since 2004. The four previous Ohio State teams with Day as head coach averaged between 5.4 and 6.0 yards per rushing attempt.
The 2023 Buckeyes ran for at least 200 yards just twice in 13 games. Through 63 games as head coach, Day's offenses ran for at least 200 yards in 34 of 63 games (54%). During his first two seasons as head coach (2019, '20), Ohio State ran for at least 200 yards in 19 of 22 contests.
With the season-by-season team rushing results a bit all over the map since Day took over, the hope for 2024 is that last Saturday's effort will be somewhat representative of what the rest of the season may look like.
It certainly helps that Ohio State has a quarterback who can threaten defenses with his legs, as does the arrival of Chip Kelly to guide the offense, given his historical creativity and success running the football. The Buckeyes also boast two elite ball carriers in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins.
But what Ohio State really needs is an offensive line that can set the tone and consistently open holes. Day has been complimentary of how the group built depth in fall camp and the starting unit should receive a boost a week from Saturday as left guard Donovan Jackson is expected to return from injury.
Most fans and experts would agree the offensive line has the most to prove of any position group on the team (with quarterback Will Howard next in line). For a team with national championship aspirations, how well the offensive line performs will likely be the most important storyline to watch as the season unfolds.
