Ohio State’s offensive line has transformed from the team’s biggest question to an offensive answer in six weeks.
The Buckeyes went from their worst yards-per-carry mark since 2004 in 2023 to the No. 5 rushing offense in yards per carry through five games of 2024 with 6.2 yards per attempt. Only four quarterback sacks have been recorded against Ohio State, the 11th-fewest in college football.
Clear strides have been made from the most maligned unit on last year’s scarlet and gray squad. Even if Ryan Day isn’t resting on those laurels.
“I think there's been improvement, but we're nowhere near where we need to be or in a situation where we're evaluating their progress. other than the fact that I think they are getting better every week,” Day said. “Again, it goes back to practice. It goes back to the work they put in, the preparation, and it's week-to-week. You can look great one week but not on the next week.”
He’s probably correct to keep his hogs hungry for further growth. No. 2 Ohio State’s massive contest at No. 3 Oregon looms, and the Ducks have one of the nation’s top defenses, partially thanks to a big, athletic, chaos-weaving defensive line led by star defensive end Jordan Burch.
Matchup games, and games in general, are often won in the trenches. And no more holistic test of the Buckeyes’ remastered offensive line has happened this season than the one that awaits them in Eugene.
“They got some dudes over there. Are they going to make plays? Absolutely,” quarterback Will Howard said. “Are they going to try and present some tough looks for us (on the defensive line)? Yeah, absolutely. But I'm super confident in my O-line. I think we got the best O-line in the country, and they're playing at a really, really high level right now, and I'm excited for them. I think they're going to take on that challenge, and I know that.”
Iowa provided Ohio State’s front five with a barometer for its run blocking last week, entering as the No. 4 run defense in college football with a pair of 300-pound-plus defensive tackles to eat space and Jay Higgins, a linebacker fresh off a 171-tackle season.
The Buckeyes’ ground game stayed productive as its offensive line answered the bell. Ohio State picked up 7.3 yards per carry in the first half en route to a 203-yard team rushing performance against a Hawkeye defense that had not surrendered even 100 rushing yards in any of its previous matchups.
Oregon’s run defense isn’t quite as good statistically, ranking 24th nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (101.4) and 48th in yards allowed per carry (3.7). Boise State Heisman-contending running back Ashton Jeanty put up 192 yards against the Ducks in Week 2, with the Broncos posting 6.7 yards per carry as a team. Oregon hasn’t allowed more than 131 rushing yards in a game otherwise and held all of Idaho, UCLA and Michigan State under 60 yards on the ground. Of course, the combo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson is more than capable of putting up Jeanty-like numbers.
Where Dan Lanning’s front four surpasses the Hawkeyes is in the size and athleticism of its defensive linemen and in rushing the passer.
It always starts on the interior, and Oregon nose guard Jamaree Caldwell can eat lots of space at 340 pounds. Derrick Harmon, its 3-technique defensive tackle, has been disruptive with 19 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks this season. The former Michigan State Spartan and one-time transfer portal target for Ohio State this offseason weighs in at 310 pounds.
“Very, very good front,” Day said. “Burch is very, very good. He's very athletic and strong. Good pass rusher, good against the run. Harmon we know, he's from Michigan State. He's playing very, very good football. I mean, they have some good guys up front, so it's going to be a great challenge for our offensive line and for everybody.”
Burch is the biggest beast of the bunch, not in size but in impact. Although there’s a short list of defensive ends that weigh in at 290 pounds or more in college football. Burch has seven tackles for loss and five sacks this year, both team-highs for the Ducks. He’s fresh off a 2.5-sack outing against Michigan State, a 31-10 win for Oregon.
“He's listed at 6-5, 290, but he plays defensive end,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “Most guys that big are interior defensive linemen, so he's a really athletic guy. He had a huge game against Michigan State last Friday night and really showed up. I think he's really starting to embrace that role that (defensive coordinator) Tosh (Lupoi) and Dan have put him in. You've got to know where he is on every play. But he's one of those guys that can disrupt a football game.”
“You've got to know where he is on every play.”– Chip Kelly on Oregon DE Jordan Burch
Blocking him and fellow defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei, once a top Ohio State target on the recruiting trail back in the class of 2023, will be the biggest pass-protection test of the year to date for Buckeye left tackle Josh Simmons and right tackle Josh Fryar. Improving against speedy edge rushers was perhaps the top offseason focus for Fryar, who allowed five sacks and 13 total pressures in 2023 per Pro Football Focus. He’s only allowed one sack and three pressures so far this year.
Oregon is 16th nationally with 16 sacks as a team, 11.5 of which have come from Burch, Harmon and Uiagalelei. Keeping the rush at bay will be a team effort.
“Everything gets ramped up and we’ve gotta make sure that we’re doing a great job in protection, knowing that we have a really good front we're going against,” Day said. “And that we're doing a great job of getting open. They're going to challenge us in coverage and we got to create separation. And so everything's a part of that. And the quarterback's a big part of it as well, for sure. The ball's got to come out on time. It's not easy, but it's as simple as having really good protection, spacing it out and getting out on time against zone and winning against man-to-man.”
Ohio State also took a step in solidifying its interior offensive line against the Hawkeyes, with Tegra Tshabola taking all the first-team snaps at right guard alongside center Seth McLaughlin and left guard Donovan Jackson. McLaughlin’s been a huge boost to the team after transferring from Alabama and Jackson’s been a road-grader when healthy this year, so seeing Tshabola separate is another positive sign for Justin Frye’s unit.
“We'll keep evaluating on a week-to-week basis. But he is getting better, and we felt like he could handle those guys inside and give us the best chance in that moment to win the game,” Day said. “We'll kind of, again, evaluate it this week. But if he continues to improve and continues to do what he's doing then it'll look the same.”
The last challenge of blocking Oregon up correctly is its scheme. The Ducks do a great job of mixing coverages, fronts, pressures and personnel. Such is the benefit of a defensive-minded head coach like Lanning, Kirby Smart’s defensive coordinator at Georgia from 2019 through 2021. The Bulldogs won a national title with one of the best defenses in college football history in the last of those years.
“They move in and out of three down and four down (linemen),” Kelly said. “They can blitz you internally. They can blitz you from the edges. And they always seem like they're close in coverage. You don't turn the tape on and see a lot of guys running free. I think they do a really good job of mixing their coverages with their front, and it can present some problems to you if you're not prepared for it.”
Ohio State’s entire team has been ramping up to this Oregon game all season, but especially its offensive line after cracking back on its critics through five games. Simmons, Jackson, McLaughlin, Tshabola and Fryar will get their chance to prove the improvements are real at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC.
