With No. 2 Ohio State's showdown against No. 3 Oregon slated for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET in Autzen Stadium, head coach Ryan Day met with the media yesterday to preview the contest.
Both teams have designs on assuming the driver's seat in the Big Ten race and with each program stacked with talent, this is the the first true "matchup game" on the schedule this season for either squad.
As such, the game will likely be won or lost on the margins. That can mean many things but one of them could certainly be how each team's offense fares in the red zone - looking to come away with touchdowns instead of field goals.
So far this season, Ohio State's offense has been lethal in the red zone and Day knows keeping that going would be a huge boost to his team's chances of pulling off a road win Saturday night.
"I think the execution's been good. I think Will's ability to run and some of the throws he's made have definitely made a difference there. But it's going to important this week. As you know, you've got to score touchdowns in the red area... It's the execution but it's the approach and the scheme as well."– - Ryan Day on OSU's red zone offense
To say Ohio State's red zone offense has been "good" is an understatement to this point.
The Buckeyes have scored points in all 21 red zone trips through five games and rank No. 2 in the country in red zone touchdown rate, finding the end zone 20 times in those 21 visits.
| SEASON | RZ SCORE % | NATL RANK | RZ TD RATE | NATL RANK | TD / RZ POSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (5 G) | 100% | 1 | 95.2% | 2 | 20/21 |
| 2023 | 86.0% | 58 | 64.0% | 47 | 32/43 |
| 2022 | 97.6% | 2 | 74.6% | 6 | 46/54 |
| 2021 | 91.5% | 12 | 64.4% | 45 | 31/41 |
| 2020 | 77.3% | 100 | 63.6% | 57 | 28/34 |
| 2019 | 89.3% | 30 | 78.7% | 4 | 47/55 |
| 2018 | 77.1% | 116 | 61.4% | 66 | 43/54 |
| 2017 | 89.7% | 23 | 66.2% | 36 | 45/61 |
Of course the schedule to-date hasn't been littered with top tier defenses but between the player execution and Chip Kelly's creative play calling, there's a lot to be excited about as the Buckeyes head to Eugene with oddsmakers expecting a close game.
Ohio State's red zone offense scored five touchdowns in five tries against an Iowa defense that had only allowed three red zone trips across its first four games.
The contest prior, a roadie against Michigan State, saw the Buckeyes' lone failure to score a touchdown in the red zone. Ohio State had to settle for a field goal on its opening possession of the game before going on to score four red zone touchdowns after.
On the drive resulting in a field goal, OSU had 1st-and-Goal at the Sparty 10-yard line but tight end Will Kacmarek was flagged for unnecessary roughness during a 4-yard Will Howard run on first down putting the Buckeyes in a 2nd-and-Goal from the MSU 21 hole that it couldn't dig out of.
Against the likes of Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall to start the season, the Buckeyes scored a combined 11 touchdowns in 11 red zone trips.
Spanning the first five games in which Ohio State scored those 20 touchdowns in 21 total visits to the red zone, 12 came via the ground and eight through the air.
The Buckeyes certainly seem to be benefitting from having a quarterback that can run when the field condenses as Howard has quietly picked up a red zone touchdown run in four-straight games.
Assuming Ohio State reaches the red zone this Saturday, it will be interesting to see if the Buckeyes unveil any new wrinkles combined with what's been successful so far.
If/when it does reach the red zone, Ohio State will be facing an Oregon defense currently slotted No. 105 nationally in red zone scoring rate allowed (90.9%) and 68th in red zone touchdown rate allowed (58.3%) as the Ducks have given up seven touchdowns across 11 trips by opponents inside the red zone.
Scoring touchdowns instead of settling for field goals in the red zone could ultimately be the difference in Ohio State celebrating a win or bemoaning a loss come late Saturday night.
