There's a newfound bluntness in Ryan Day's candor when he fields defensive questions in press conferences.
There's no more deferring to Jim Knowles, the man he hired to be the "head coach of the defense" in 2022. Day is no longer dialing up Ohio State's offense, and in his new CEO role, he's been devoting a lot of time to fixing the prevailing defensive issues that hurt Ohio State in its 32-31 loss at Oregon. It's not that he doesn't have faith in the men he hired, but there's more of a personal accountability for how things unfold in all phases of the game.
"I had hard conversations with everybody, and I know what the plan is moving forward," Day said on Tuesday. "And I'm involved with that plan. So yeah, I've got confidence in all those guys on that side of the ball, and I know what we need to get done, and we're gonna get it done."
Perhaps topping that list of things to get done is finding better ways to rush the passer. Oregon's passing attack hurt the Buckeyes more than anything in Eugene, responsible for most of the Ducks' explosive plays and 341 of their 496 yards.
While a couple of coverage busts from cornerback Denzel Burke shoulder blame for the two biggest airstrikes, Knowles is known to say coverage and rush work together – and there's an even older coaching adage that pressure beats coverage. And Ohio State's pressure just didn't get home the way it needed to against Oregon.
"I'm not happy with anything right now, but certainly we want to get more pressure on the quarterback," Day said. "That is no question. It's the coach's job to make sure that we put our players in a situation and environment to be successful. So, that's the first thing we've got to look at, and then it's the player's job to go do it and execute it. So, all those things were part of the conversation this past week, and we definitely need to do a better job there."
Evaluating where Ohio State's pass rush is falling short is an interesting dilemma. Sacks aren't the only way for a front to impact the passing game; forcing a quarterback into a difficult off-platform throw, speeding up his process or getting in his face so he throws an incompletion are all viable solutions.
It's often a qualitative endeavor to say a team is or isn't getting consistent pressure, but there are outlets that try to quantify it. Pro Football Focus credits the Buckeyes with 15.5 pressures per game, which does sound like a lot, but actually ranks just ninth out of the Big Ten's 18 teams.
Looking at sacks, Ohio State is 23rd nationally with 2.9 per game. But that doesn't matter if the quarterback isn't taken down on the biggest stages, and the Buckeyes never sacked Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel while only hitting him twice before he threw the football.
Thus, it's up to Day, Knowles and defensive line coach Larry Johnson to fix the issue. Rifts have been rumored to exist between Knowles and Johnson in the past, particularly when Knowles implemented his hybrid defensive end/linebacker "Jack" position during his first season. But Day says he sees the two as being on the same page.
"Yeah. For sure," Day said. "I know that there was a point maybe early on when Jim got here where there was conversation about the Jack and all that. But our goal is to put the best four rushers in the game, or maybe if there's five, maybe there's five, or whatever it is. So that decision's been made, and we reevaluate those things when you have to. Certainly after a loss, but even during the bye week, you're going to do something like that."
Day added that while there's been "conversation" in Ohio State's defensive meeting rooms with different coaches having different ideas, he feels everyone is moving in the same direction by the time they leave the room. He noted that "truth" has been spoken in the last two weeks.
Much of the focus is on scheme. Defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer are five-star prospects who have each put on incredible individual performances in the past. According to Sports Info Solutions, they actually have the two best pressure rates among Big Ten pass rushers this season. Tuimoloau had both of OSU's quarterback hits vs. Oregon.
Two Buckeyes have been the most effective pass-rushers in the Big Ten this year so far. pic.twitter.com/8BFAM8GB8H
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) October 22, 2024
Yet all of those pressures didn't result in any quarterback takedowns against the Ducks while Gabriel seemed to have ample space to deliver his passes in Autzen Stadium. Much of it is because Oregon got to easily find its assignments and help where needed against an Ohio State front that often played its standard four-down alignment and didn't run stunts along the front. There's a reason Nick Saban called the rush scheme "antiquated" on Friday.
"I was really impressed with Oregon against Ohio State especially their offense..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 18, 2024
They played really well on both sides of the ball"
Nick Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/39FmoMrISX
Day didn't disagree with Saban's assessment, at least for now.
"Well, when it doesn't work, I mean, it's accurate," Day said. "It's not working. So there's a lot of different ways to do it. There's different strategies on how to go do that. But when you have the results that you do right now, then certainly it's not working, and that has to change."
As Eleven Warriors Skull Session writer Chase Brown put so eloquently on Tuesday, Georgia provided ample examples of how to play a less antiquated scheme while dicing up then-No. 1 Texas for seven sacks. The Longhorns are touted to have one of the best offensive lines in the country.
The Bulldogs not only found creative blitz schemes as Brown outlined, but even when only four men rushed, they were constantly changing the looks for opposing pass blockers. Can anyone remember the last time Ohio State's defensive line shifted all at once pre-snap? Georgia did throughout its matchup with Texas, not only confusing the Longhorns' blocking assignments but also drawing multiple false start penalties.
“When it doesn't work, I mean, it's accurate. It's not working.”– Ryan Day on Nick Saban saying Ohio State's pass rush scheme is "antiquated"
Then there are simulated pressures, forcing offensive linemen to account for rushers that ultimately drop into coverage or surprising them with delayed blitzers from unexpected angles. A four-man rush doesn't just have to mean four defensive linemen line up and go directly after a passer.
Day, Knowles and the rest are far more aware of these concepts than any who write stories about the Buckeyes. That's why Day is reviewing how they can be used to put the team's players in better positions.
"I think at the end of the day, it comes down to the personnel you have and where you are, and to put them in a chance to be successful," Day said. "And I feel like we have plenty of D-linemen here, and we have the right guys on the field. But we gotta make sure that we are changing it up and making sure that it isn't just a four-man rush straight up all the time."
Ohio State will look to generate more pressure this Saturday when it goes head-to-head with Nebraska, which has allowed 13 sacks in four Big Ten games.
