It’s one thing to say a lesson has been learned, it’s another to apply it.
Ohio State leaned too much on the running game, particularly the interior running game, against Michigan. It’s been rehashed on several occasions here at Eleven Warriors and it’s been said more than a million times by fans since that fateful day on Nov. 30. Ryan Day, to some credit, came out last week and acknowledged that the offensive game plan shortchanged his players.
“There's no question that the ball was run interiorly too much in The Game,” Day said on Dec. 4. “I think that’s clear to see. Again, we did throw it, I think 35 times. And there were some plays to the outside. But yeah, overall, the percentage was too high of running the ball inside. It's clear.”
As the Buckeyes stare down the barrel of another fully loaded .50 cal in Tennessee’s defensive line, they will need to be willing to lean on their passing game should they hit similar rushing snafus early in the contest. Their season might depend on it.
“Definitely been spending some time with the offense, and we'll look at it and see whatever makes the most sense to win this game, we'll do,” Day said on Sunday. “Whatever it takes. And we've already been looking at Tennessee, as you can imagine. … We’ve got about ten days to work it, flush through all the issues.
“And so I think that's the good part of this thing. It's not too far where you got a month where you're kind of in bowl prep. But it's also not a week where it's on, you get two weeks to work on this thing, and work through the issues, and try to put our guys in the best position to be successful. So yeah, I'll make sure I'm a big part of it. And whatever it takes to get done, we're gonna get it done.”
Michigan holds an elite run defense (No. 3 in rushing yards allowed per game) and a middling pass defense (No. 66 in passing yards allowed). The difference for Tennessee isn’t quite as drastic.
The Volunteers have allowed 99.6 rushing yards per game, which is No. 8 across the FBS, and 2.8 yards per carry, which is No. 4. Ironically, they are one spot behind Ohio State’s defense in the former category and one spot ahead in the latter. Tennessee has surrendered 178.7 passing yards per game, No. 17 in the country, and 6.1 yards per pass attempt, also No. 17.
So, in essence, a borderline top-five run defense and top-20 pass defense. The Volunteers are No. 4 in the country in points allowed per game (13.9) and No. 4 in total yards allowed per game (278.3). It’s not that their pass defense is a weakness, it’s just not as imposing as the run defense.
“Their front is very good, on the edge, inside,” Day said of Tennessee’s defense. “Both corners are tremendous. They do a nice job. They've stopped the run very well this season and lead a lot of statistics defensively, certainly in the SEC. And so it's gonna be a great challenge for our guys. We've played against good defenses this year, but this will be one of them.”
James Pearce Jr. is perhaps the brightest star on a strong Tennessee defense. (Credit: Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Defensive end James Pearce Jr., a player with plenty of first-round NFL draft projections, anchors the defensive front. His 52 quarterback pressures are tied for eighth-most in the FBS, per Pro Football Focus. He’s collected 35 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 2024.
Ohio State offensive tackles Donovan Jackson (who converted from guard midseason to replace Josh Simmons) and Josh Fryar did a fantastic job containing star Indiana defensive end Mikhail Kamara in Week 13, as he had just three assisted tackles and no sacks against the Buckeyes. Star Michigan defensive end Josaiah Stewart was also limited to just two tackles and two total pressures with no quarterback hits or sacks.
Where the Buckeyes struggled mightily was on the interior versus the Wolverines’ elite defensive tackle tandem of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. Graham collected seven tackles against Ohio State, five of them solo, and OSU managed a meager three yards per carry. Tennessee has its own stout interior tandem in Omari Thomas and Bryson Eason, who weigh in at 325 and 310 pounds, respectively. They have a combined 12 TFLs in 2024.
The Volunteers rotate frequently on the defensive line to keep their starters fresh. Per PFF, seven defensive linemen have played at least 210 snaps this season, the most notable being backup defensive end Joshua Josephs, who is fourth on the team with 38 tackles and second with nine TFLs, adding 1.5 sacks. He splits reps rather evenly with starter Dominic Bailey.
As the Buckeyes evaluate potential shakeups to an interior offensive line that’s struggled since Seth McLaughlin’s season-ending injury three weeks ago, the matchups clearly favor Tennessee when it comes to its interior defense against Ohio State’s interior offense. The Buckeyes are still capable of winning, but unlike against Michigan, they must do a better job scheming around those mismatches.
“These guys have what it takes to go make this run,” Day said of Ohio State’s interior offensive linemen. “So we’ve got to help them. We’ve got to help them. And I think there's ways to do that ... there's a lot of ways that we can do it and we will do it.”
Yes, as stated above, Tennessee’s passing defense is good. But when it’s clicking, Ohio State’s passing offense is among the best in college football.
“Whatever makes the most sense to win this game, we'll do. Whatever it takes.”– Ryan Day on Ohio State’s Offensive gameplan
The Buckeyes are No. 9 nationally with 8.9 passing yards per attempt. Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate form the best receiver corps in college football. Will Howard had easily the worst performance of his Ohio State career in The Game, but he’s still fourth nationally in completion percentage (72.3%) and sixth in yards per attempt (9.1). Day said Howard responded to the loss in a similar manner to the rest of the team, processing it and turning to the future.
“When you first come off of those types of things, there's a lot of emotion,” Day said. “And then as time goes on, you've got to get refocused, because you know that what you've done in the past really does not affect what's going on moving forward. Everything is out in front of us. And I think he's in the same boat just like that. And he knows what needs to get done.”
Tennessee has a lockdown cornerback in Jermod McCoy, who has four interceptions and nine pass breakups in 2024. Free safety Will Brooks will be another name to watch for as he ranks second on the team with 54 tackles and three interceptions this year. But they and the rest of the Vols’ secondary haven’t faced a receiving corps as complete as Ohio State’s.
Day spent a lot of time in defensive meeting rooms after an Oregon loss where that unit let the team down. He did the same with the offense following the Michigan loss. Perhaps similar small tweaks will follow as with the “re-engineered” defense after that game against the Ducks, changes that could include more reliance on the passing game and ingenuity on the ground.
“It’s similar to what happened in the Oregon game on defense,” Day said. “I think when you saw some of the adjustments that were made, to the naked eye, it's like, ‘OK, what really was different?’ But there was a difference. That’s gonna be the way it is here. Up front and how we're running the ball and how we're operating, and some of it's execution. Some of it is making sure we put the guys in the right position to be successful.”
The livelihood of Ohio State’s season, and possibly Day’s program, depends on the right adjustments being made – the lessons truly learned.
“There's been twists and turns and ups and downs, but here we are,” Day said. “I think when you think about the opportunity that our team has to go do something like this, I mean, this would be an unbelievable accomplishment to go on a run here and go win the whole thing. And you're four games away. It's real, it's on the table. As much as the last week hurt, it hurt, but here we are now. And so all the focus has gotta go on Tennessee and winning this first one.”
