Ohio State rolled past Kent State 59-3 on Saturday, but the box score still exposed a problem the Buckeyes can’t seem to shake: short-yardage offense.
The number that jumped out came from Buckeye Talk co-host Stefan Krajisnik, who pointed out that Ohio State went 0-for-8 on third down against one of the MAC’s weaker teams. That kind of line usually gets buried in a blowout. This time, it became the centerpiece of a bigger conversation.
“So they were 0 of eight on third down and we didn’t talk about that on Saturday,” Krajisnik noted.
Co-host Stephen Means wasn’t interested in brushing it aside. To him, the issue has gone well beyond one bad afternoon or one play caller.
“This is Ohio State’s third different coordinator in three years,” Means said. “It’s their fourth different play caller since Ryan Day became the head coach. And yet they still can’t figure out short yardage and I don’t know what to do with that.”
He tied the problem directly to Day’s program, not to the names rotating through the offensive staff.
“That’s that’s that’s not an Arthur Smith problem and it’s not a Brian Hartline problem and it’s not a Chip Kelly problem. It’s just a you it’s it’s it’s it’s a Ryan Day problem at that point of like man why has this been your Achilles heel for eight years?”
Krajisnik broke down the failed third-down snaps one by one, and the details made the issue look even more frustrating. It wasn’t one busted concept after another.
It was the basics falling apart: a blocker colliding with a teammate, a running back meeting a defender too early in the hole, a lineman losing a swim move on a play that had already worked earlier in the game. The Buckeyes were trying.
They just weren’t finishing.
The broader numbers back up the concern. Ohio State is sitting 103rd nationally in third-down conversion rate at 36.36%, which is a rough place for a team with a veteran offensive line, an NFL head coach in Arthur Smith calling plays, and a second-year starting quarterback who was a Heisman Trophy finalist last season.
Means said the roots of the issue go back beyond this year. He pointed to the departures of key offensive linemen and backs as the moment the Buckeyes lost their ability to consistently move the chains in tight spaces.
“Since like JK Dobbins and Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis and Jonah Jackson walked out the door, they have not been able to consistently go get a yard when they need to get the yard.”
Neither host had a perfect cure, but Means offered one way to make the problem less damaging: lean harder into explosive plays. Ohio State is among the national leaders in gains of 40 yards or more, and if the Buckeyes can keep hitting those kinds of chunk plays, they can reduce how often they have to live in third-and-one territory.
Krajisnik also pointed to personnel as part of the answer. Ohio State’s receiver group is deep enough to make spread looks matter, and Brock Boyd and Chris Henry Jr. have shown enough blocking ability to help the run game even without leaning on heavier tight end sets. More 10 personnel, more space, fewer packed boxes.
Still, none of that changes the main issue Means kept coming back to. The names have changed.
The play callers have changed. The problem hasn’t.
“Why is it so hard for you to get one yard consistently?” Means asked.
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