A Week 10 matchup with No. 23 Oregon puts Ohio State in a spot it can’t afford to waste.
Lose on Saturday, and the Buckeyes’ preseason hopes are basically gone. Win, and there’s still something left to play for.
That makes the offense the center of everything, especially with another week of practice behind Luke Fahey and the rest of the group. Ohio State doesn’t need a masterpiece, but it does need cleaner execution in the spots that mattered most last week against USC.
The first priority is simple: finish drives with touchdowns, not field goals. Against USC, Ohio State went 3-of-4 in the red zone, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Two of those scoring trips ended with field goals, including one from inside the five-yard line. Another possession stalled at the Trojans’ 21 and settled for three.
The only red-zone trip that came away empty ended with a turnover on downs to close the game. Oregon has been vulnerable there, too, allowing opponents to score 84.6 percent of the time in the red zone, with 45.4 percent of those drives ending in field goals.
In the last three games, opponents have turned four of six red-zone chances into touchdowns.
Ohio State also has to stay on the field on third down. Last week, the Buckeyes were 7-of-16 on third downs, with an average distance of 6.2 yards to go.
That kind of stop-and-start football won’t be enough against Oregon, especially if the Ducks’ offense catches rhythm. Ohio State did string together six drives of eight or more plays against USC, and that kind of sustained work needs to show up again.
Oregon’s third-down defense is ranked 20th nationally, holding opponents to 31.4 percent, well below Ohio State’s season average of 44.2 percent. Getting over 50 percent on Saturday would go a long way.
The final piece is the run game. Ohio State was balanced against USC, throwing 38 times and running it 43 times, and the ground game was productive enough at 4.7 yards per carry.
But the bigger issue this season has been inconsistency on the ground, which has put too much on the quarterback and the passing attack. That’s a tough way to live, especially with Fahey making just his second career start.
Oregon’s defense gives Ohio State a chance to build that balance early, since the Ducks average only 4.5 tackles for loss per game, which ranks 105th nationally. Against USC, Isaiah West helped set the tone early, and Bo Jackson finished with both backs averaging more than 5.0 yards per carry.
Getting West and Jackson rolling again would help Ohio State open up the rest of the offense.
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Jeremiah Smith Can Add Another Big Ten Milestone Against Oregon
Jeremiah Smith keeps turning milestone games into routine business, and the next one on the schedule gives him another chance to add to a record book he already owns in just about every meaningful way at Ohio State. The Buckeyes star receiver has become the standard for production in Columbus, and his latest stretch has him positioned to keep climbing the Big Ten lists while the spotlight only gets brighter.
Oregon is the next opponent, and with it comes another opportunity for Smith to keep stacking history against a high-profile defense. The yards record is still within reach, and with every big catch he makes, the conversation around him shifts a little more from what he has done to what he might finish with before this run is over. [Read more 🡒]
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Oregon Heads Into Ohio State With Key Offensive Questions
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The rest of the availability picture is still fluid, with other players carrying out or probable designations as Oregon prepares for one of its biggest tests of the season. For Ohio State, that means the focus is not just on who the Ducks will have, but on how much of their offense can be pieced together in time for a game where every healthy option matters. [Read more 🡒]