Ohio State’s passing game has been carrying the load, but the Buckeyes’ backfield keeps raising the same uncomfortable question: why has so much been invested in a running back room that still hasn’t produced like it should?
The Buckeyes are 81st in FBS in rushing yards per attempt, and last week’s win over Iowa offered a pretty clear snapshot of where things stand. Ja’Kobi Jackson led Ohio State in rushing yards and scored the team’s only rushing touchdown. He also got the first three carries on designed runs and served as the lead back for most of the first half.
By the time Ohio State was closing the game out on its final two drives, the workload was split in a way that says plenty about the current rotation. Ja’Kobi Jackson had five carries, Bo Jackson had eight, and Isaiah West had four.
Ja’Kobi Jackson’s role is especially notable because he arrived from Florida this offseason with most people viewing him as depth. That made sense at the time.
Ohio State has usually handled the position well by leaning on multiple backs over a long season, and that approach hit its peak in 2024 with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. But Jackson came to Columbus after averaging just 3.6 yards per carry on 27 attempts for a bad Florida team last year, and nobody was projecting him as a co-starter.
Bo Jackson has taken a different path. He emerged as Ohio State’s top back early last season as a true freshman, then after sitting out the Buckeyes’ season-opening win over Texas, he led the team in carries in every game except one the rest of the way. He finished with 1,090 rushing yards and became the fifth Buckeye to top 1,000 yards as a freshman.
There were rumors after the season that Bo Jackson might leave Columbus, but he never entered the portal and returned for his sophomore year. Nothing official has been said, but it would be fair to assume Ohio State is spending good NIL money to keep him around, especially with his current status as essentially a co-starter.
West was one of the early camp storylines, too. He opened fall camp as the first-team running back after serving as Ohio State’s second back as a true freshman.
That buzz has not translated into a major season-long role. Through five games, he has only 22 carries, though he did post a season-high 21 yards on seven carries against Iowa.
Then there’s Legend Bey, the true freshman who may have the most explosive ability of the group but has barely been unlocked. His recruitment went back and forth, with a flip from Ohio State to Tennessee and then back to Ohio State at the last minute. So far, he has only eight carries for 37 yards, along with two catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Bey began the season as the kick returner, but that lasted only for the Ball State and Kent State games. He has not played a snap since the Kent State game, even though he is described as the most electric player on the roster.
The issue, as the tea leaves suggest, is a lack of professionalism in the program. If that’s the case, Ohio State is justified in keeping him on the sideline.
Letting one player slide changes the standard for everyone.
The broader truth is simple enough: Ohio State fans expect elite production everywhere, and that includes running back. An elite ground game this season may already be off the table. But the Buckeyes do not necessarily need a dominant rushing attack to reach their goals, because their passing game is already the best in the country.
At some point, though, Ohio State will probably need to run the ball in a playoff setting. The real test is whether the run game can do enough to support that passing attack and help the Buckeyes handle any defense they face.
If this were an NFL team, the way the resources have been used at running back would draw heavy criticism. If Ohio State reaches all of its goals anyway, the money will not matter nearly as much.
In Other News...
Former Ohio State Coach Brian Hartline Just Took A Brutal First Step Back
Brian Hartlines first months at South Florida had gone smoothly enough, with the former Ohio State offensive coordinator off to a 4-1 start before a stumble at UTSA snapped the momentum. The trip also came with a side note that got plenty of attention, after Hartline made comments about the noise inside the opponents stadium and then had those remarks revisited in a very public way once the game was over.
From Ohio States perspective, Hartlines next chapter is still part of the larger coaching tree story, but the Buckeyes have their own issues to sort out as the schedule rolls on. The offense has had trouble getting the rushing game where it needs to be, and while Hartline is now trying to settle in as a head coach, his rough first step back served as another reminder that the margins get small fast once conference and nonconference tests start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Brings Coaching Drama And A Defense Ohio State Can Exploit
Maryland arrives with plenty of noise around the program, and not much of it has anything to do with what happens between the lines. The uncertainty around Mike Locksleys future has hung over the Terps for a while now, with the athletic director potentially waiting until after the bye week to make a call, and that backdrop only adds to the sense that Ohio State is catching Maryland at a tense moment. At the same time, the offensive side has slipped, with Malik Washingtons play trending down and the Terps searching for steadier footing.
There is still enough on the defensive front to make Maryland worth studying, especially along the line, where a few key pieces can flash and disrupt a game if the rest of the unit holds together. The problem, as Michael Howes pointed out, is that the tackling has not been dependable enough, and those misses have repeatedly undercut the defense. For Ohio State, that creates a familiar sort of opportunity, one that starts with pressure up front and can quickly turn into a longer afternoon for a defense already carrying too much uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Got More Fuel In The Rankings Debate
Ohio States win over Iowa did more than just keep the Buckeyes rolling, it gave them another boost in ESPNs Football Power Index, where they now sit No. 1. FPI is built as a formula-driven projection system, one that measures how a team is expected to perform against an average opponent rather than simply rewarding rsum points or name recognition.
For a program that always lives in the center of the rankings conversation, that matters because Ohio States place in the public debate is never just about one poll. The AP Poll and Coaches Poll still carry their own influence, but the Buckeyes latest rise adds another layer to the argument over which system best captures how good a team really is. [Read more 🡒]