Ohio State heads into Saturday’s game with Maryland still trying to clean up a few problem spots before the schedule turns sharper with Indiana, USC and Oregon waiting down the road. For Ryan Day, the message this week was straightforward: the Buckeyes need more from special teams, more explosiveness in the run game, and better decision-making from quarterback Julian Sayin.
Special teams is the area Day keeps circling back to, and after five games he still hasn’t seen enough progress.
“When we look at the consistency of kicking field goals, not good enough. When we look at our return yards, we need to be better, just across the board.
We have an opportunity to pooch the ball inside the 10-yard line, that has to get done. So it's a challenge to everybody in the program.
We've got to get better in all four phases of special teams,” Day said.
The kicking issues have already shown up in real time. Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field goal against Texas with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter, then missed again against Iowa from 40 yards in the second quarter. Day said the problem isn’t new, pointing to a longer pattern that has stretched across multiple seasons and multiple kickers, even with practice changes meant to better recreate pressure.
“You ultimately fall to the level of your training, but we have to keep looking and uncover all stones to get this thing addressed because we know it's going to come down to one of these kicks again,” Day said.
The Buckeyes’ ground game has been productive, but Day wants it to hit harder. Ohio State ran for 160 yards against Iowa, with Bo Jackson and Ja'Kobi Jackson combining for 142 yards on 30 carries. Still, neither back broke off a run longer than 16 yards.
Day said the overall efficiency is there, but he wants chunk plays.
“I think our running game right now, when you look at the efficiency, is solid,” Day said. “But we want to be more explosive still. We want to create bigger runs.”
He also made clear that part of that job falls on everyone up front and outside the backfield, not just the running backs themselves. The offensive line, tight ends and receivers all have to help spring those plays.
Then there’s the passing game, where Day wants Sayin to be more disciplined in how he reads the field. Against Iowa, Sayin fired a 54-yard completion to Jeremiah Smith in triple coverage even though Devin McCuin was wide open on the play. Day called it what it was: a spectacular throw and catch, but not one Ohio State should lean on.
“That was a result of a ridiculous throw and a ridiculous catch. Eventually, that's going to get you beat. So we have to be smart about that,” Day said.
With defenses continuing to key on Smith, Ohio State’s ability to find other open targets will matter more and more as Big Ten play rolls on.
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 🡒]
Ohio States Elite Passing Game Is Hiding A Bigger Running Back Issue
Ohio States passing game has been humming along at a level few teams in the country can match, but the ground game is carrying a very different kind of conversation. The Buckeyes sit 81st in rushing yards per attempt, a ranking that stands out for a team with this much offensive firepower and one that has had to lean on a rotating backfield rather than finding a clear weekly answer.
The workload has bounced among Ja'Kobi Jackson, Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, with true freshman Legend Bey also part of the early mix. Beys limited role has drawn attention because of questions around why his touches have thinned out, and while there has been speculation about professionalism concerns, nothing has been officially confirmed. For a team built to pressure defenses in every way, the bigger issue may be less about who is getting the carries and more about whether Ohio State has settled on the right one. [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 🡒]