3 Problems That Need to be Addressed Before Ohio State Football Begins Big Ten Play

After the first half of Ohio State’s eventual loss to Texas last Saturday, a team that had to replace 11 starters from a season ago looked like it did not miss a beat.

They scored 20 points in the first half with a steady run game and a connection between quarterback Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith that the Longhorn defense had no answers for. The defense forced two turnovers and other than a couple blown coverages saved by drops, looked again to be the best defense in the country.

Then, everything unfolded very quickly.

The offense stuttered in the second half and could not muster any points other than a third quarter field goal. The defense kept giving Manning time to operate in the pocket and gave up three fourth quarter touchdowns to give Texas a one-point lead and eventual victory with under a minute to go.

As no one is happy about seeing that “1” in the loss column for the Buckeyes, the flaws displayed in that second half may have not been seen, and gives Ohio State items to work on as they progress into one of their toughest Big Ten schedules they have seen in years.

These problems can hopefully be focused on this week against Kent State and reworked before they open their Big Ten season against Illinois next week. But if they still deem as problems heading into that game, getting through this schedule may be more stressful to the Buckeye faithful than they imagined.

Here are three issues head coach Ryan Day and Ohio State need to address before conference play commences in two Saturdays:

Pass Rush

While the defense played pretty strong in the first three quarters in the Texas matchup, one thing still did not look right as the Buckeyes made stops.

There was no pressure on Arch Manning.

This was a concern coming into the game, as Ohio State only had one sack in their game against Ball State and it did not come until the second-to-last drive of the game.

Riley Pettijohn and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. came up with timely sacks in the first half of this last game, but outside of that Manning had not only a lot of time to work in the pocket, but also a lot of room.

The defensive line was a key group coming into this season in replacing production, as starters Caden Curry, Kayden McDonald and Tywone Malone Jr. all went to the NFL last year.

Yet, coming into camp a lot of hype surrounded the growth of the depth and the production the room can have as a whole. The talent is still there, but the results need to show.

It will be something to watch coming into Kent State if Matt Patricia sends more blitz packages and tries to get a feel of where he can get the most production in getting to the quarterback. It will also be curious who in the room can stand out and say they can be an elite pass rusher among the depth.

Who knows what this week and the coming weeks will tell of this position group’s rotation and their production, but what we do know is that Ohio State needs to start getting to the quarterback immediately if they want to keep the high standard on the defensive side of the ball they have created under Matt Patricia.

Backline Coverage

Outside of the pass rush issues seen in the first half, many Buckeye fans are also easy to point out that Texas could have had two big touchdowns that lucked out in Ohio State’s favor.

A dropped post run by Texas wide receiver Cam Coleman became an interception in the first quarter, and then wide receiver Ryan Wingo dropped a great ball up the seam from Texas quarterback Arch Manning on a good drive in the second quarter.

If those balls were caught, this game could have easily been 20-14 at halftime.

Outside of these plays, the secondary played pretty well in keeping Manning inefficient throughout the game. But, with the competition Ohio State sees this season at wide receiver these lapses in coverage cannot happen.

The secondary may be the strongest group of this whole team to start the year. There should be confidence in giving these players that one-on-one matchup, but not if these big play opportunities keep sprouting for these offenses, as they will connect at some point in a big game.

Running Game

The run game looked improved from the Ball State game, but still not to the standard the Buckeyes expect out of a veteran offensive line unit and explosive backfield.

The rushing offense still only mustered 94 yards on 31 carries, which does not strike fear into anybody in Day wanting to beat people down with the run.

In a room that was supposed to be split for the most part, Jackson took 70% of the carries with limited snaps for the rest of the group. We know the ability Jackson has, but with all the skillset present in the room, mixing up these snaps might bring a different juice that is needed.

What has made the staple of Arthur Smith’s offenses up to this point in his coaching career is a solid running game. That is what opens up the passing game.

If the run game continues to be average, the passing game has the ability to not be as versatile with defenses trusting less guys in the box to make plays.

With high aspirations for where this offense can go this season, this is a major development Ohio State needs to see in the coming weeks.

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