Lack of balance with running game stymies Ohio State, Ryan Day against Oregon
Lori Schmidt
If Ohio State's offense received a passing grade Saturday (a big if, since the Buckeyes fell 35-28 to the Oregon Ducks), it was not because of what the Buckeyes did rushing.
"I felt like they ran the ball, and we didn't do a very good job of running the football," said head coach Ryan Day, "because of that, I think they kind of controlled the game."
Oregon's C.J. Vardell had more rushing yards (161) than Ohio State did as a team (128).
When the Buckeyes dinged the Minnesota defense for 201 yards in the opener, it was Miyan Williams who did most of the damage. He ran for 125 yards on 9 carries, and he had three rushes of 14 yards or more.
He looked slightly less explosive against the Ducks. While he did have two 20-plus yard carries, overall he was handed the ball 14 times and was held to 77 yards.
Freshman TreVeyon Henderson flashed enough against the Golden Gophers that Day entrusted him with more work Saturday afternoon. Henderson would end the day with 54 yards, receiving 12 touches and scoring the first running TD of his collegiate career.
But those numbers were not enough to keep OSU's total from dropping off. Week 1 they went for an average of 7.7 yards when they ran the ball. Saturday that number was 4.1 — just enough of a dip to impact the final score.
"It just seemed a little out of whack today for whatever reason," Day said. "Sometimes when those (plays) go for 4 and 5, and you're posting 2 or 3, that can make all the difference in the world."
While Ohio State did manage to hold an edge in terms of time of possession, the lack of a run game hurt the team in at least one crucial category: OSU only converted six of their 15 third down attempts. Unable to pick up small chunks of yardage, they had to gain four yards or more on 80% of their third down situations.
The 2021 Ohio State football schedule:Times, dates and results for the Buckeyes
Oregon Football vs. OSU:'Block out the noise and just be Oregon': Jubilant Ducks celebrate watershed win at Ohio Stadium
Rob Oller:Buckeyes go down with their bend-and-break defense
True to Day's word that he would shorten his rotation at the position, only running backs Williams and Henderson had carries Saturday afternoon, although part of the reason for that may have been Marcus Crowley sustaining an injury on the second half kickoff, which resulted in him being carted off the field.
He was holding a towel to his face, trying to disguise how distraught he was as he left the field. There was no word after the contest on what his status is moving forward.
Master Teague did not touch the ball. The junior had six carries the week prior.
It's easy to wonder why this turned out to be such an issue. After all, quarterback C.J. Stroud made it very hard for the Buckeyes to go away from him. He completed 35 of 54 passes. He threw for 484 yards and three touchdowns.
However, Day said they cannot improve if they rely so heavily on that.
"That's something that we've got to go back as an offensive staff and get fixed and get addressed, because we want balance," said Day. "When we're not balanced, we're out of whack."