No. 3 Ohio State kept things in check throughout its battle against No. 1 Texas on Saturday at “The Shoe” in Columbus, Ohio, winning 14-7. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day will look at the film from this one and see a lot of positives.
Yet, like so many college football coaches, Day always has areas that need to be tweaked or improved.
Where Does Ryan Day Think Buckeyes Need to Improve?
After the win, Day met with reporters. A lot of his initial comments focused on how Ohio State came out prepared to face off against the Longhorns. Their defensive schemes, planned by defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, were excellent in keeping Texas quarterback Arch Manning pretty much in check.
Still, Day took a long, hard look at the Ohio State rushing attack and plainly stated that it needs to be better. Day made his comments during his postgame press conference.
“That’s a stout front, there’s a lot of guys in there,” Day said. “When we play them again, I don’t think it’s going to look the same way. We were leaning on some of our tight ends in there. There were some good runs in there. I got to really look hard at the film and see where things didn’t go perfect [sic] because we were pretty tied in on both edges there.”
He continued, “Those are downhill runs. We’re looking to get physical and push guys around, but I do think we were getting movement up there. It was not a high-scoring game; I think we had four possessions in the first half. When it’s time to spread it out and air it out, we’ll do that.”
What types of rushing numbers did Ohio State backs have against the Longhorns? Running back CJ Donaldson Jr. had 19 carries for 67 yards and one touchdown, while his partner, James Peoples, added 10 carries for 20 yards. Freshman quarterback Julian Sayin had two carries for two yards while leading the Buckeyes’ offense.
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As for the team totals per a run game, the Buckeyes finished with 77 yards on 34 total carries.
Texas’ defense played tough most of the game, but Ohio State’s ground game found its spots. When Day looks at how things happened against the Longhorns, he’ll most likely tweak how the run attack looks in future games. Day must also ensure his team keeps its eyes on the big prize, which is repeating as national champions.
Day and the Buckeyes continue their homestand next Saturday, September 6, when they host the Grambling State Tigers at 3:30 ET.