Readers are wondering what changes are ahead for Buckeyes’ offense
It’s been an eventful week at Ohio State, including the Buckeyes’ naming Kyle Mccord their starting quarterback.
That means we received quite a few questions from The Dispatch’s subscriber text group. (Find out how to subscribe at Dispatch.com, where there are also more submissions to the mailbox and responses.)
Let’s get into it.
Do you expect the offense to be more explosive now that Coach Ryan Day will be focused on only one QB?
Continuity at quarterback should provide a lift for the Buckeyes moving forward, most obviously in their weekly game prep.
With the competition unsettled, Mccord and Brown had been splitting reps with the first team in practices. But those are not to be divvied up quite as much now.
“Kyle will get a little bit more than he has the last couple of weeks,” Day said.
Hey Joey, why isn’t our defensive line getting sacks against these weaker teams, IU & YSU? Is this a sign of future problems?
The Buckeyes’ sack numbers are definitely down. They have the second-lowest total in the Big Ten. But teams just aren’t dropping back all that much against Ohio State. The 47 pass attempts the Buckeyes have faced are the 13th fewest out of 133 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision through two weeks.
Even accounting for fewer opportunities to rush the passer, Ohio State’s sack rate is 6% (three sacks on 50 dropbacks), a percentage that would have put them in the middle of the pack for defenses nationally last season.
This weekend’s matchup with pass-happy Western Kentucky should be a better gauge of the Buckeyes’ rush.
What type of improvement does OSU need from its offensive line?
For all the angst over Ohio State’s offensive line, it’s held up in pass protection, surrendering two sacks through two weeks and allowing Mccord and Brown to be pressured on only 18.9% of their dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. For a comparison, Stroud, while protected by a line anchored by two All-american tackles, was pressured 23.4% of the time last season. The line is going to face more formidable fronts in the months ahead, but that’s an encouraging start for the group as far as that’s concerned.
The most glaring issue, and the area that needs to see the most improvement, is in run blocking. On rushes where Ohio State has needed 2 yards or less for a first down or touchdown, the Buckeyes have gone one of eight, a power success rate of 12.5%. That means they need to get a better push or advantage off the line of scrimmage.
Is Day going to cede any more play-calling duties?
Probably not yet. Day said last month that he would handle a “majority” of the offensive play-calling early on and cited a desire to bring along Hartline “the right way at the right time.” Based on those comments, this juncture feels too soon.
Keep in mind that Day has been calling the offense for the Buckeyes since at least 2018 and Hartline is in his first season as the coordinator without playcalling experience. If there is going to be a shift, it seems like it’ll be gradual.
Hi Joey, I wanted to follow up on Herbie’s “15% fringe” notion. Does this actually hurt our recruiting, and don’t all the major programs have this insatiable 15% lunatic fringe? Are our crazies crazier than SEC crazies?
There’s no question a segment of Ohio State’s fanbase is hard on the program, but I don’t see how that group, no matter how mad it gets, really has much effect dissuading high school players from enrolling at Ohio State. Otherwise, it would not have signed four straight top-five recruiting classes or maintained the third-most talented roster in the nation, based on 247Sports’ Team Talent Composite.
College football is a sport that tends to breed reactionary fans who are quick to target the coach and quarterback. It’s certainly louder in certain pockets of the country, but it’s part of the DNA everywhere.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted at jkaufman@dispatch.com.