In my last film study, the topic and following comment discussion centered heavily around Ohio State's passing game, and how it was "boring and predictable" at times. While I definitely agree that a little more spice should have been added, I wanted to do a film study on why OSU operated the way they did, and why the scheme itself should have still resulted in a win over Indiana, and a subsequent deep run in the CFB Playoff.
Bread and Butter
The term "bread and butter" has been oversimplified in my opinion. Most people generically think of it as the play(s) you go to when you need it most. Over the years for OSU, this has been Dave, JT Right, JT Left, and most recently Hank (more on this later). However, the bread and butter plays are far more than just your "money play". They are the basis or the foundation of your offense. When you call a game, you are not calling a random 65-70 plays. Everything has a purpose. And that purpose is based off of your bread and butter, whether it is using those plays, or running plays that directly counter and take advantage of the defense THINKING you are running your bread and butter.
2025 Bread and Butter
Make no mistake about it, Hank was one of the biggest, if not the biggest, bread and butter scheme in OSU's offense last year. For those that play EA CFB or Madden, this play is generically referred to as Curl Flats. 2 outside curl routes, 2 flat routes, and a middle curl.
Why this was a good scheme
Hank works the best when DB's are living in constant fear of getting beat deep. When you have Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, well, the fear looms large. The corner is out of the play because he is bailing, the middle curl holds the inside LB, and the flat holds the outside LB or Nickel back. At this point, Julian Sayin simply chooses which "hole" is bigger and throws it to that WR.
How this can open up the offense
Prior to hitting a defense with a "shot play", it is important to add a complement to your bread and butter. This adds some confusion to the defense and gives them one more thing to think about prior to taking them deep. If I had a biggest criticism to OSU's offense last year, this was it. In my opinion, this "complement" to the bread and butter was the biggest drop off from Chip Kelly to Hartline. When complementing Hank, which OSU also ran a ton in 2024, Sail/Flood routes are a great addition. You are stretching the defense one step further. You are showing the defense you WILL go deep, but that is not the primary option (yet). The go route clears the high defender, you still have a flat route to hold the flat defender, but now add an additional WR in the intermediate area in the void between the deep route and flat route.
Watch the start of this play, it looks identical to HANK. You have to outside WR's you could curl, Emeka in the middle who could also curl, and then Henderson coming out in the flat. However, the routes break differently into a Sail concept. This is the key in building a foundation. Similar to an MLB pitcher wanting his Slider and Sinker to look the same initially, good play calling sequences concepts that initially look the same.
If you want to relive some Emeka magic and watch the whole video, you will see numerous occasions of him destroying defenses in these concepts.
Again: The single biggest drop-off in OSU's offense last season was these routes being executed worse, and subsequently, not called as much. We know for a fact it was in their initial plan for the season, as OSU went to this play on their VERY FIRST "crucial down" of the season.
However, Max Klare drops the ball. OSU would return to these concepts at times during the season, but at far less frequency and far less explosiveness compared to 2024.
Okay, Okay, now you can take 'em deep
Regardless of some of the issues in the intermediate area, OSU was still top-notch at generating big plays in 2025. One concept that pairs well with Hank, is Portland, and OSU would lean on it multiple times throughout the year. Portland incorporates a Dig Route, which is a "decoy" aimed at getting the middle safety to bite down, opening up a post route on the other side of the field. Once again, notice how this play looks similar to Hank at the start of the play.
Carnell Tate does his job and baits a safety to come down, opening up the deep shot. Disclaimer: Please for the love of god, stop the video before the next plays starts.
Where it went wrong
I'll be honest with you. Once I finally got the nerve to rewatch the Indiana and Miami games, I realized that outside of a few drives, OSU really didn't have a ton of problems moving the ball. A couple drives worth of atrocious O-line play, and 2 very bad picks by Sayin aside, OSU moved the ball well, but just could not execute in the redzone. Topic for another time.
With that said, opportunities were missed. The following was another staple of Emeka Egbuka excellence. Jeremiah Smith will run a dig route, with Inniss running a post route behind him. If the safety plays back, hit Smith. If the safety jumps down, hit Inniss over the top. Sayin just stares at Jeremiah the whole time.
In summary
While OSU's offense did appear "boring" at times, there was a greater purpose. Ryan Day is one of the best in the game at building a system that is cohesive. Every play has a deeper meaning than just the play itself. However, if OSU wants to run a similar passing system in 2026, they are going to have to get better at complementing it. The plays were there. But between Klare's drop, and Sayin's inability to see Brandon Inniss for the majority of the season, the execution was lacking.
