Ohio State’s frustrating performance on the ground against Iowa was an anomaly for the Buckeyes this season. Perhaps it will remain one through the rest of the year.
Even on a day that the Buckeyes struggled mightily to get anything going on the ground, mostly to no avail, they still managed to rack up 54 points on one of the nation’s better defenses.
But Ohio State will face tougher tests than Iowa this season, and few have forgotten how costly the Buckeyes’ lack of a consistent run threat was at the end of 2021. In fact, Ohio State and new offensive line coach Justin Frye spent all offseason trying to ensure the same fate wouldn’t befall the 2022 team.
For those reasons, Ohio State’s subpar showing on the ground over the weekend – although an outlier thus far – has renewed some dormant concerns about the Buckeyes’ ability to run the ball successfully when they have to against top-end opponents.
“It's always hard. It's challenging no matter how well we throw the ball. You have to put in extra guys to stop the run. And no matter who the defense is, as good as our receivers, quarterback play has been, the college game is wired on making a team throw the ball,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said Tuesday. “So when we get our run game going, we're really good. The other day it struggled for a long time to get going. That's why we played some muddy football for about two quarters there. But if we get the run game going each week with the skill guys, we got a chance to be a decent offense, for sure."
Statistically speaking, Saturday’s effort in the run game was Ohio State’s second-worst since 2011 by multiple metrics. With 66 yards on 30 carries (2.2 yards per carry), only last year’s Michigan matchup saw the Buckeyes finish with fewer rushing yards and average yards per attempt in any game over the past decade.
TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, who combined for 57 yards on 21 attempts on Saturday, finished with the lowest single-game yards per carry average of their college careers. Henderson had three carries for negative yardage on the day, and Williams had three of his own that either went for zero yards or a loss.
It was far from the norm for the Ohio State run game, which was averaging 228 yards per game on the ground entering the weekend. Before Iowa, Ohio State hadn’t run for fewer than 168 yards and 5.2 yards per carry in any single game this season. Ohio State had racked well north of 200 yards on the ground in each of the past four games before the matchup with the Hawkeyes, with an average of 257.
“when we get our run game going, we're really good. The other day it struggled for a long time to get going. That's why we played some muddy football for about two quarters there."– Kevin Wilson
Day said he can’t assume the same level of success in any one game to translate to the next, whether it’s a stellar performance or a poor one.
“When you go into a game and you rush for 300 yards and the game gets over, and you're like, 'Oh, we're good. Now we're gonna go rush for 300 yards in every game.' It's the same thing when maybe something doesn't go well,” Day said. “You're not gonna go into a game next week and say, 'Well, you're only gonna rush for 20 yards,' or whatever it is. I think you just have to identify what you did well and what you didn't do well and make those corrections and move forward. So the result is feedback on your preparation and how you did that week. And we obviously didn't do well enough to our standard.”
The Ohio State offense scored just one touchdown on its first 10 drives against the Hawkeyes. The Buckeyes started in plus territory on six possessions against Iowa, which Day and Wilson said hindered the offense's rhythm. Its lack of success on the ground only contributed to that.
“I think it played a factor, yeah. We could've done a better job,” Day said. “Couple calls you'd like to have back, couple plays we'd like to have back. We had the penalty down there that hurt us and just a few things in general. So yeah, when you have the balance, and you're getting four or five on a run as opposed to one, two or three, yeah, it makes a big difference.”
Credit must be given to the Hawkeye run defense, which ranks 14th in the nation after eight weeks. That’s eight spots lower than Rutgers, the highest-rated run defense Ohio State has faced this year, but Wilson said Iowa did well to change up its approach on defense from the one Ohio State saw on film in preparation for the game.
Day said Monday on 97.1 The Fan that “it took us a few drives” to recognize what Iowa was doing on defense and make the necessary adjustments. While that eventually paid dividends in the passing game, which accrued 189 yards and four touchdowns in the second half, the same can’t be said about the Buckeye run game. Ohio State had just 38 yards on 13 attempts in the final two quarters.
“They're a quarters team, but we felt we'd get some edge pressures and single-high looks and get them fitted up and just getting hats on hats. Tried to run some stretch plays where we blend it out, got a little thin, little flat, (they) got penetration, so a couple of negative plays got us,” Wilson said. “But in general, they played better than us, and we gotta play better across the board. And inside a little bit with those guys, we got good players and they didn't have their best game, so credit to those guys. They kind of won some one-on-one battles, made some good plays.”
Penn State ranks 62nd in the country in run defense, giving up 140.3 yards per game on the ground this year. At home, though, the Nittany Lions rank 24th in the nation, allowing only 96 rushing yards per game. Against Michigan, the only team to defeat Penn State this season, the Nittany Lions gave up a whopping 418 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. And that was less than two weeks ago.
Whether the Buckeyes’ rushing effort against Penn State resembles that of Michigan or their own against Iowa remains to be seen. But as far as Ohio State’s commitment to toughness and a physical brand of football – something it stressed all offseason – Day said it remains unwavering despite this past weekend’s results in the run game.
“No, no, it's a part of every week. Yeah, we hit on it every week, we'll hit on it again today, we'll hit on this week,” Day said. “We know that we have to bring it every week. And we knew when we saw the schedule, going into State College is going to be a huge challenge. Always is. So our guys understand what a challenge this is gonna be, and so we gotta have a great week of preparation.
“And so yeah, this is part of that competitive excellence and competitive stamina. Bringing it every single week and going on the road and winning a game like this is gonna be huge.”