There are 134 FBS programs this year. Of those 134, 26 are unbeaten through four weeks of play. Ohio State is one of those teams at 3-0 thanks to a perfect run through its non-conference schedule.
The Buckeyes have one of the most explosive offenses in the country and one of the elite defenses. Despite that, head coach Ryan Day expects more from his team.
Ohio State is 3-0 and It “Doesn’t Feel Good About Anything”
Day was pointed during his weekly press conference on Tuesday leading up to the trip to Michigan State. When asked about whether or not he feels good about the running game, he responded,
“Yeah, I don’t feel good about anything. That’s just my mindset. Yeah, I mean, I don’t.
“I mean, that has to be everybody’s mindset. You start to feel good about something and complacency can sneak up on you fast. So, no, nobody feels good about anything.
This perfectionist mindset could be what gets the Day-led Buckeyes over the hump. On the surface, Ohio State has been one of the best teams in the country. When you look at everything from the lens of a coach who has to nit-pick, the holes emerge.
Silver Bullets, Reloaded
Ohio State allowed Marshall to score two first-half touchdowns on Saturday and the sky is falling. Those were the first two touchdowns allowed by the Ohio State defense this season, of course. One of those scores was thanks to a well-scripted drive on The Herd’s opening possession. The second was on the final drive of the first half which was aided by a free kick out of bounds and roughing the passer/targeting penalties.
To which defensive coordinator Jim Knowles decided not to follow suit with the offense and special teams and did not name a defensive player of the game. “You’ve got to speak truth,” Knowles said. “While we had some Champions, we had no one that we thought really showed a Silver Bullet of the Game performance.”
Marshall amassed 264 total offensive yards on the day and 140 were on those two drives.
To this point, the Ohio State defense has been among the best in the country. However, it has been against less-than-stellar competition. Even then, Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall laid a blueprint.
They have been able to neutralize the Buckeyes’ defensive line with quick passes with defensive backs playing soft. While the Ohio State secondary has been solid in tackling in the open field, the offenses were able to get a handful of yards easily.
At the same time, the mobile quarterback factor has shown a dent in the armor. Last week, Stone Earle, while not putting up great stats, was able to keep the Ohio State defense on its heels. Knowles had to adjust and put a spy on him which helped slow down the Marshall quarterback.
Kicking It Into Gear
Special teams have been the ire of Ohio State fans for what feels like forever. In addition to the lack of touchdowns scored via returns, there have been a number of blunders, mostly on punts. However, Day let special teams coach Parker Fleming go this past offseason. Over the first two weeks, there were no complaints. Brandon Inniss flashed and gave fans hope he would be the next touchdown. Jayden Fielding made his only field goal attempt and was a perfect 14-for-14.
Then, Fielding tripped up. In the second quarter, he kicked not one, not two, but three consecutive kickoffs out of bounds. The final of which catalyzed a touchdown drive.
As a result, Day pulled Fielding for Austin Snyder, a fifth-year transfer from in-state Division-II college, Findlay. The former Oiler made the most of his opportunity and converted on both of his extra point attempts and booted both of his kickoffs out of the endzone for touchbacks.
There may be an actual changing of the guard. On Tuesday, Snyder was officially welcomed to the team as he “shed his black stripe.” Fielding also tweaked something before the Marshall game, and that contributed to his struggles.
It will be something to monitor as the field goal kicking will become more crucial as the season winds on.
Never Satisfied
Now that the three-game preseason is done, the nine-game Big Ten slate kicks off.
Michigan State may not quite be to the level it once was when it was upsetting the Buckeyes during the Urban Meyer days, but it looks like it has a high ceiling. Ohio State’s 3-0 mark will be tested by the Spartans.
Of course, the Buckeyes cannot be caught looking ahead a week to Iowa or even two weeks to Oregon. Day’s motivation to get the proverbial monkey off his back of a national title is fueled by perfectionism. Ohio State only has nine guaranteed games remaining this year, starting with Michigan State.
If Day continues to push his team like this, this team can go places.
