The Ohio State Buckeyes suffered an embarrassing loss at the Shoe, falling 41-28 to a reeling Oregon Ducks side. While the final score might have been only 13, to anyone watching, it felt far worse. This loss was essentially an elimination game for the Buckeyes, but even if it somehow wasn’t, this squad doesn’t have the horse to win many games left on their schedules.
Many will quickly blame freshman Luke Fahey for the struggles, but this Ohio State team’s issues run far deeper than poor quarterback play. Before Ohio State became WRU, they were DEU. I have never seen a less impressive group of guys at Ohio State in my entire life this year. The Buckeyes have a negative pass rush, and it comes down to incredibly weak play on the edge.
So, does that come from bad coaching or bad play? Well, I think it all leads back to coaching, no matter how you look at it. Between Ryan Day, Matt Patricia, and Arthur Smith, I’m not sure there are three more stubborn men in the sport. Patricia refuses to play to the defense’s strengths: speed. They lack size up front and can not generate pressure by rushing three or four guys; they need to use the speed of their linebackers, or even the secondary, to speed up any quarterback.
The same issues arise with Smith. He will not simplify route trees for receivers, and he still runs two to three tight end sets. Nate Roberts and Mason Williams simply aren’t good enough in either the run or pass game to justify the playing time they are getting.
Also, when you play to this offense’s strengths and run more 11 personnel, it makes the game easier for the young receivers. Having these long, developing routes for Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd is utterly ridiculous. They’re both great athletes; make the game easier for them!
Lastly, this roster construction comes down to Ryan Day. They avoided massive needs at key positions like running back and special teams. He missed in the portal across the board, outside of maybe Devin McCuin, and he’s responsible of the uninspiring hiring of Arthur Smith.
Ryan Day has turned away from what made Ohio State great on both sides of the ball for a boring, inconsistent style of play that Buckeyes fans had grown accustomed to. If Ryan Day ends this season with a loss to Michigan, I won’t be surprised if that’s his final game at the helm of Ohio State.
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