Ohio State head coach Ryan Day acknowledged that his team's offensive struggles in the 13-10 loss to Michigan fall on the coaching staff. He emphasized the need to better utilize the team's playmakers on the perimeter and to find creative ways to get the ball in their hands, despite defensive schemes aimed at taking those threats away. Day also highlighted the Buckeyes' tendency to rely too heavily on the run inside, particularly in the crucial matchup against the Wolverines.
Sixteen days after the Buckeyes’ 13-10 loss to the Wolverines, Kelly met with the media for the first time since that defeat. And he says it’s on him to do a better job putting Ohio State’s players in position to be successful than he did in that game, in which the Buckeyes had their worst offensive performance of the season by far, gaining only 252 yards on 59 plays.
The team that’s won the rushing battle has won every edition of The Game since 2001, and that was the case once again this year as Michigan outran Ohio State, 172-77. But the Buckeyes potentially could have overcome that if they leaned more heavily on their passing offense.
“They did have two really talented inside players; they also have two really talented defensive ends that I don't think get enough credit. And if you look at the statistics from both of those guys on the field and their ability to set edges is part of the decision there,” Kelly said. “We didn't put our players in position to make the plays that they needed to make in that game, and that falls on us as a coaching staff.”There’s been some speculation since The Game that Ohio State was hesitant to pass the ball more after Will Howard took a hit to the head in the second quarter. Howard had his worst game of the season against Michigan, completing just 57.6% of his passes for 175 yards, both season-lows, with one touchdown and a season-high two interceptions.
“Three weeks is kind of the sweet spot. It allowed us the week to sort through the issues and get them addressed, take accountability, because that's the big part of that; nothing matters if the problems aren't fixed and then we don't make adjustments. That's what it comes down to,” Day said. “And then the recognition that, OK, we're in the playoffs now. That game's behind us.
“We're playing a really formidable defensive group coming in here that's really well-coached and they've got good players at all three levels,” Kelly said. “So that's going to be a challenge for us again this week and our players are excited about that opportunity.”
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