With the extended season of the 12-team playoff era, injury management is going to become an even more crucial part of the long-term strategy for any team serious about winning a National Championship.
Perhaps it is precisely because Ryan Day has acknowledged this—and recently made some really smart, cautious decisions on this front—that it felt so baffling to see Jeremiah Smith on the field Saturday.
Heading into the game, Smith was listed as “questionable” on the injury report, but after playing the first few drives, he came out in the second quarter, sporting a noticeable limp. Day spoke to the injury after the game, indicating that he pulled him to play it safe: “We want to make sure that we’re being really smart with him, as we know what’s coming down the road.”
But it begs the question—why was he ever on the field to begin with?
I don’t mean this to sound disrespectful of UCLA, who has had some shining moments this season (most notably their upset win of then-No. 7 Penn State), but given Ohio State’s odds to repeat their title, there’s no need to take any risks with your best player against a 3-7 team, especially one who is playing without its starting quarterback.
Sure, we got some fun highlights out of it. If there’s one thing Smith’s gonna do, it’s put on a show, and despite playing only a few drives, he still walked away with another jaw-dropping, one-handed catch (I’m seriously starting to wonder if his second hand is just for decoration). Would we say that flashy moment was worth it, though, if that minor nagging injury had become season-ending in those few drives?
Without a doubt, the run game was the highlight of Saturday’s game, a season-best performance for a rushing attack that has been inconsistent at best this year. Bo Jackson, Isaiah West, and James Peoples combined for 215 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries, good for an average of 7.4 yards per carry. Peoples, who scored two of the four touchdowns, had the highlight of the night with his first touchdown, in which he hurdled UCLA defensive back Cole Martin at the 9.
It marked a change of pace for a team that has relied heavily on yards through the air. Quarterback Julian Sayin put up fine numbers but didn’t have his usual accuracy without his top two receivers. On the day, he went 23-of-31 for 184 yards and one touchdown, but he also threw three incomplete passes in a row for the first time this season. These errors were not all Sayin’s fault—some of them were right on target, but it was clear Sayin hadn’t yet established the same rhythm with backup receiver Mylan Graham, as he had with Tate and Smith, and the offense looked clunky as a result.
Personally, I don’t care. I would rather win a clunker against UCLA than lose Smith for the rest of the season. Even with the bumps in the road, the Buckeyes won by 38 points—more than seven touchdowns. We didn’t need Tate and Smith on the field to win against UCLA. We will, however, need them in the future.
In fact, the bumps in the road did nothing but reinforce just how badly we need Tate and Smith on the field when it counts—against Michigan, in the Big Ten Championship, and for the duration of OSU’s playoff run. Even with uncharacteristic errors from Sayin and some growing pains with the backups, the Buckeyes’ win was never in question. Against Michigan, Indiana, or whoever we meet in the playoffs? It could have been a different story.
Ultimately, we could see the longer season fundamentally change the strategy for starting lineups in games like Saturday’s. I don’t think we’re there yet, and most teams are already in the habit of sitting their starters once they build up a sizable lead in less competitive games. But a good place to start would be to sit any mission-critical player who is remotely questionable heading into a cupcake game. The bigger picture is key.
Worst-case scenario, you’re being overly cautious, and some of the younger guys get some extra reps in. No harm there, especially if you could also be preventing a season-ending injury to someone you’re gonna need in the tougher games.
Much like Day opted to sit Tate against Purdue just to be on the safe side, both Tate and Smith should have sat against UCLA, if that’s what needed to be. Yes, this is true even if it impacts his Heisman campaign. Yes, this is true even if he wanted to be on the field. And yes, this same logic is true this upcoming weekend against Rutgers. If there is any doubt about either Tate’s or Smith’s health—or any other key starters, for that matter—they should be resting on the sidelines until the Buckeyes get to Ann Arbor.
