It's officially week three for Ohio State as it looks to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to Texas on Saturday.
Ryan Day met with the media on Tuesday for his weekly game-week presser to preview the Buckeyes
' matchup with Kent State. The Ohio State head coach discussed numerous topics ahead of the Buckeyes' week three game, with most of it revolving around his final takeaways from the Texas loss.Here's a look at some of the standout notes and quotes he had.
Lack Of Execution In Second Half
Ohio State was nearly flawless in the first two quarters against Texas, moving the ball downfield and ending possessions with points. The second half was a different story. Not only were the Buckeyes not able to sustain drives, but they were also unable to find any sort of rhythm. Whether
it was 5-of-8 on third downs in the first two quarters to just 1-of-6 after halftime, or five passing plays of 10+ yards vs. just two in the final two quarters, or 12 completions before halftime against just five after. It was evident that the offensive execution failed the Buckeyes when they needed it most.
"When we go 3-and-out like that, and put the defense back on the field, we're asking for trouble ... it was 10 runs and 12 passes, and we were 2-of-12 in passes (in the fourth). So maybe a combination of not putting guys in position to be successful, guys not executing," Day said. "So guys need to look at themselves and say -- and they will -- we need to execute better and finish. And the coaches need to say, 'How can we put these guys in a better position to go finish the game?' But that's what happens when you don't win ... we have to look at all of it and make sure we're always attacking. It's clear to say we had momentum, lost it, and wasn't able to get it back ... we have to try and identify what actually happened in the game and then making sure if we get in that situation again, we finish the game we should."
Everything On The Table For Buckeyes Defense... Including Personnel Changes
There were obvious concerns about the Ohio State offense, especially in the second half. But, for as many fingers that are getting pointed at the offense, there should be just as many pointed at the second-half defense. Ohio State struggled to get its defense off the field, put pressure on Arch Manning, and halt any momentum Texas was gaining. Texas went from eight first downs in the first half to 17 in the second, including 10 alone in the fourth. Texas had 11 plays of 10+ yards... and nine of them came in the second half. Ryan Day said on Tuesday that bringing someone like linebacker Riley Pettijohn on the field more and more is open to discussion, and getting the right personnel on the field is now a conversation that is needed.
"There was a lot of good there, but we didn't win the game when we needed to," Day said about the defense. "The first thing is the personnel, making sure we have the right guys out there ... this is a different defense than we had last year. Different personnel, different guys, so we have to look at it and put the right pieces together ... we have to utilize them in the right spots to go win the games in the 4th quarter.
"When it's time to go win the game, we have to be on the same page and live with the result ... yes, for sure (I want to be more aggressive) and it's something we have to do a good job making sure we have enough answers in the fourth quarter to go win the game. "
What OSU Will Take From Texas Loss
There's no question a loss like Saturday hurts. But the bright side of all of this is all of the goals that Ohio State had at the start of the year remain intact. Winning the Big Ten, going to the College Football Playoff, and even winning a national championship -- all of those are still a very real possibility. Now it's about taking what they can learn from this loss, mainly the fourth quarter, and setting things in motion to ensure a loss like this doesn't happen again -- with Iowa, Indiana, USC, Oregon, and Michigan all still ahead.
"It gives you a lot of information that playing a lesser opponent wouldn't give you, so that part is a positive," Day said. "Second thing, there's a lot of football ahead of us. Third, there was a lot of good football played coming out (of the game; it's not like we got blown out of the building ... so if we can identify those things and finish the game the right way -- one of the things we talked about going into the season was win the fourth quarter. We knew that, and it didn't happen ... it's going to force us to make some hard decisions and build some accountability inside the building ... the plan is to be a better, stronger team heading into Big Ten play."
Red Zone Offense A Struggle
In the first half, Ohio State was met with very little resistance from the Texas defense, scoring on all but one of its possessions. The issue was that two of those were field goals, and another time it was inside the red zone, it was a turnover on downs. So, just two of the five red zone trips ended in touchdowns. In the second half, Ohio State didn't make a trip to the red zone and had to settle with one made field goal and one missed field goal.
"I'm not going to speak for Arthur (Smith), but he's very self-critical of himself ... there's things we need to emphasize better and do better, and I know that sounds like a broken record -- it didn't happen. The second time we were down there it was much better ... but when you take negative plays in the red zone, your chances of scoring a touchdown go way down ... any time that happens you're really in trouble against good defenses. It's gotta be a lesson learned, and we can't repeat those problems. We have to get more efficient down there and can't take negative plays."
Second Thoughts On Final Defensive Stand
Ohio State was faced with a decision on the final drive of the game -- let Texas score and potentially allow for more time on the clock to go win the game, or try to stop Texas and potentially leave yourself with very little time to respond. Day and the Buckeyes went with the latter, and it failed. Texas scored with 25 seconds left, and it was all but over after that. The question is: Why do that when Texas had all the momentum and was met with no resistance from the Buckeyes' defense? Day said he may have to make a different decision next time.
“Well, it didn’t work, so the answer is yes," Day said. "If we win the game, then it would’ve been the right decision. In the moment, you gotta make a hard decision, and I decided to try to hold the line. There’s a lot that comes with that, you know, just saying ‘Let them score right there’ ... I decided to make that call and ultimately loved to have seen what it would’ve looked like if they would’ve scored, but made the decision ... We’ll have to think about it when it happens again.”
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: 5 takeaways from Ryan Day ahead of Ohio State matchup with Kent State
