Ohio State Making Plans To Control The Rushing Narrative at Iowa

The Buckeyes focus on leaving behind an old offensive problem and a new defensive problem for their battle against a Big Ten rival historically good at both sides of the running game. 

Columbus, OH – Uncontrollable factors, variables and unknowns.

A gazillion of them led to, and were a part of, missed opportunities on Ohio State’s ill-fated trip to Texas. Controllable factors, however, remained troublesome to the fifth-ranked Buckeyes in two succeeding no-doubt victories.

Ohio State’s plan for Saturday afternoon to silence rambunctious Kinnick Stadium and subdue No. 14 Iowa? Control what they deem to be controllable: effort, discipline, execution. Because, so far, two areas of concern aren’t nailing those three football virtues.

The concerns that need an injection of good, old-fashioned football virtues: run the football a lot better and, for goodness’ sake, stop the run.

Perhaps, you grow weary of Ryan Day harping on running the ball and stopping the run, especially in the fourth quarter. You’d rather see more passing. Every time a running play doesn’t gain enough yards for the situation, well, that was a terrible call, some contend.

Same old Ryan Day. Going conservative, sitting on a lead, the same contingent contends.

Go back and watch. That’s not what happened.

Winning football, as much as it changes, as flashy as passing offenses evolve, as impatient as many observers are, still relies on how well your team runs the football and how well it stops the other team from running the football in matchup games. Not 100% foolproof, but it’s pretty close.

The defense against the run, and rightfully so, played glaringly inefficient Saturday. The Buckeyes responsible are angry, even in a 42-19 victory, that Illinois’ No. 86 in the nation and No. 11 in the Big Ten rushing attack gained 199 yards, popping runs for double-digit yards not seen in these parts since before Jim Knowles was hired to fix the defense.

“It wasn’t acceptable – 200 rushing yards is terrible,” senior defensive end and captain Kenyatta Jackson said. “I know that me and my guys will be ready on Saturday with Iowa and win the game.”

Jackson said there was no explanation beyond their own shortcomings. On Sunday, they weren’t surprised by the reviews they got in video study and position meetings. The Buckeyes are 11^th in the Big Ten and 45^th in the nation at stopping the run at 114 yards a game, rankings that deteriorated significantly against Illinois.

“Coach [Matt] Patricia, Coach [Larry] Johnson, they already talked to us on Sunday, and it’s fixed,” Jackson said.

Iowa’s running game – No. 4 Big 10, No. 27 nationally, 215.5 yards a game – will test Jackson’s assumption that unbeaten Iowa is bound for a below-average rushing day because the problem was fixed. He said knocking Iowa linemen back and getting off blocks are key.

But to ensure those results, what’s the big fix?

“We got to be who we’re supposed to be,” Jackson said. “Just do your job, don’t play hero ball, you got to play your role.”

Day and, of course, Patricia and Johnson want to see exactly what Jackson said. Day, himself, expressed unhappiness about how the various iterations of the front four performed Saturday.

“We need production for sure, and so we’re taking all applications,” he said. “It’s one thing to have talent, it’s one thing to flash. But when you’re playing team defense, and one guy is not where he’s supposed to be, it does matter. All it takes is one guy to be out of out of a gap, and it can turn into an explosive play.”

The Buckeyes’ own running game needs a boost, too.

The issues, as Day likes to say, are always there even when the winning margin, as it has been three times this month, is more than comfortable.

This is not nit-picking.

Because what happens when you play better teams like Iowa on the road and must run the ball in key situations or simply need to complement an efficient passing game to keep drives alive?

Leads fizzle, toughness is questioned and no one is happy.

Not running the football with oomph and not stopping the run didn’t cost the Buckeyes against Illinois. But look at the schedule and consider the playoffs. The day will come when an inability to run the football on their own terms, control the game, and kill the clock, will cost the Buckeyes a game if they don’t get it fixed.

Under head coach Kirk Ferentz, 28 years at the Iowa controls, and defensive coordinator Phil Parker, 28 years at Ferentz’s right hand, the Hawkeyes’ run defense almost always has a say in the outcome of a game.

This year the Hawkeyes rank No. 3 in the Big Ten in rush defense and No. 19 nationally, allowing 87.8 yards per game. The Buckeyes are averaging 156.8 yards per game. Not bad, but nothing that strikes fear in opposing defenses.

Day challenged the running backs after the Kent State game to run harder and turn a big hole into an explosive run. They popped four runs against Illinois for 10-15 yards, one each by Bo Jackson and Isaiah West and two by Ja’Kobi Jackson.

Day said the performance was better than against Kent State, but he didn’t nominate anyone for all-Big Ten either.

The offensive line, expected to be a strength, hasn’t been a weakness. But it hasn’t exactly carried the offense either. How the right side looks Saturday depends on whether Philip Daniels returns from injury at right tackle. He won the starting job, so the theory is he makes them better.

To challenge the offensive line this week as Day did the running backs, doesn’t need much convincing going against Iowa’s traditionally strong defense.

“What a huge challenge for the offensive line to run the ball on the road in a huge environment for four quarters,” he said. “When we need to run in the fourth quarter, that’s what it’s going to come down to. … So yeah, this is a huge challenge for these guys, and so they need to be on their game. But it’s everybody, and the physicality and the focus and the execution that comes with it.”

Stuff they can control.