Ohio State football: Buckeyes’ red zone woes result of multiple issues

“I think we look back and we could have executed much better — certainly in some of the short-yardage situations,” Day said Tuesday.

Penalties were also an issue as multiple mental mistakes pushed the Buckeyes back at inopportune times.

“We got ourselves a few times with false starts,” Day said. “Any time you do that down in the red zone, five yards seems like a mile away.”

On Ohio State’s first trip to the red zone, Chris Olave jumped to turn second-and-8 into second-and-13.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud then had to throw the ball away under pressure on the following two plays, and the Buckeyes weren’t back inside the PSU 20 until the middle of the third quarter.

They tried to power it in from there, calling three straight TreVeyon Henderson runs to get to the 3-yard line. After an incomplete pass on what was a free play because Penn State was offside, the Buckeyes went back to the ground and Henderson was tackled by a backside defender on back-to-back runs.

Ohio State lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1, but Henderson jumped the snap and Day opted for a field goal attempt instead of going for it from the 6.

Henderson set up the next red zone opportunity with a 68-yard run to the PSU 3. He finished the job two plays later when he took a hit at the goal line but powered through.

The Buckeyes had tried to go old school with power runs from the I formation on the previous drive, but this time they stayed in the shotgun and let Henderson find a crack in the defense.

The Buckeyes stayed spread out when they got to the PSU 20 early in the fourth quarter but could not replicate their success.

This time, Henderson picked up three yards on a run then dropped a pass on second down. After a short pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba set up a fourth-and-4, Stroud appeared to have Olave open in the end zone but couldn’t get him the ball.

An interception set up a short field for the Buckeyes on their next possession, but they settled for a field goal after Miyan Williams was stuffed on second-and-goal from the 7 and a low-percentage pass attempt from Stroud to Garrett Wilson fell incomplete in the end zone.

On Ohio State’s last red zone trip late in the fourth quarter, a false start on left guard Thayer Munford pushed the Buckeyes back to the 23. They nearly overcame that with runs of two and 12 yards by Henderson, but he was stuffed on third-and-1. That led to another field goal that essentially put the game out of reach but left something to be desired in the big picture.

On the season, Ohio State has scored on 33 of 35 red zone trips, a conversion rate of 94 percent that is seventh in the country, but the Buckeyes’ touchdown percentage is 66. The latter ranks 36th.

Ohio State scored on four of five red zone trips against the Nittany Lions, but they only managed one touchdown.

The inability to finish drives was reminiscent of their other home game against a ranked opponent. Oregon allowed Ohio State to score on two of its three red zone trips Sept. 11, but overall there were four Ohio State drives that reached at least the Oregon 35 and failed to yield any points in a 35-28 loss.

“First off, you have to run the ball when you’re in the red zone,” Day said. “We have thrown the ball well. Statistically speaking, we have done a good job down there, but there were times in both of those games where we didn’t finish drives.”

Because red zone offense is already a point of emphasis every week, Day said the Buckeyes would not be spending more time on it this week as they prepare for Nebraska.

He conceded they could have done some different things schematically but indicated getting better results more likely will come down to everyone just doing their job better.

“You have to execute at a high level in the pass game, and then you have to be really physical in the run game and make 3-yard runs into 5-yard runs,” Day said. “The minute you take a negative play, you put yourself at risk because you just run out of room down there. You have to be on point down there.

“We spend a lot of time down there (in practice), but that is a challenge.”

SATURDAY’S GAME

Ohio State at Nebraska, Noon, Fox, 1410