Before Ohio State’s Big Ten opener against Illinois, Ryan Day said the Buckeyes must improve on third down and in the red zone after a 59-3 win over Kent State. They converted 1 of 8 third downs, and Day challenged the running backs to “run angry”.
Ohio State scored on six of seven red-zone trips against Kent State but failed to score on a possession that began inside the 15-yard line after an interception. The Buckeyes had 151 rushing yards on 37 carries after adjusting for sack yardage; their longest run was 17 yards. Day said he was disappointed in the backs’ ability to make defenders miss and said transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson ran harder than Bo Jackson. Through three games, Ja’Kobi averaged 7.9 yards per carry on 21 touches with four touchdowns; Bo averaged 5.9 yards on 39 carries with two touchdowns.
Freshman cornerback Jay Timmons leads Ohio State in pass breakups; Day praised his competitiveness. Safety Earl Little Jr., a Florida State transfer, leads the team with 17 tackles through three games. Linebacker Christian Alliegro transferred from Wisconsin. The article argues that Ohio State should start linebackers Riley Pettijohn and TJ Alford: their defensive grades through three games were 90.0 and 90.4, respectively, versus 70.0 for starter Payton Pierce, whose grade against Kent State was a team-low 55.1.
