What's wrong with Ohio State?

After a 35-28 loss to Oregon on September 11th, a 41-20 win against Tulsa did little to calm the nerves of Buckeye fans. To be sure, Ohio State's performance against the Golden Hurricane won't cut it against teams like Penn State, Michigan or Iowa if the Buckeyes get that far. That being said, here's the three biggest reasons Ohio State has struggled the first three games. 

Lack of progression from C.J. Stroud

Stroud has shown signs of brilliance. He threw for four touchdowns in his debut at Minnesota, and 484 yards vs Oregon, but there are some troubling trends. There hasn't been any notable progression from Stroud, as his quarterback rating has declined in each of the last three games. A lot Stroud's problems, namely overthrowing open receivers and being too tentative when rolling outside the pocket are normal problems for young QBs, but there hasn't been any noticeable improvement. It is worth noting that Tulsa dropped eight back in coverage, which makes things tough for a QB.

No pass rush

Ohio State's pass rush has been nonexistent for much of the first three games. There have been times where Ohio State blitzes haven't come close to getting home, and sure enough the Buckeyes are 104th in the country with 1.3 sacks per game, which is half of what Ohio State averaged in 2020 (2.6 sacks per game). Zach Harrison only has one sack this year. Highly touted freshman Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau have no sacks this year. Neither have seen the field much, JTT had 45 snaps vs Tulsa after just 25 the first two games, and Sawyer was only on the field for 17 snaps vs Tulsa after only 7 the first two games. OSU's pass rush improved in the 2nd half vs Tulsa with two sacks, but the pass rush needs more consistency, the blitzes need to get home and JTT and Sawyer need to break out.

Poor situational football

This is the biggest reason why Ohio State has struggled in its first three games. The most glaring statistic about the Buckeyes playing poor situational football is that Ohio State's defense is 117th in the country in third down percentage, allowing a first down 53.3 percent of the time. This did not improve vs Tulsa, as the Golden Hurricane went 9 for 16 on third down against OSU. The Buckeyes 3rd down offense is nothing to write home about either, as OSU's O is 57th in the country converting 43.5 percent of the time. 

Ohio State's situational struggles aren't limited to 3rd down situations. Poor situational football let the Buckeyes down vs Oregon, as OSU's offense failed on three 4th down attempts. Ohio State had 612 yards and only 28 points against the Ducks. OSU's red zone offense has been poor, ranking 97th in the country in red zone scoring percentage. Ohio State's red zone defense is even worse, as the Buckeyes have allowed twelve drives into the red zone, and have given up a touchdown in ten drives. 

Long story short, Ohio State's offense and defense hasn't delivered on third down, and hasn't delivered in the red zone.