The Daily Buckeye Blitz: Has The Ohio State Red Zone and Short Yardage Offense Improved?

What’s up? Welcome into your daily Buckeye Blitz. I am your host Joe From The Buckeye Cast. As always bringing you your daily five plus-ish minutes of Buckeye football info. You never knew you needed it every day did you? That’s what she said. Hello.

All right, today’s topic. Oh before I forget. I am I’m begging you to go back and if you’re interested at all in some inside information about the 12 team expansion of the playoffs. Go back and check out the interview we had with the president and CEO of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Gary Stokan. A lot of good info in there he talks about the process and what he thinks is going to happen when we do expand. And it sounds like it’s happening very soon it’s like sooner than 2025. So check that out.

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All right. Today’s topic we’re going to talk about something that we talked about on one of our very first episodes back in July on The Daily Blitz, red zone offense and short yardage offense. Two of our major concerns coming out of 2021 right. Big big huge major glaring puss-filled issues right. Okay so have the Buckeyes done thus far. So I do have some good news and I do have some bad news.

So let’s do it first always take the good news first. Anyways so red zone scoring attempts per game we are 11th at 4.9. Red zone scoring attempts per game so that’s just a few goals and touchdowns. Obviously 2021 we were 10th at 4.5. Okay so close.

Red zone scores per game so touchdown our field goal we’re fourth at 4.7. In 2021 we were sixth of 4.2. So about the same not a great change there. Here is is where we start to see a little bit of a difference the red zone scoring percentage. We are third in the country at 95.92 last year. we were 14th. yeah that’s quite a slide. We were 91.5. So moved up a ton and the percentags is much better. So that’s good last bit of good news before we move to the bad.

Fourth down conversion that’s another part of the short yardage issue we’re having in 2021. So this year we’re fourth at 80 percent fourth down conversion percentage. Last year we were 43rd in the country at 57.89 percent. Yuck make me want to vomit.

So now the bad news. As everybody turns off their laptops phones whatever however you’re watching and listening close YouTube now. Just kidding. Don’t please. We’d like a review or comment. Bad news third down conversion percentage this year. It’s not better. It’s worse. We are 17th in the country. 47 last year on the season. We were third in the country 52.6 that’s 5.6 percent drop off in conversion percentage. Let’s compare that to Georgia and Michigan our closest competitors at this point. Georgia right now is 53.7. They’re fourth in the country. Michigan is 13th in the country at 48.41. So like I said we’re 17th at 47.15.

Not good enough. Let me tell you where it happened. Third down conversion percentages this is. So I’m going to run through our schedule quick. So pay attention. I’m gonna go go fast.

Starting with the Wisconsin game. so starting with conference play. All right that was September 24th. We were 62 percent against Wisconsin. Then the next week 62.5. then 60.34. then 57.97. Then 57.97. then 52.44. then 50. Now up to and including the season we are 46.79. So 47 like I said 17th in the country.

Did you hear how those numbers declined from 62 back in September? September 24th and we’re at November 17th. This is Thursday down to 46.79 percent. That’s not our percentage per week that’s what we dropped.

So we have gone way down week by week and it’s it’s not improving. I’m very concerned about that. Especially when we talk about playing The Team Up North or playoff games.

You know a lot of it you can attribute to injuries to the running backs. I get that. Injuries to the old line. I get that. But Josh fryer played great last week. So Matt Jones has been a liability at times. Not on the season but his injury has cost us some some third down conversions. Donovan Jackson his blocking has not been 100 percent solid. So and again like I mentioned the running backs Treveyon Henderson and Miyan Williams alternating basically week in week out. You know one of them’s playing hurt typically.

And so major concern. Major red flag for me. We had the good don’t forget the good news now. You know we made some improvements from 2021 especially in those fourth down conversions and red zone scoring. So it’s a feather in the cap but be concerned and pay attention to this third down conversion percentage you’ve got to get that. Those are the money downs. You know you can’t go for it every time on fourth down. So pay attention to that.

And as always hit me up with your comments. Let me know what you guys think. Let me know if you think I’m a nut job or if I’m right on. So I appreciate you guys and I will talk to you tomorrow. Go Bucks!