Ohio State football: The best way to fix the run game

Yes, the Ohio State football team is still undefeated after beating Northwestern 21-7 last week. The game was played in some of the worst weather conditions that the Buckeyes have had to deal with in the last few years. They will likely stay at two in tonight’s CFP rankings.

All of that is true. Yet, the Buckeyes still have one big issue that they have to fix; the run game. In each of the last three games, the Buckeyes have struggled to run the ball well, particularly in short-yardage scenarios. This was also an issue last year and led to Greg Studrawa getting fired.

Things were supposed to be fixed this year on that front. They clearly are not. Ryan Day keeps calling the same types of run plays every game from the same formations. Opponents are seeing this on film and are finding easy ways to stop the run.

Here’s the best way for the Ohio State football team to fix the run game.

It’s pretty simple; mix up the types of runs you call. Mix in a wide receiver sweep to the outside or run from the shotgun to the outside a few times. Spread the defense out and make them make plays in space. Running from the same formations over and over isn’t getting results.

The pistol formation is by far the formation that the Bucks run from the most. They need to throw more from that formation to get teams on their heels. If teams see the pistol and immediately know it’s a run, that’s bad. Day needs to mix up the play-calling in that formation.

The quarterback run was a nice wrinkle they introduced last week. Maybe they should incorporate a little more of that into the game plan. Sprinkle in five of those a game and suddenly you have a more unpredictable offense that can get chunks of yards on the ground.

This is the number one thing I’ll be watching for in the stands in this week’s game vs. IU. I need to see some variation in the run game.