Ohio State came into its matchup with Kent State as an angry team after what happened against Texas. Blowing a 20-point fourth-quarter lead put the fans into a bit of a tailspin. Fans wanted nothing more than to see the Buckeyes crush the Golden Flashes.
That was accomplished, as Ohio State had a 35-0 lead at halftime, and this game was never close. Just because it was lopsided on the scoreboard doesn't mean that everything went smoothly for the Buckeyes. They still have two major areas of concern moving forward.
Ohio State must run the ball better in short-yardage scenarios
Twice in the first half, the Ohio State Buckeyes were stopped on third and fourth down on short-yardage run plays. The Buckeyes were not able to get the push necessary to get the one yard they needed in either case. Quite frankly, it's an alarming issue that Ohio State had against Texas, as well.
Bo Jackson doesn't seem to have gotten any better from last year. After emerging as the starter as af freshman, he has not been able to show that same burst this year. He finished this game with 11 carries for 73 yards, which is a good clip. Still, Ja'Kobi Jackson has looked like the better back.
No matter who is in the backfield, Ohio State should be able to get one yard against MAC teams. Quite frankly, they should be able to get one yard against anyone they play. That is something that the offensive line and the running backs have to get figured out ASAP.
Ohio State seems determined to keep trying to run the ball in those scenarios, despite the fact that they don't do it well. If they are going to keep doing that, they have to be better at getting push up front. Otherwise, they are going to keep running into a brick wall.
Ohio State must find a way to sack the quarterback
Sacking the quarterback has been a major problem for the Buckeyes so far this season. Through three weeks, they have just four sacks. Only two of those are from starters before the backups came in during mop-up duty. That is a major concern moving forward.
Matt Patricia was more aggressive with the defense in this game. He sent more guys on blitzes, which confused Kent State. Still, the Buckeyes can't just get the quarterback on the ground. That's something they have to fix before the Big Ten portion of the schedule.
Ohio State was really good at sacking the quarterback a year ago. In fact, they ranked 23rd in the country in sacks during the regular season. That seems to be an issue with all of the talent that they lost from a year ago. This defensive unit hasn't figured that out yet.
It's hard to complain much about a 59-3 win. This is the dominating win that the Buckeyes needed after the loss to Texas. Still, Day and his coaches will certainly be reviewing the tape and figuring out how to correct these problems.
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