Last season, Tegra Tshabola was the worst offensive lineman for Ohio State. He was essentially told to go away. This season, the Buckeyes brought back the four other starters up front besides Tshabola. However, that hasn't gone the way they thought it would.
Tshabola transferred to Kentucky, which is now in prime position to make the College Football Playoff. What's worse is that Tshabola is the best offensive lineman they have. It's further evidence that offensive line coach Tyler Bowen needs to be let go at the end of the year.
Tyler Bowen needs to be fired from Ohio State
When Ryan Day hired Bowen to be the offensive line coach, his reputation was that he was a good recruiter. He was more of a recruiter than a developer, which was the opposite of what Justin Frye was. Frye took criticism for his poor recruiting, but he got a very injured offensive line to come together to help the Bucks win a title.
Bowen has not developed his players at nearly the same clip. In addition to that, Bowen hasn't landed a single blue-chip recruit. If he isn't going to recruit well or coach the guys who are on the roster up, what exactly is he getting paid to do? It certainly isn't to watch Ohio State have a horrible running game.
At this point in the year, Ohio State ranks 77th in the country in rushing offense. That's a combination of poor offensive line play and running backs not making guys miss. Quite frankly, that means that Bowen isn't doing well enough. Ohio State should never be below the top 30 in that statistic.
Ryan Day has already decided to fire one coach. At the end of the year, it's almost certain that other coaches will be pushed out the door, as well. Ohio State had to figure out a better system heading into next year, as this season is already toast.
Ohio State will have a ton of pressure next season
Ryan Day will have an enormous amount of pressure on his shoulders next season if he doesn't collapse even further this year. Ohio State hasn't proven over the last two games that it can be counted on to win any games, no matter how bad the opposing team is.
Still, I would be shocked if Ross Bjork decided to fire Day. He has had Day's back for quite a while. However, next year would see Day's season start out with a scalding-hot seat. Missing out on a 24-team College Football Playoff would almost certainly see him get let go.
This year still has one more goal in play for the Ohio State Buckeyes. They can still beat TTUN, which would likely get Kyle Whittingham fired. At this point, that's the only thing that this team has left to fight for. It wouldn't be shocking to see a ton of opt-outs for whatever bowl game they play.
Unless Bowen has a massive turnaround in the final three games of the season, he is going to have to find a new place to coach next season.
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