Heading into Saturday afternoon's game against Wisconsin, the Ohio State football program clearly had the idea that it wanted to open up the offense. Perhaps they heard all of the criticism on social media and from various pundits because they came out throwing from the start.
Julian Sayin was fantastic in this game, throwing for 393 yards and four touchdowns on 36/42 passing. It was by far the best game of his career. He tore up the Badgers throughout the entire game. While the Ohio State Buckeyes were fantastic on offense and defense, the special teams were awful.
The special teams are a massive problem for the Buckeyes moving forward. While they only punted once, it wasn't very good. Brandon Inniss struggled returning punts, letting them go when he shouldn't have and returning them when he needed to wave for a fair catch.
Ohio State's blowout win overshadowed by bad special teams
Even though Ohio State won the game 34-0, the special teams are a massive concern. They allowed Wisconsin's punter to run 21 yards on fourth and 20. Jayden Fielding missed a 38-yard field goal, underscoring the fact that the Buckeyes don't have a good kicker on the roster.
It didn't cost them in this game because of he brilliance of Sayin and Carnell Tate, who had one of the best touchdown catches you'll ever see. Still, against a better team, these special teams mistakes will end up costing them a game they should win, whether that's TTUN, the Big Ten Championship, or a CFP game.
Ryan Day can't be happy with what he saw today from that unit. The defense continues to be the best in the country, keep the Badgers out of the end zone. Ohio State showed they can open up the offense whenever they want to. The special teams are the biggest issue.
Day has about six weeks to fix this issue with the special teams. That's when things really have to be buttoned up.