As Ryan Day has experienced multiple times with the Ohio State football program, it's not fun to lose. The Buckeyes are still dealing with the fallout from losing a 20-point fourth-quarter lead to Texas, despite a 59-3 massacre against Kent State. Some issues are still rearing their ugly head.
Day mentioned, leading up to the Kent State game, that there are some issues they have been working on cleaning up. One of those issues is the run game. Another issue is converting on third down, and Day addressed a stat that is a five-alarm fire heading into the Illinois game.
Ryan Day says the Buckeyes have to do better on third down
During his weekly press conference, Day mentioned that it is paramount that Ohio State does better on third down. In fact, he mentioned a stat that shows just how pressing this issue is.
"As you know, third down is not where it needs to be right now. Thinking about where we are right now, we're 12/33, and coming out of last year, we were second in the country in third-down conversions. Those things have got to get better, and get better fast...all attention goes to that to make sure we're converting, because when we find ourselves in short-yardage situations, we have to convert."
That stat is very alarming. Converting just over 36 percent of the third downs they face is not something the Buckeyes can continue to do. They were just 1/8 on third down against the Golden Flashes, which is abominable. Of course, that was a mix of starters and backups.
Regardless of who is on the field, Day knows that the team has to do a better job of converting on that down. With the schedule no longer featuring any cupcakes, converting at a high rate on third down is going to be very important for them to continue to win games.
Ohio State has a chance to change the narrative against Illinois
This week will feature the only trophy game that Ohio State plays, the battle for the Illibuck. The Fighting Illini are huge underdogs in this game, which isn't a surprise. Still, this is a game that will give them some better competition than either Ball State or Kent State.
Fixing these woeful third-down problems against Illinois would give the Buckeyes some confidence that they will be able to do better in that regard against better competition. Iowa is just a couple of weeks away, and that game is not going to be an easy one.
Getting the running game to be more explosive is another problem that the Buckeyes have had through three games. They have yet to have a 100-yard rusher, which is unheard of for this program at this stage of the season. Day mentioned that during his press conference, as well.
Ohio State should be able to beat Illinois without putting together its A-game. However, their A-game is what's going to be required against Iowa, USC, and IU, which are three of the next four opponents Ohio State faces.
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