The Ohio State football program was able to take down Ohio 37-9 in the first night game of the year. It wasn't the most dominant performance from the Buckeyes, but a win is a win. They leave the non-conference portion of their schedule undefeated and ranked number one.
Jeremiah Smith was very good for the second game in a row, catching nine passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. Julian Sayin ended up throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Still, Ryan Day was not happy with everything that occurred on Saturday night.
Following the game, Day made it clear that he wasn't thrilled with Sayin's decision-making. He had two bad interceptions in the game, and he didn't look very sharp. That wasn't the thing that made Day angriest about the game, though. The red zone offense was.
Ryan Day is not pleased with Ohio State's red zone execution
Day was not pleased with how the team executed in the red zone. He said that it starts with him.
"When we got down into the red zone, we weren't able to execute...I'm going to watch the film and figure out if it was scheme, if it was coaching, or if it was personnel. We got to do a better job when we get down in the red zone."
Day was not pleased that the Buckeyes were stopped on fourth down close to the goal line. They also had to settle for two field goals instead of touchdowns, which is not ideal. Ohio State needs to be able to put touchdowns on the board instead of field goals, especially against an inferior opponent.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are still the best team in the country, but they have to be better when they get that close to the end zone. Sayin looked tentative in the red zone for some reason. That's something that needs to be addressed in practice this week.
Ohio State will have a bye week before it begins Big Ten play against Washington in a couple of weeks. This is something that they are going to have to work on in preparation for that game. Day knows that if this happens against a better opponent, the Buckeyes could be in trouble.