Last season, the Ohio State football team had one of the most explosive offenses in the country. It seemed like every play had a chance to go for a touchdown. That was especially true during the College Football Playoff when the Buckeyes were able to crush everyone in their path.
Beating Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame all required explosive offensive plays. This year, the offense has been tempered a bit. Ohio State isn't going up-temp, nor have they unleashed the offense yet. They are clearly still holding things back, despite the fact that it's the middle of the season.
And yet, this is the perfect thing for Ryan Day to do. After last year's deep run, it was the longest season in the history of college football. No one played more games than the Ohio State Buckeyes, and they needed to conserve their energy for the CFP. That's exactly what they're doing now.
Ryan Day has the perfect game plan for the Ohio State football team
Heading into Saturday's showdown with the Badgers, the Buckeyes averaged 421 yards per game, which is only 44th-best in the country. With the best player in college football on their roster, you would think that those numbers would be higher at this point in the season.
It's clear that Day is bringing Julian Sayin along slowly on purpose. They aren't throwing too much at him where he would get overwhelmed, so the offense should only get better as the year goes along. This is despite the fact that he is the most efficient passer in the country.
Day probably won't fully unleash Sayin until the final game of the year. The rest of Ohio State's schedule is fairly light, especially with the collapse of Penn State. That means they can afford to keep things close to the chest until they travel up to Ann Arbor.
Day is pacing this team for the last six games of the year. He wants this team playing the best for The Game, the Big Ten Championship, and the College Football Playoff. That's why you won't see this Buckeye offense truly firing on all cylinders until late November.