Ohio State's offense has taken a different form over the last two seasons. With the new clock rules and the longer season, the Buckeyes have shifted to a slow-paced offense for the purposes of being healthier to survive a potential 16- or 17-game season. Last season, they were 8th in the country in time of possession percentage at 55.24%. They were also 115th in plays run per game with 64. Will we see a change of pace on Saturday and throughout the season with Arthur Smith calling the shots?
Arthur Smith has a long resume of calling plays at the NFL level. He spent two years as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans, three years as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and two years as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers before coming to Ohio State.
Smith got the head coaching job in Atlanta for building offenses in Tennessee around the best running back in the NFL in Derrick Henry. Smith has compared Jeremiah Smith to Henry, saying you can never get the ball to your best player enough.
Arthur Smith was ultimately fired in Atlanta and then in Pittsburgh because he couldn't replicate the offensive production for those teams. He had issues, particularly in Atlanta, in getting the ball to their playmakers. Any fantasy football player who had Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, or Drake London in those years can attest to that.
The biggest difference that Ohio State provides is the quarterback. Arthur Smith's quarterbacks in the NFL have been Ryan Tannehill, old Matt Ryan, Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, old Russell Wilson, and old Aaron Rodgers. Julian Sayin is better than all of those guys, scaled to the competition.
One thing that will be very interesting to watch on Saturday will be the usage of the tight ends. The Steelers have been near the top of the NFL in tight end usage under Smith, and Ohio State ramped up their tight end usage last season. The tight end usage last season often held the offense back, but if they can get them involved in creative ways this season, it could unlock another level for this already high-level offense.
Ryan Day has always justified Ohio State's slow-paced regular-season offense by saying that they can turn on the gas when needed. In 2024, they were able to do just that, as they jumped on teams early and never looked back. In 2025, they got in an early hole against Miami and couldn't get out of it because they only knew how to play one way.
The slow pace also keeps games closer and prevents them from being able to pull starters early and get the young backups some much-needed reps in games like the one coming up on Saturday against Ball State.
I would love to see some fresh ideas and concepts from Ohio State on offense on Saturday. The players have all talked it up and mentioned how much more complex and improved it is from last season. I would love to see some of that on Saturday, but will we get to?
A trip to Austin, Texas is looming over the horizon. I could also see Ohio State playing a very basic offense, while maybe going for a few big plays to try and run up the score in the first half and get all their starters to the bench as quickly as possible. Either way, all of Buckeye Nation will be paying close attention to what we see from this new offense in their first game of 2026.
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