Ohio State is focused on fundamentals, staying game-ready and developing depth further as its "improvement week" continues.
www.elevenwarriors.com
Ryan Day Says Fundamentals, Depth and Maintaining Momentum Important During "Improvement Week"
There might be two bye weeks stenciled into Ohio State’s schedule for 2024, but in Ryan Day’s mind, there is only one.
From the head coach’s perspective, the off-week this week arrives too early in the Buckeyes’ campaign to be viewed that way. Ohio State can worry about rest and relaxation in its second bye week, which arrives in Week 8, but for now the team needs to get better – even if it did just trounce Western Michigan 56-0.
“Next week is an improvement week,” Day said after the game. “We have our bye week after the Oregon game as you look at the schedule. We're going to go to work. We'll be back at it tomorrow. We'll have a Tuesday, a Wednesday, a Thursday. We won't go on Friday or Saturday, but it'll be a normal week. We only feel like we're three weeks into the season, so we feel like we've got a lot to improve on. Trust me, there's a lot on the film that we've got to get better at.”
Much of college football will, of course, be in action in the third week of the season. Ohio State’s next opponent, Marshall, also has a bye this week but only one of its future opponents – Penn State – does not play this Saturday.
“Everybody else in the country is playing this week for the most part, so we have to as well,” Day said on Tuesday. “We’ve got to get each other better. And so each player is going to be given things that they need to improve on from their position coach. We're going to work hard to go out there and practice and work on our fundamentals but also look at things that we may need to project out that we may need on both sides of the ball and all three phases.”
The Buckeyes have four practice days this week, including the Sunday and Tuesday that already passed. Day referred to his team as “hungry” for further growth and eager to maintain the momentum gained from a combined 108-6 margin of victory against their MAC foes in Week 1 and 2.
Name, image and likeness opportunities alongside other extracurriculars are expected to remain on the backburner. The plan is to treat Week 3 as if Ohio State is playing a game at the end of it, even if there ultimately isn’t one.
“The number one thing this week is that we’ve got to stay in rhythm,” Day said. “We’ve got to have a good week of practice and think of it like a game week. So, when it comes to off-the-field stuff, it comes down to time management and these guys understand what the main thing is right now. During the offseason, there's certainly great opportunities, but unless it's something that's really pressing, these guys, they need to take care of their academics first and then football and then the other stuff will come down the road.”
That means a focus on fundamentals for the offense and even the defense, which is coming off its first shutout since 2019 and first time holding an opponent under 100 yards since 2017. There are always tweaks coaches can find on film that outsiders don’t notice.
“I see a lot of things formationally,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “I see things that maybe other people don't. That's really my biggest concern is just staying on top of things that maybe didn't show up in the game, but I saw the possibilities for (problems) down the road and how other people are going to scout us.”
.
.
.
continued
The biggest things for the Ohio State football team to improve on in the bye week
The Ohio State football team will use their "improvement week" to help make an elite team even better. These are the things they will be working on.
The Ohio State football team is headed into one of the two bye weeks that they have this season. It's the earliest bye week they have had in some time. While it's unusual, the Buckeyes can still have a productive week in improving the team even at such an early junction of the season.
Ryan Day hasn't been calling this a bye week. He's been using the term "improvement week". That's because he wants to use this week as a time to improve the Buckeyes instead of just getting rest. Rest will come, but improvement is what is on Day's mind?
How do you improve on a season in which you've beaten your opponents 108-6? There are still things that Day wants to see from his team. This is a week that they will be working on those things to keep this team elite and keep them as one of the favorites to win it all.
The Ohio State football team is working on some offensive things to keep the Buckeyes elite
Perhaps the biggest thing that the Buckeyes will be working on is the offensive line. They looked a lot better against Western Michigan, so that's a great sign. Still, this is the weakest unit on the team for the Buckeyes. Continual improvement is needed as they get closer to the Big Ten portion of their schedule.
Explosive pass plays will also be something that is worked on. Will Howard has just four touchdown passes in two games, which is perfectly fine when you see how effectively the Ohio State Buckeyes are running the ball. More explosive pass plays are never a bad thing.
Special teams are something Day has remarked needs to get better. There's a decent chance that Jayden Ballard will be removed from returning kickoffs. He hasn't done a good job getting yardage that is there and had a horrible gaffe last week by calling for a fair catch after a bounce, resulting in the Buckeyes getting the ball inside their own 10-yard line.
.
.
.
continued
