As <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ohio State</a> played in the wind and the rain last week against <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/northwestern-wildcats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Northwestern</a>, the Buckeyes struggled to contain the Wildcats on third down. Northwestern converted nine of 20 third down attempts while Ohio State went 4-for-15.



Still, Ryan Day is confident in his team’s ability on third down. After all, the Buckeyes convert 46.8% of their third downs and hold opponents to a 29.2% conversion rate. 



However, he saw areas the Buckeyes can improve, and he made sure to address them heading into this week’s game against <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/indiana-hoosiers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Indiana</a>.



<a href="https://youtube.com/on3sports/?sub_confirmation=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel</a>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Ohio State: Ryan Day provides final updates before Buckeyes face Indiana" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WL2pnNREKMg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



“I think we worked hard in a lot of things,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL2pnNREKMg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Day said</a>. “Certainly, that’s something that we work hard on and will continue to do that. When the offense goes against the defense in those types of situations, the thing you’re looking for is the one-on-one situations in terms of who’s winning the one-on-one battles because ultimately that’s what it comes down to. It’s not so much the schematics. That’s a whole different deal. Typically, we’re not scheming against the offense or the defense. What we’re doing is trying to get better at the fundamentals at pad level. Ultimately, that’s what’s going to matter, especially in those types of situations. The guy who’s lower, the guy who can get movement, the team who will run over the extra defender in the box will come down and block. Those types of things are the ones that are going to be successful. 



“You’re not always looking to see exactly who wins the drill, but looking to see who wins the one-on-one matchups because ultimately, that’s going to lead to the game and moving guys. There was a point in the game where I don’t think we did that. We’ve got to get our pads lower, we’ve got to move people. That’s what we focused on more than anything.”



<h2 id="h-ryan-day-says-ohio-state-s-offensive-line-determined-to-improve">Ryan Day says Ohio State’s offensive line determined to improve</h2>



In a game where passing wasn’t really a reliable option on offense in whipping winds at Ryan Field on the shores of Lake Michigan, the <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/ohio-state-buckeyes/">Ohio State</a> offensive line was expected to exert some dominance over lowly <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/northwestern-wildcats/">Northwestern</a>. Though the Buckeyes ultimately finished with 207 rushing yards, the performance left a lot to be desired at times.



Head coach <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/coach/ryan-day-133992/">Ryan Day</a> knows there isn’t anybody who wants the offensive line to improve more than the five starters. Progression likely won’t be linear, and it’s hard to predict how and when a breakthrough might happen, but Day is <a href="https://www.on3.com/college/ohio-state-buckeyes/news/ryan-day-says-ohio-state-offensive-line-determined-to-improve/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confident they’ll get it on the right track</a>.



“Very prideful group. Really a bunch of guys that want to be right, want to do well. And <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/coach/justin-frye-69335/">Justin [Frye]’s</a> done a great job building chemistry this year with them. And they — they’re working hard. They are. Nobody wants to play better than they [do],” Day said.

Ryan Day

Ohio State Buckeyes Football

Ohio State

Ryan Day expresses his confidence in Ohio State's third down success

Big Ten Conference

Organization Logo

Teams

Fan Sites

Forums

Shows

team-link

College Football News

College Football Player Rankings

College Football Rankings

College Football Playoff

College Basketball News

Women's Sports

College

NIL News

NIL Valuation

NIL Deals

NIL Deal Tracker

Sports Business

Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal News

NCAA Transfer Portal

Transfer Portal Rankings

Transfer Portal Team Rankings

Transfer Portal

NCAA Transfer Portal Home

Football Recruiting

Basketball Recruiting

Database

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Commitments

Recruiting Prediction Machine

Recruiting

High School News

Schools

High School Search

Rankings

High School Rankings

Scores

High School Scores

High School

NFL Draft

NFL Draft News

Draft By Stars

College Draft History

College Draft Totals

NBA Draft

NBA Draft News

Draft

NASCAR

Culture

Sports Betting

About

On3 App

Advertise

Press

Contact

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

News

Roster

Schedule

Ohio State Draft History

[site-name] Draft History

Transfers

FB Recruiting

BB Recruiting

Fan Site

Team Store

team image

Ohio State Buckeyes

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Ryan Day expresses his confidence in Ohio State's third down success

Way-Too-Early Top 25

AP Poll Prediction

Bracketology update

Deion Sanders

Instant Impact