COLUMBUS — Ohio State does not need to become a full-time hurry-up offense. In fact, the Buckeyes may be more dangerous if they never do.
Through five games, Ohio State has shown an increasing ability to change the pace of its offense depending on what the situation requires. The Buckeyes can huddle, take their time, and give Julian Sayin and the coaching staff a chance to get into the right play against a particular defensive look. When they need to create rhythm or put a defense under pressure, though, they can also speed things up.
Saturday’s 31-14 win at Iowa showed both sides of that approach.
Ohio State took possession at its own 16-yard line with 1:48 remaining in the first half and drove 84 yards in nine plays, scoring on Sayin’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith with 12 seconds remaining. The entire possession took only 1:36, but it never looked frantic. Ohio State mixed the run and pass, used no-huddle, and still gave Sayin enough control at the line of scrimmage to make adjustments when necessary.
That is the real value of tempo for this offense. The Buckeyes are not simply trying to snap the ball as fast as possible. When they use it well, they are playing fast without sacrificing control.
Ryan Day acknowledged this week that tempo has become a useful option for the offense, particularly when Ohio State needs to change the rhythm of a game. He also explained why the Buckeyes are unlikely to live in it. When Ohio State huddles, Sayin and the coaching staff have more time to evaluate the defensive look and get into the best possible call. Playing faster can limit some of those options because the offense may have to live with a less favorable look once the play has already been called.
The tradeoff is what tempo does to a defense. It reduces substitution opportunities, forces defenders to communicate quickly, and can keep a unit from settling in between snaps. Day said that if the offense begins struggling to get things moving, speeding up could be a way to inject some energy and force the defense to react.
The Buckeyes have already shown how effective that can be late in the first half. Ohio State has scored a touchdown with 15 seconds or fewer remaining before halftime in each of its first five games, with those drives covering 90, 49, 85, 75, and 84 yards. That kind of repeated success suggests the Buckeyes are becoming comfortable when the clock forces them to play faster and make decisions more quickly.
Just as important, Ohio State has shown it can go in the opposite direction when the game calls for it. After Iowa cut the lead to 31-14 with 9:30 remaining Saturday, the Hawkeyes never got the ball back. The Buckeyes ran 16 plays, gained 55 yards, converted the necessary first downs, and drained the rest of the clock.
One possession took 96 seconds, while the other lasted nine and a half minutes. Both accomplished exactly what Ohio State needed, and that may be the most encouraging part of the offense’s development.
The best offenses are able to dictate terms rather than being locked into one identity. Sometimes that means preventing a defense from catching its breath. Sometimes it means standing at the line, checking into the right play, and forcing the defense to show its hand. Other times it means shortening the game and taking away an opponent’s final opportunity.
Sayin’s continued development gives Ohio State more freedom to do all of it.
Day does not appear interested in turning the Buckeyes into a permanent no-huddle team, nor should he be. The huddle gives Ohio State advantages that disappear when everything speeds up, but tempo does not need to become the offense to be valuable.
It only needs to be another weapon.
