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Ryan Day is 23-2. The Buckeyes seemingly have a lock on the top of the B1G standings. It’s all about a couple games in January, and with a better pass defense, all should be golden. Right? Well, probably.
But if August is the time to be optimistic, it might also be the time to look at the holes, the problems, the areas that could turn a stumble into a real problem. Admittedly, looking for flaws in OSU’s program is like looking for Cindy Crawford’s mole. You can find it, but you may end up distracted along the way.
With that in mind, here are 5 concerns I have for the Buckeyes in 2021.
1) QB, QB, QB
One of the oldest football aphorisms is that if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. What if you have 4 or 5?
C.J. Stroud seems to be a slight favorite over other untried Buckeyes signal callers Kyle McCord and Jack Miller. The addition of late reclassification Quinn Ewers could mean something, or it could not. But there’s potential danger here for a team that hasn’t handed the QB reins to somebody with zero collegiate passing attempts since 1952.
Given that the season opens at Minnesota and against Oregon, Ryan Day can’t really afford to be wrong out of the gate. The job has to go to the right guy and he has to avoid the kind of struggles that could re-ignite a QB controversy. It’ll probably happen. But if you’re an alarmist, here’s your sign.
2) A lack of OL experience
Outside of Thayer Munford (who would have left the Buckeyes in a really rough spot had he gone pro), this is an offensive line that is largely made up of totally new players, guys who are moving around, or guys who haven’t seen many meaningful snaps at OSU. Guys like Paris Johnson and Matthew Jones should be fine. But there is a difference between assuming that they’ll plug in fine and seeing what happens under fire.
3) The unknowns at linebacker
Similarly, OSU has a ton of talent at linebacker. It’s just not a ton of talent who have spent prior time on the field in Columbus. With the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th leading tacklers from last season’s squad all leaving AND all being linebackers, this is a green position group. Granted, there are a ton of highly-regarded recruits who will finally see the field, but particularly for week one, there’s reason to worry about dropped coverages downfield against the Minnesota passing game.
4) Pass D
Speaking of passing game issues …
Bringing in a new defensive coordinator (Kerry Coombs) during a pandemic that shortened practice times was probably a recipe for some kind of defensive issues, and for OSU, they showed up in the secondary. Indiana, Clemson and Alabama all passed for over 400 yards against the Buckeyes, and did it with relative ease.
State does return almost everybody in the secondary, and they’ll run a 4-2-5 look much more frequently this season. Both of those help, but if you’re looking for an area of concern, this is it.
5) Shanks anyway …
Kicking and punting both have new faces. Jake Seibert did get a few kicks in last year, but both he and true freshman punter Jesse Mirco struggled badly in the spring game. It may not matter. When you outgain opponents by 117 yards per game like OSU did last year, a few bad kicks probably don’t matter too much. But again, with OSU opening strong with a road game at Minnesota and a home game against Oregon, State fans will probably be holding their breath until Seibert knocks a couple of kicks through the posts and Mirco hits some decent punts.
Veteran college writer Joe Cox covers Ohio State and college basketball for Saturday Tradition.