Ryan Day and his Ohio State offense were up against a sticky situation just a few weeks ago. Now, the Buckeyes have a cohesive unit up front with a confidence that continues to grow.

Coming out of the loss to Oregon, Ohio State knew it was without star left tackle Josh Simmons for the rest of the season. His replacement, Zen Michalski, was injured during a rocky performance against Nebraska.

However, things have been much better since the Buckeyes rushed for 64 yards (and 2.1 yards per carry) in a close win vs. Nebraska. It all starts with the line up front and Ohio State’s key change to the group.

Donovan Jackson, a stalwart left guard for the Buckeyes, made the switch to left tackle vs. Penn State. Carson Hinzman was also re-assigned to left guard after serving as the backup center, and the results speak for themselves.

The Buckeyes rushed for 179 yards and 4.7 yards per carry against Penn State, including a stretch of imposing their will to end the game. Ohio State followed that up with 173 rushing yards and 4.9 YPC vs. Purdue.

During Thursday’s radio show, Day said the unit is still seeing the confidence building. He also said the offensive line knows this portion of the season — and the postseason — starts and ends with the guys up front.

We’ll see how that group continues to perform with a road trip to Wrigley Field this week.