Then vs. Now: How Ohio State’s offensive philosophy has changed so far this century

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As preseason camp begins this week, Land-Grant Holy Land is diving into its final theme every week of the off-season. This week is all about taking stock of where the Buckeyes are compared to where they were. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Then vs. Now” articles here.

There’s no doubt college football has changed in all facets over the years.

At the beginning of the century we had the BCS, where a computer determined which two teams played for a national title. Now we have a 12-team playoff, which will likely be expanded even more in the near future.

Then there is the transfer portal, which allows players to switch teams without having to sit out a season. As if that wasn’t enough to digest, the Big Ten has 18 teams, the Atlantic Coast Conference includes teams from California and Texas, and the Pac-12 only consisted of Washington State and Oregon State the last two seasons.

When it comes to how the game is played, college football on the field has also changed mightily over the last 25 years. Unless you are one of the service academies, gone are the days when teams would run the ball down their opponents throats.

Chances are when you watch a college football game this fall, you’ll see spread offenses with quarterbacks in the shotgun. Just look at Heisman Trophy winner and first pick in April’s NFL Draft, Fernando Mendoza. The Indiana quarterback rarely took snaps from under center.

Ohio State is no different from the rest of college football when it comes to changing with the times. Early in the century the Buckeyes were able to find success with “Tresselball”, which was centered around building a lead, bleeding the clock, and not shooting themselves in the football.

For some the style of play was boring, but we can all agree that winning is never boring.

In Tressel’s first year at Ohio State in 2001, the Buckeyes only attempted 286 passes over the 12 games they played, which isn’t surprising since Tressel and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman likely leaned on the run more as they were adjusting to life in the FBS and they hadn’t quite had all of their preferred personnel in place yet.

Even though the Buckeyes played two more games in their national title season the next year, Ohio State attempted nearly 100 more passes in 2002.

During most of Tressel’s 10 seasons in charge in Columbus the Buckeyes attempted at least 300 passes per season, but there was an outlier in 2008 when they only attempted 267 passes over 13 games. The biggest reason for the reliance on the running game that season was after Todd Boeckman started the first few games of the season, freshman Terrelle Pryor took over as starting quarterback following a 35-3 loss at USC.

Along with Pryor’s ability to make plays with his legs, it also didn’t hurt that the Buckeyes had Beanie Wells at running back to help power the rushing attack.

The only other seasons where Ohio State didn’t attempt at least 300 passes in a season came during a couple years of turmoil for the Buckeyes. Ohio State was thrown a bit of a curveball when Pryor left school and Tressel was fired prior to the 2011 season.

True freshman quarterback Braxton Miller was thrown into the fire earlier than planned that season, and as a result the Buckeyes kept the football on the ground more, passing the ball just 245 times.

Even though Urban Meyer’s hiring following the 2011 regular season would signal a change in philosophy for Ohio State on offense, his plans took some time to take effect, as evidenced by throwing 278 times over 12 games in 2012.

The up-tempo offense Meyer preferred to run at the time started to show the next couple seasons when they threw the football 777 times over 29 games. The high point came in 2018 when with Dwayne Haskins at quarterback Ohio State attempted 561 passes, which is far and away the highest total for a season in school history.

The trend has continued under Ryan Day, as the Buckeyes have registered at least 400 passes in every season he has been in charge, except for 2020 when COVID-19 didn’t allow Ohio State to play a full schedule. It has become obvious the Buckeyes prefer to throw the football first and mix in the run when they have their opponents on their heels.

Some of the reason for the change in offensive philosophies is because of the personnel Ohio State has brought it. Just look at some of the quarterbacks Ohio State has had over the last decade. Haskins, Justin Fields, and C.J. Stroud have gone on to be first round picks in the NFL Draft, and it looks like Julian Sayin will join them when he declares for the draft.

It also doesn’t hurt that the Buckeyes have had an incredible collection of wide receivers come through the program over the last 10 years. With so many eventual first round picks, it wouldn’t make much sense to keep the football on the ground.

With so many dynamic players coming through the program at wide receiver, it has just made more sense for Meyer and Day to use short passes as an extension of the running game. The decision has been made even easier when you see just how much more accurate quarterbacks are these days.

Last year Julian Sayin almost broke the NCAA record for completion percentage in a season, which is incredible considering it was Sayin’s first season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback.

Ohio State threw the football 408 times over 14 games. They’ll likely eclipse that number this season with Sayin even more comfortable running the offense in his second season as starter. Sayin will also not only have Jeremiah Smith back as his top target, five-star recruit Chris Henry Jr. will join the fold.

With Ohio State’s tough schedule, we might also see more tight games, which could result in more throwing. It’s not crazy to expect the Buckeyes to approach 500 passing attempts in 2026.

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