The Ohio State Buckeyes suffered their second loss of the season on Saturday night, falling 30-18 to USC at the Coliseum. And Joel Klatt had plenty of criticism for the Buckeyes afterward.
On the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, the Fox college football analyst said that several parts of Ohio State’s team “did not show up” against the Trojans. He took aim at the offensive line, the game plan from head coach Ryan Day, and the way the Buckeyes used star receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Advertisement
Ohio State Falls to USC
Ohio State entered Saturday’s game at 6-1 but without starting quarterback Julian Sayin, who was injured against Indiana two weeks earlier. The injury led some analysts to paint a bleak picture for the rest of the Buckeyes’ season.
Others weren’t as worried, arguing that Ohio State’s national championship hopes weren’t dead with Luke Fahey at quarterback. Barstool Sports even wondered if the injury would help Smith win the Heisman Trophy.
In his first start, Fahey went 21-of-38 for 260 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State ran for more than 200 yards, led by Bo Jackson’s 121. But that wasn’t enough as USC scored on its second play of the game and never looked back.
Advertisement
‘They Just Did Not Show Up’
Klatt praised Ohio State’s running game, which was a bright spot for an otherwise frustrating performance, but said the rest of the team let the Buckeyes down.
“Well, they ran for over 200 yards, but unfortunately for them, other parts of the team did not show up. They just did not show up. Let’s go over this. And at some point, you know, the coaching staff is going to have to absorb this one because there were a lot of breakdowns. I did not feel like the offensive line played very well. I did not feel like the special teams played well, in particular after that big return. And then the defense, while they did play well for the majority of the game, they gave up a couple of big plays that hurt them,” Klatt said, on his show.
He was especially hard on the offensive line, which allowed a 49% pressure rate on Fahey’s dropbacks, the third-highest mark of the Ryan Day era, according to Klatt.
Advertisement
“The offensive line in particular in pass protection was really poor. Really poor in pass protection. They were getting driven back like they were on roller skates. The interior of the offensive line was in the lap of Fahey almost the entire night,” Klatt said.
Klatt also questioned how Ohio State used Smith, saying the Buckeyes only threw the ball to him once down the field.
“Was that a Luke Fahey issue? Was that a game plan issue? Whatever it was, whatever it was, it has to be fixed. Has to be fixed because regardless of who the quarterback is, it could be me as a 44-year-old, Smith has got to get chances down the field. Now, they did throw it to him. He had the 10 catches, but they were, you know, generally at or near the line of scrimmage, under 10 yards. That can’t be your game plan with Jeremiah Smith. So Arthur Smith is going to have to go back to the drawing board on the way that they try to utilize what is the best weapon in all of college football. Maybe one of the best wide receivers that we have ever seen,” Klatt said.
Smith finished with 10 catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. While that’s not a terrible stat line by any means, it was his second-lowest receiving total of the year.
Advertisement
Klatt added that Fahey deserves some of the blame, too, but that was to be expected in some regard given it was his first ever start as a true freshman.
“And then that offensive line, like I said, they have got to play better. It was not a great game from their offensive line. The interior of their offensive line played one of the worst games I’ve seen on film from them in a long time. So that narrative that, hey, this wasn’t about Fahey, somewhat incorrect. He played like a freshman making his first start,” Klatt said.
Still, Klatt isn’t giving up on the Buckeyes. He kept Ohio State at No. 9 in his rankings, saying that the AP’s decision to drop the Buckeyes out of the top 10 was “a bit of an overreaction.”
The post ‘That can’t be your game plan with Jeremiah Smith’: Joel Klatt does not hold back on Ohio State appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
Source link
