Ohio State football is sticking with slower offensive tempo as it mounts repeat title bid

During last season’s national championship run, Ohio State game planned to withstand the longest season in the program’s history.

It moved the ball at one of the slowest paces in the Football Bowl Subdivision, an effort to limit the number of snaps as it played a record 16 games.

As the top-ranked Buckeyes aim for their first-ever repeat title, they have continued the approach, sitting at the bottom of the FBS in pace of play midway through the regular season.

The Buckeyes have averaged 32.4 seconds per play, the slowest tempo among the 136 teams, according to TeamRankings.com.  

“The first goal is to win,” coach Ryan Day said, “and when you look at it from that point of view, you do everything you can to win that game, but then you take a step back and figure what gives us the best chance to reach our goals, that’s the way we look at it.”

The changes to clock rules two years ago, allowing the game clock to run after first downs until the final two minutes of each half, led to a decline in the number of plays.

Ohio State, which averaged as many as 76 plays per game during Day’s first full season in 2019, averaged 63.9 plays per game in 2023 and 61.8 plays per game last season. The number is even lower over its 6-0 start this fall: 61.2.

The expansion of the College Football Playoff remains a significant consideration. The 12-team bracket requires teams to play three or four postseason games to win a title, potentially twice as many as in the four-team era, extending the season into late January.

It’s also easier to crack the postseason. Rather than impressing the selection committee for a small handful of at-large bids, the five highest-ranked conference champions automatically make the field. The seven other spots remain reserved for at-large teams.

The additional playoff paths allow the Buckeyes to prioritize load management and preserving the health of the team's explosive playmakers rather than just padding their resume.

“The idea of quote-unquote style points was probably a little more important before the 12-team playoff,” Day said. “Right now, it’s about winning games, and that’s where our focus has to be.”

While operating with a slower tempo on offense, Day has stressed execution, and it’s hard to quibble much with the results.

Ohio State has not been flawless, at times struggling to finish drives with touchdowns inside the red zone, but it’s been efficient with its possessions.

It has averaged 6.89 yards per play, a mark that ranks 19^th in the FBS and is nearly identical to the clip from last season (6.93).

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Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at [email protected] and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football using slower offensive tempo for repeat title bid