The Ohio State Buckeyes boast one of college football’s most exciting offenses. Yet Ryan Day implied that the referees have stifled their potential operating speed.
Per Griffin Strom of Eleven Warriors, the head coach blamed officials for interfering with uptempo offenses.
“Now I feel like the referee just stands over the ball for 10 seconds and looks at you,” Day said.
According to TeamRankings, the Buckeyes have run 68.25 players per game on offense, slightly down from last season’s 71.6 average.
It’s certainly possible to go faster; Texas Tech leads the nation with a whopping 94.3 plays per contest.
However, the Buckeyes haven’t had to slam their foot on the accelerator. They’ve scored 174 points over their last three wins after a strong defensive effort guided a physical 21-10 victory over Notre Dame.
Day’s quip seems to suggest that he’d dial up the pace if officials didn’t interrupt a faster game flow by setting the ball, giving defenses time to catch up.
Regardless of the speed, Heisman hopeful C.J. Stroud has Ohio State’s offense firing on all cylinders ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Rutgers.