Trey Sermon attempts to rush the ball down the field

Ohio State graduate running back Trey Sermon (8) attempts to rush the ball down the field during the Ohio State-Nebraska game on Oct. 24. Ohio State won 52-17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

Although junior quarterback Justin Fields dazzled through the air in the Buckeyes’ season-opening victory over Nebraska, the running back corps had a sluggish start to the 2020 campaign. 

Following the loss of former running back J.K. Dobbins to the NFL, the Buckeyes have turned to a running back-by-committee rotation with redshirt sophomore Master Teague III and graduate transfer Trey Sermon. Although the duo was slow out of the gates in the season opener, redshirt junior guard Wyatt Davis said he still has confidence that the Buckeye rushing attack could reach elite status by season’s end. 

“I really do believe that once we get rolling, our running game will be back and even better than what it was last year,” Davis said Saturday. “I just think that we just have to knock off the rust of not playing against another team and just really focus this week on film and what we did wrong and how we can get better.” 

The Buckeye running backs failed to live up to the standard set by Dobbins and other previous Ohio State backs in the season opener. However, the rushing attack’s struggles were reminiscent of its inefficiency in the season opener last season against Florida Atlantic.  

In that game, Dobbins was held to 91 yards on 21 carries and lost a fumble in what was one of his worst performances of his stellar 2019 campaign. On Saturday, Teague and Sermon only accounted for 96 yards on 23 combined carries against the Nebraska front.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he saw similarities in the two games and sees the early woes as a stepping stone for the rest of the season. 

“Against FAU, it was a little clunky, I remember that. It was just nothing fit right. I think that happens sometimes when you’re used to going against a certain front for months at a time,” Day said. “We’ll take a look at the film and see. I thought the offensive line still played really well, I thought they knocked people off the ball and there was still some good runs in there. But, we’ll improve. We’ll get better from this.” 

Master Teague III falls into the end zone

Ohio State sophomore running back Master Teague III (33) scores a touchdown during the Ohio State-Nebraska game on Oct. 24. Ohio State won 52-17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor

Despite their struggle to pick up yardage, the Buckeyes found the end zone four times through the ground. 

Although he averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on the day, Teague found the end zone twice in the opening half, including the Buckeyes’ opening score. Teague finished the game with 41 yards on 12 carries. 

A pair of Buckeye quarterbacks accounted for the other two touchdowns as Fields found paydirt on a 17-yard carry in the third quarter and backup freshman quarterback Jack Miller ran one in with under a minute to go in the contest. 

Fields finished with 15 carries on the day, accounting for 54 yards on the ground. 

“I just get the calls and run the plays,” Fields said. “I wasn’t thinking about running, I was just trying to go out there and compete.” 

Sermon tallied the most yards on the day in his Buckeye debut, picking up 55 yards on 11 carries. However, he found most of his success in the second half as he only accounted for 13 yards on five carries in the game’s first two frames.

With Sermon transferring in from Oklahoma, Day said that without the nonconference games that Ohio State normally plays in a typical season, he’ll use the film from this game to carve out a more defined role for Sermon and other newcomers on the team. 

“It was good to get Trey Sermon out there and get some carries. It’s the first time he’s been running the ball live in a long time,” Day said. “We’ll look at the film and see where those guys can start to help us.” 

Although Sermon and Teague carried the bulk of the rushing responsibilities, redshirt freshman Steele Chambers arguably had the best showing in his limited time in the backfield. 

Chambers picked up 32 yards on four carries in just one series as the third running back option. 

As the season wears on and the weather gets colder, Day said that the team will have to rely on the running game in the later stages of the season, despite its poor outing to open the season. 

“As we get into December, we’re going to be playing in some tough weather. It’s gonna get cold. It’s gonna get windy. It’s gonna get rainy and those types of things. So we’re gonna have to develop and really establish the run game,” Day said. “I feel really confident we will with our offensive line and our running backs.”