COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State’s short-yardage failures leap to mind because when you convert a third-and-2 and keep a drive alive, everyone moves onto the next thing. No one stops and says, “Great 4-yard play when you needed 2. Truly, pure genius.” But if you need 2 yards and get 1, or need 1 yard and get zero, and a drive does stop, then everyone remembers that. And then you wonder what went wrong. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has talked a lot the last couple weeks about short-yardage issues for the Buckeyes. Checking the numbers leads to a clear question. Are we sure Ohio State actually has a short-yardage problem? Defining short-yardage as 3 yards or fewer, in the last three weeks, here are the Buckeyes overall conversion rates: 3rd-and-short: 8 of 11 (72.7 percent) 4th-and-short: 6 of 9 (66.7 percent) On the year, according to stats compiled by SBNation, the…
Continue Reading: Does Ohio State football have a short-yardage problem? Actually, no
