Ohio State-Miami and what adjustments you will see in 2026 faculty soccer

Ohio State lined up at Miami’s 22-yard line, poised to reply the Hurricanes’ first rating with one in every of its personal in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup on the Cotton Bowl.

A 59-yard Jeremiah Smith reception — his longest in opposition to an FBS opponent all season — had moved Ohio State into the crimson zone. Even after a sack, the Buckeyes have been properly inside scoring vary. But then Miami’s Keionte Scott stepped in entrance of a Julian Sayin swing go and raced 72 yards to the tip zone.

The Buckeyes immediately trailed 14-0, a major deficit however not an insurmountable one. Nearly 12 minutes remained within the first half. Ohio State got here in averaging 3.5 factors per drive, which ranked within the prime 5 of the FBS. College soccer’s historical past is wealthy with livid comebacks on the largest phases, and the Buckeyes appeared able to delivering one other.

As the sport unfolded, although, Ohio State’s rally mission grew bleaker, and the game-flow adjustments in faculty soccer grew to become clearer. The Buckeyes logged three extra possessions earlier than halftime, the ultimate two starting inside their 10-yard line. They solely had three drives within the second half earlier than taking on with 55 seconds left, trailing by 10.

Ohio State scored two touchdowns within the second half however consumed 11:14 of clock within the course of. Miami scored simply 10 factors after its pick-six however exceeded 5 minutes on every scoring drive and ate up 9:37 on three nonscoring possessions. The Hurricanes by no means misplaced the lead and prevailed 24-14. The Buckeyes might by no means actually catch up.

The Miami-Ohio State recreation was a microcosm of a number of developments in a sport that’s evolving with analytics, know-how, longer seasons and nearer ties to the NFL. Offenses are as environment friendly as ever: FBS groups averaged 2.24 factors per drive in 2025, the a lot of the final decade. But total scoring is down almost 8% since 2016, from 28.4 offensive factors per recreation to 26.2. Why? Because groups are averaging 7% extra time between performs and 11% fewer drives per recreation.

Clock guidelines adjustments, longer seasons, slower offensive tempo and a stunning issue — fourth-down success — have converged to provide longer, slower drives. And in 2025, it gave even a hypertalented offense comparable to Ohio State’s much less time and fewer alternatives to dig out of holes.

“It comes down to efficiency,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day instructed ESPN. “I remember back when we used to run no-huddle all the time, and [mentor Chip Kelly] and I used to always talk about, ‘When you’re running 85 plays, you don’t have to be as efficient because you get 85 calls.’ It was all signal-based. You didn’t have coach-to-player communication, and the seasons were shorter. Now, the seasons are longer, roster-building is different, maybe we’re not going to have as much depth as we used to have. All those things come into play.”

As the 2026 season approaches, we took a better take a look at 4 developments within the sport that impression recreation stream, what coaches and the numbers are saying about them, and why they’re necessary to grasp when issues kick off in just a few weeks. Here’s your probability to review up on sequencing, fourth-down selections, timeout utilization, how longer nonscoring drives are impacting video games and extra.

The tempo period is over

In 2016, FBS offenses averaged 25.1 seconds per play; it was the final yr by which you possibly can see the direct results of what you would possibly name the tempo revolution in faculty soccer. In 2012, Alabama coach Nick Saban had famously requested, “Is this what we want college football to be?” in response to the proliferation of no-huddle assaults, and whereas the reply within the following years was a convincing “Yes,” defenses, as at all times, started to adapt. By 2023, when rule adjustments allowed the clock to proceed working after first downs exterior of the ultimate two minutes of every half, common seconds per play had already risen to 26.2. It jumped to 26.9 in 2023 and has remained there annually since.

In 2015, 16 groups averaged below 22 seconds per play, however FBS offenses as a complete averaged simply 2.11 factors per drive. As the tempo has slowed, effectivity has picked up: By 2025, solely two groups averaged below 22 seconds per play — Florida Atlantic (21.3) and South Florida (21.8) — however common factors per drive had risen by 6%.

“Games have become shorter, there’s less possessions, there’s less plays, and you’ve got to maximize your opportunities,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian stated. “It’s very similar to an NFL-style game right now. The clock is running more, people are huddling more, and so you’re not seeing teams running 100 plays anymore, 105 plays. That era of college football has passed, and we’ve shifted now.

“You’re seeing groups run 50 performs, 55 performs, and so that you higher be environment friendly when you will have your alternatives.”

Both Miami and Ohio State fell below their season averages for plays in the CFP quarterfinal game, as the Hurricanes had 63 (4.6 below their average) and the Buckeyes had 59 (5 below). Ohio State averaged a yard more per play (5.6) than Miami but just didn’t get many chances.

The Buckeyes were also in no rush. Their season average of 31.4 seconds per play ranked second slowest nationally, and in their three primary drives in their second-half comeback attempt against Miami, they averaged 33.5 seconds per play. Miami, meanwhile, averaged 32.3 seconds per play and ate up large portions of the clock with two long scoring drives.

“There’s going to be some games where you want to play keep-away and you want to take a little bit of air out of the ball, and make sure that you limit the number of possessions,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal instructed ESPN. “There’s a way to beat everybody, right? That happened to be a slugfest: Two teams, a lot of high-level players, really physical.”

The slow-down technique can work in particular person video games, like Miami-Ohio State, and in addition apply to total seasons and particularly the opportunity of longer postseasons. Coaches aspiring to succeed in the nationwide championship recreation with principally wholesome rosters should assess simply how a lot pounding their gamers can take throughout stretched-out seasons.

Indiana and Miami, which met for the nationwide title, each ranked within the prime 11 nationally in most time of possession per play, each averaging greater than 30 seconds.

“There’s a real awareness of the fact that if you’re going to snap the ball 100 times a game, and you’re going to play 17 games, you’re going to, at some point, run out of steam,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea stated. “There’s an understanding that winning games is enough, so how do we build leads? How do we shorten the game? And how do we get to the next game healthy?”

Matt Rhule, who led the Carolina Panthers in between faculty teaching stops at Baylor and now Nebraska, stated the school recreation has gotten a lot nearer to the NFL in the way it flows.

“We used to practice so much in the Big 12 versus tempo — I mean, fastball after fastball after fastball, and that’s kind of gone,” Rhule stated. “Games are shrinking down, which I think is a good thing.”

Not each coach, nonetheless, is actively turning down the tempo. First, there is a math aspect to the problem: If you will have expertise and per-play benefits, there’s a straightforward case to be made that you need to need extra snaps and extra drives to exacerbate these benefits. Shrinking video games can even shrink the alternatives it’s important to maximize your superiority.

There’s additionally a philosophical argument. Auburn’s Alex Golesh, who final yr coached a South Florida group that ranked second nationally in seconds per play (21.8), nonetheless advocates a most possessions method, saying, “The more possessions you have, the more chances you have to score.” Golesh thinks the SEC will preserve a level of tempo with coaches comparable to Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, LSU’s Lane Kiffin, Mississippi State’s Jeff Lebby and himself directing offenses.

Still, up-tempo groups have gotten nationwide outliers. Coaches are recognizing the advantages of huddling, from protecting indicators from being stolen by opponents to giving quarterbacks extra play choices from which to decide on. Indiana led the FBS in snaps from the huddle with 1,024, whereas Miami ranked third with 954. Twenty-three groups logged greater than 700 performs from the huddle in 2025, up from simply 5 in 2023.

“The average snap time is down, not by choice but by operation,” stated Illinois coach Bret Bielema, a longtime proponent of huddling on offense. “More teams are huddling now than ever before.”

Timeout utilization

It makes loads of sense that groups have (or select) to maneuver extra slowly as of late, however it’s nonetheless greatest for those who can transfer shortly when it is advisable to. And figuring out how and when to make use of your timeouts on the finish of a given half should buy just a few valuable seconds and make an unlimited distinction.

Case in level: The finish of the second quarter of the Ohio State-Miami recreation.

With Miami up 14-0 late within the first half, the Hurricanes transformed a fourth-and-2 to the Ohio State 30 with 2:19 left. The Buckeyes allowed the clock to run all the way down to the two-minute timeout, then used timeouts after Miami’s subsequent two performs after the timeout. When Carson Beck threw an incomplete on third-and-20, Miami was pressured to punt with 1:42 left.

Had Ohio State used its timeouts earlier than the two-minute break, third down would most likely have occurred with between 2:00 and a couple of:05 left. Day price himself a minimum of 18 seconds by protecting these timeouts in his pocket. In their ensuing drive, they acquired to the Miami 31 with 5 seconds left earlier than Jayden Fielding missed a 49-yard area purpose. With one other snap or two, they may have pushed into higher area purpose vary.

Knowing tips on how to deploy timeouts late in a half — and understanding how necessary it’s to save these timeouts for late in a half — could make or break a group in a giant recreation. The arrival of the two-minute timeout in 2024, very like the NFL’s two-minute warning, has added a major wrinkle.

“It’s a huge change,” NC State coach Dave Doeren stated. “That game management piece, that was my whole offseason project. At the end of the day, you want to have as many in your pocket as you can in the second half. I tell our staff that I don’t mind losing timeouts in the first half, but in the second half, it’s nonnegotiable. We can’t burn one because you got 12 men on the field, right? Or 10. I’ll take the penalty.”

Many coaches assign assist employees members to help with timeout utilization. Utah first-year common supervisor Joe D’Orazio, for instance, dealt with these duties for USC in 2025. He and others subscribe to the idea that burning timeouts to forestall delay-of-game penalties, aside from in excessive conditions, isn’t price it.

“There’s no worse feeling than a delay-of-game penalty — it’s like the cringe of cringe,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch stated. “But sometimes you look at the down and distance, and you see you’re at second-and-12 [after the penalty], and you’re like, ‘All right, there’s X percentage chance that we’re going to convert this. I don’t need to use the timeout.’ But my philosophy is the first half, the timeouts are for offense. The second half, the timeouts are for defense.”

Tempo-based offenses comparable to Oklahoma State’s below new coach Eric Morris are much less involved about conserving timeouts due to how shortly they sometimes drive the ball. But Morris acknowledges the significance of maximizing the “middle eight” — the ultimate 4 minutes of the primary half, and the primary 4 of the second half, the place groups can sneak in further possessions — and can cling to timeouts when he can.

Timeouts are in the end tied to recreation circumstances, however coaches say the deal with them has sharpened.

“You look at the NFL, the margin of error is really small, and I think in college that’s becoming more and more the case,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning stated. “When that happens, people take moments like that way more seriously, and probably put in a lot more time and effort and thought. [Timeouts] certainly always depend on the situation. Are points in jeopardy or not?

“But 40 seconds is effective, and we wish to do the whole lot we will to save lots of these.”

Fourth-down attempts are way up

In a lot of sports, analytics and stat-driven decision-making have created frustrating outcomes for fans. Baseball has fewer stolen-base attempts and general chaos and more of a strikeouts-or-homers approach in part because it’s a more statistically efficient way to play. Basketball analytics quickly determined that a distilled 3s-and-layups approach maximized efficiency, seemingly hurting offensive variety in the process.

Football seems to have an advantage in that, (a) analytics have long suggested that teams aren’t going for it enough on fourth down and (b) fourth-down attempts are fun and exciting. Those attempts have increased dramatically over the past decade: Teams went for it just 19.6% of the time in 2015, 33.5% in opponents’ territory, but those numbers surged to 27.1% and 41.3%, respectively, last season. Fourth-down conversion rates improved at the same time, too, which suggests that efficiency hasn’t yet been maximized in this area.

“You get just a few much less performs and fewer possessions, and I feel extra individuals are OK being aggressive,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “It’s virtually like analytics offers individuals cowl to be extra aggressive than it used to, when actually, you need to at all times be fairly aggressive. And you’ll be able to maintain possessions that manner.”

In 2020-21, Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss shifted the fourth-down conversation into overdrive by going for it 45.8% of the time; the Rebels were one of only two teams over 40% in that regard and one of 20 over 30%. In 2025, 45 teams were over 30%, nine were over 40% and three were over 50%: Baylor (51.0%), Army (54.4%) and Florida Atlantic (57.9%).

The increase in fourth-down attempts has frequently come in high-leverage situations, too. Under what you might call normal circumstances — three or fewer yards to go, under 60 yards from the end zone and an FPI in-game win probability between 20% and 80% — the national go rate in 2015 was just 50.2%, with eight teams at 100%, 50 under 40% and nine at 0%. In 2025, the go rate in those circumstances was 72.2%, a massive increase. Sixteen teams went for it every time in these situations, and only eight (Auburn, Fresno State, LSU, Missouri State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Old Dominion and Toledo) were under 40%.

“On fourth downs, there are definitely more teams pushing the envelope,” stated Michael McRoberts, founding father of Championship Analytics (CAI), the corporate that was behind the early open-mindedness of coaches comparable to Kiffin and Army’s Jeff Monken and now works with about 80% all FBS packages and 90% of the Power 4. “Florida Atlantic was at 62 attempts last and 41 makes last year! But just as important, the number of teams that are reflexively kicking on every fourth down is dwindling fast.”

Fisch admits he is an outlier in not relying closely on fourth-down analytics.

“I don’t use the book at all,” stated Fisch, who calls the Huskies’ offensive performs. “I think I’m the last man standing. If I want to go for it, we’ll go for it. If it’s fourth-and-1, it’s hard for me not to go for it, and if it’s fourth-and-6, I don’t really love going for it. I don’t know why a book needs to tell me that. It’s been 26 years of coaching football, and in a lot of my jobs, I’ve been making those types of decisions.”

Increasing the variety of high-leverage performs in a given recreation is an thrilling improvement, however it comes with an surprising price: Successful fourth-down makes an attempt prolong drives, and people drives have been already taking extra time on a per-play foundation. FBS groups averaged over 13 possessions per recreation as late as 2016, however when mixed with the clock guidelines referenced above, these longer drives have helped that nationwide common to sink under 12 possessions per recreation for every of the previous two seasons. And fewer drives means fewer factors and fewer wild-and-crazy observe meets.

“This is all good news for the pro-parity crowd,” McRoberts stated. “Fewer possessions coupled with fourth-down variance can swing some seasons one way or another pretty fast.”

Defenses are additionally catching on, coaches say, and their success at stopping fourth downs might stem the development.

“I don’t know if everybody’s reaping the benefits of it anymore, as much as we were in the past,” Sarkisian stated. “So are we going to see people punting the ball more now, when you’re pinning people deep, playing defense again. It’ll be interesting to see if that comes back, kicking field goals again, instead of always going for it. And it takes big moments to break trends. I think about the Broncos and [coach] Sean Payton, the amount of criticism he got for going for it on a fourth down [in the AFC Championship] when he didn’t kick a field goal, right? Is that going to help break a trend?”

Your coach’s new favourite phrase: sequencing!

The first step is accepting that you simply stay the fourth-down way of life. The second step is embracing it. While changing on third down stays optimum in opposition to the choice, understanding what number of yards it is advisable to put your self in go vary on fourth — and, subsequently, placing your self in place to go for it — is an more and more essential playcalling talent. Offensive coordinators now know that there are two necessary traces on third down: the road to realize and the road to go for it.

Maybe this produces an elevated willingness to run the ball on third-and-5 or so. Or possibly it means being a bit extra prepared to throw the ball to a receiver wanting the road to realize: In 2019, quarterbacks threw wanting the sticks 43.0% of the time on third down, however in 2025 that common had risen to 48.5%.

“People are going for it more on fourth down, that has definitely become a trend,” Lashlee stated. “So when that happens, you’re not as worried as much about third-down conversion percentage as you are about, ‘If I’m thinking four downs, then I’m more likely on third-and-6 or 7 to run the football. And it does put the defense in a tough spot. It’s a totally different mindset.”

The will increase have shifted how coaches and playcallers view down-and-distance conditions that was thought-about extra inflexible.

“[Coach] Marcus [Freeman] is pretty aggressive with allowing us to go for it on fourth down, depending on where we’re at on the field,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock stated. “So it just opens up. You can really call third down like second down. Quite frankly, we’ve been able to take advantage of that. When we broke down our third downs from last year, there were as many runs on third-and-medium as there were screens. So it just gives you an opportunity to be a little more multiple, where it’s not just always quarterback in the pocket.”

Along with the rise in fourth-down makes an attempt, use of the phrase “sequencing” has turn into way more widespread. Say you are dealing with a second-and-10: Instead of needing 10 yards in two performs, you would possibly solely want seven or eight. Fourth down proliferation signifies that there are fewer real must-pass conditions, and you’ll play it safer whenever you do go. Both of these issues create inherent offensive benefits.

“Sequencing, which a lot of people are talking about, may have even happened on first down,” Virginia Tech coach James Franklin instructed ESPN. “You tell your coordinator, ‘We’re in four-down territory right now,’ so a third-down distance that typically would be a passing situation in most years previous, now opens the playbook to the offensive coordinator to call, maybe an unusual call, a run on third-and-long, get to fourth-and-manageable, or pop it, especially depending on who the running back is.”

USC coach Lincoln Riley remembers crowds booing after he known as third-down runs, pondering the offense had “conceded” the collection. But Riley views third down as a best-play down, not essentially one to name a run merely to arrange a fourth-down try.

“Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t, but more people are doing it now because they can hide under the, ‘Oh well, we were going to go for it on fourth,’ or ‘We’re sequencing now,’ which obviously makes sense,” he stated. “I just think defenses are evolving to that, too, where on third down they’re giving themselves a bit more run support.

“Certainly all of the sequencing is inflicting either side to evolve.”

Sequencing is inherently tied to field position. Teams view the area from just inside the 50-yard line to the 30- or 25-yard across midfield as one that opens up different possibilities, some determined by what analytics are telling them. Maryland’s Mike Locksley is among the coaches who has a staff member close by on the sideline before offensive drives, mapping out where two-down territory begins, so he can relay it to his offensive coordinator to shape playcalling strategy.

“Instead of constructing pooch punts or lengthy area targets, groups are assessing and saying, ‘OK, it is third-and-6. Why not give my offensive coordinator two downs to run it and get a primary down, relatively than kicking this 48-yard area purpose?'” Bielema said. “It’s not that the calls have modified; it is simply the notice. …”

When you see raw point and yardage totals are both down, it’s easy to quickly conclude that defenses have pulled one over on offenses. At best, however, that’s only partially true. FBS offenses are as or more likely to score on a given drive than they ever have been, but they probably have to take their time to do it.

“Every drive is changing into increasingly more necessary,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “Where you may need been on the market 13, 14 drives, and you possibly can afford to have a few unhealthy drives, the much less drives there are, the much less room for error. And it is on either side of the ball. People are simply being extra environment friendly than ever, and making their alternatives rely.”

If you are searching for the following nice offensive innovation, it’s going to seemingly contain heavier use of tempo once more, however maybe in a selective and diversified manner. Maybe you’ll be able to’t ground it always anymore and anticipate to win 17 video games and a nationwide title, however having that membership of their proverbial bag positive would have helped Ohio State in final yr’s postseason.