Looking at the scoreboard of Ohio State’s 30-18 road loss to the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is enough to make any Buckeyes fan pull their hair out. Ohio State actually outgained USC 464-338 and moved the ball with ease between the 20-yard lines. But once the Buckeyes got close to the end zone, everything seemed to fall apart.

While fans continue debating defensive coverages and the performance of true freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, sophomore running back Isaiah West had a much simpler explanation. Ohio State simply failed to execute when it mattered most.

West did not hold back when talking about how the Buckeyes let a winnable game slip away.

“Truth be told, we shot ourselves in the foot. I mean, we were in the red zone five times, and we didn’t score. I mean, we turned those field goals, or those missed opportunities, into touchdowns. It’s a completely different game. We’re having a completely different conversation right now,” Isaiah West said in the presser!

And he had a point. Despite piling up 126 more yards than the Trojans, Ohio State repeatedly came up empty in scoring territory. The Buckeyes experienced multiple failures in the red zone, though they did experience a brutal goal-line stand at the 1-yard line just before halftime.

This season’s struggles are far from an isolated incident; Ohio State has battled persistent red-zone execution issues for multiple seasons under Ryan Day. Observers note that these inside-the-20 breakdowns have become a recurring theme of the Buckeyes’ modern offensive identity.

Critics point back to high-profile games in 2023 where the offense consistently bogged down against elite, physical defenses, failing to run effectively in condensed spaces and frequently settling for field goals instead of touchdowns.

By failing to solve these short-yardage and play-calling identity crises in previous years, Ohio State effectively allowed a lingering vulnerability to harden into a defining flaw for the 2026 season.

Then there were the penalties.

Ohio State was flagged 11 times for 71 yards, with several of those mistakes killing promising drives. False starts, holding, and even a 12-men-on-the-field penalty kept putting the Buckeyes behind the chains. West also fumbled deep in USC territory, wiping away another chance to cut into the deficit.

For West, there was no need to overcomplicate what went wrong. The Buckeyes were simply getting in their own way.

“The main thing truly is execution. I mean, you can’t jump offsides, you can’t take sacks, you know, you can’t have negative plays in the red zone. Negative plays are terrible, and you know we just got to execute.”

Those mistakes were especially costly with Fahey making his first start against a major opponent. Every false start or negative play put the freshman quarterback into tougher situations, giving USC’s defense a chance to tee off on obvious passing downs.

Fahey still put together 260 passing yards and a touchdown to star junior receiver Jeremiah Smith, who finished with 10 catches for 83 yards. But two costly sacks and the constant offensive miscues made it difficult for Ohio State to finish drives.

What really stood out, though, was West calling out the team for making mistakes that should have been cleaned up long before the season reached this point.

“That’s the talk of the town right now,” West said regarding the lack of discipline. “Everybody has to be locked in and keyed in on that. That’s a team effort. There’s no reason we should be jumping offsides. There’s no reason we should have 12 people on the field. There’s no reason we should be holding like, this is day one fundamental stuff.”

That last part says plenty about where the Buckeyes are right now. These aren’t complicated schematic issues. They’re mistakes that Ohio State expects to have fixed by the time August camp is over.

Ryan Day is bringing outside help

Ryan Day and his staff appear to be taking the message seriously, too. The coaching staff has reportedly brought in extra referees to monitor practices this week, making sure those little mistakes are called immediately and players are held accountable.

And the timing could not be worse for Ohio State.

With the No. 23 Oregon Ducks coming to Ohio Stadium this weekend, the Buckeyes have already fallen off, having debuted in the No. 12 spot in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. Another loss would put their playoff hopes in serious danger.

There is no room for the same mistakes against Oregon. If Ohio State wants to keep its national title hopes alive, the message from Isaiah West is: clean up the penalties, stay locked in, and turn those red-zone opportunities into touchdowns.