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Articles by Ross Fulton
Ross Fulton Analysis: What Went Wrong For The Ohio State Defense vs Texas?
Ohio State’s defense probably wasn’t quite as good as the scoreboard looked through the first three quarters against the Texas Longhorns, and probably wasn’t quite as bad as the 21 points allowed in the fourth quarter would have suggested, either. So what went right for Matt Patricia’s defense before a whole lot went wrong late?
Ross Fulton Analysis: Ohio State Offense Vs. Texas
The Ohio State Buckeyes outgained Texas by more than 1.5 yards per play on Saturday night in Austin, but only scored touchdowns on two of five red zone trips, in a 24-23 loss to the Longhorns. So what went right, and what went wrong for the Buckeyes on offense during the game? In this super-sized episode of Ross Fulton Analysis, Ross breaks down 11 plays that illustrate the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Buckeyes’ performance in DKR. Want to get an early look at the video of this episode?
The Chief Customer Officer’s Guide to Partner-Led Customer Success
For years, B2B technology companies have leveraged partners to drive customer acquisition and product implementation. However, in today’s recurring revenue economy, the role of partners must evolve. Partners are no longer just sales and implementation allies; they are a critical force in ensuring customer retention and expansion through value realization.
Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value: The Pivotal Role of Services Teams
Valuize is proud to be supporting International Services Week. In the evolving landscape of business-to-business (B2B) relationships, services teams are poised to play an ever-increasing crucial role in delivering customer value. As organizations rapidly recognize that their business success is intrinsically linked to that of their clients’ success, there’s a growing opportunity for services teams to transform their function from project executors to strategic customer value drivers.
Building A Blueprint For Your Customer Lifecycle
The business model and market demands of enterprise B2B tech companies have transformed in recent years. Yet, the majority of these companies have barely scratched the surface when it comes to transforming their approach to the customer lifecycle. Today’s market leaders recognize that true sustainable growth demands more than just customer-centric values and a ‘customer success’ branded organization.
Fulton Analysis: Close, But . . . And Looking Forward
Ryan Day, CJ Stroud, and the Ohio State offense had their best performance of 2022 against the top-ranked Georgia defense. But injuries to Cade Stover and Marvin Harrison—when combined with the numerous skill position players the Buckeyes were already down—were too much to overcome in Ohio State’s 42-41 loss. The Buckeyes entered the game short-handed at running back, with only freshman Dallan Hayden and do-everything Xavier Johnson fully available.
Fulton Analysis: Pace 'N Space
Ryan Day and the Ohio State offense faces one of the most renowned, complex defenses in the country in Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs. My latest article. A Worthy Rival: The Kirby Smart Defense. (h/t as always to @TaylorKolste and @NoahRiley21; and special thanks to @Ian_A_Boyd).
Fulton Analysis: Failure Pile Of Sadness
Ohio State combined an inability to finish drives offensively, allowing massive explosive plays for touchdowns defensively, and lesser execution of a smaller menu of concepts to lose 45-23 to Michigan. Wolverine defensive coordinator Jesse Minter used a myriad of coverages against CJ Stroud and Ohio State.
Fulton Analysis: Tuning Up
Ohio State overcame a slow start to jump out to a comfortable two score lead over Maryland entering the fourth quarter—only for defensive pass defense breakdowns and self-imposed mistakes to allow the Terrapins back in the game—in a contest that provided valuable insight for how Ohio State must approach the Michigan offense and defense.
What's in store for a late recruiting push at running back and quarterback?
The class of 2023 is coming together for the Buckeyes but there are a pair of noticeable holes left in the class by recent decommitments at both the running back and quarterback positions. With one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the year coming up for Ohio State, where do things stand leading up to the big weekend and beyond?
Fulton Analysis: Extreme
Rendered one-dimensional by extreme wind, Ohio State muddled through a 21-7 victory against Northwestern.
Fulton Analysis: Good Enough
Ohio State again started slow offensively against Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s myriad of disguise and schemes before a fourth quarter explosion spurred the Buckeyes’ 44-31 victory. Diaz principally used trap cover 2 (meaning that the corner reads the inside receiver—if he releases to the flat he will jump the route, while if he releases vertically the corner sinks deeper) from both four and five man pressures.
Fulton Analysis: Confounded
The Iowa defense has long been renowned for its fundamentally sound, split-safety scheme. This has again been true this season, as the Hawkeyes have operated the best defense in the country according to ESPN Bill Connelly’s SP+. But Hawkeye defensive coordinator Phil Parker confounded Ohio State on Saturday by eschewing that cover-4 based scheme.
A-Deck: Could Ohio State Be Adding A New Running Back And Defensive Lineman In 2023?
A-Deck is presented by Steamboat Dry Goods. USE CODE football FOR 20% OFF AN ORDER OF $25 OR MORE NOW (1X USE PER CUSTOMER)! Welcome to “A-Deck” at Buckeye Huddle, where I’ll bring you inside scoop, what I’m hearing, tidbits, thoughts, and more on Ohio State recruiting and team coverage every week. Last week’s A-Deck provided scoop on the Wisconsin game visitors and also previewed the recruiting weekend for the Rutgers game.
Fulton Analysis: Goofy
Ohio State overcame Rutgers’ blizzard of defensive looks and ball-control offensive approach in the Buckeyes’ 49-10 win. Ohio State had little difficulty scoring on their first three possessions against Greg Schiano’s mix of cover 2 and cover 4 pattern reading concepts that featured Rutgers carrying Ohio State’s receivers vertically. @Coach_Radcliff coverage thoughts? Stump to field, 2-read to boundary?
Fulton Analysis: Fast Start
Ohio State utilized a near flawless start to dismantle Wisconsin 52-21. Against Jim Leonhard’s Badger defense, Ryan Day frequently had the Buckeye offense operate out of 11 personnel, open sets. Tight end Cade Stover remained flexed out and/or motioned into the formation right before the snap—perhaps to keep Wisconsin in their 2-4-5 front with linebackers pulled out of the box.
A-Deck: Previewing The Wisconsin Game Recruiting Weekend
A-Deck is presented by Steamboat Dry Goods. USE CODE football FOR 20% OFF AN ORDER OF $25 OR MORE NOW (1X USE PER CUSTOMER)! Welcome to “A-Deck” at Buckeye Huddle, where I’ll bring you inside scoop, what I’m hearing, tidbits, thoughts, and more on Ohio State recruiting and team coverage every week. Last week’s A-Deck provided answers to your questions about Ohio State recruiting and the 2022 Buckeyes.
Fulton Analysis: Systematic
Ohio State put together its most complete offensive performance this season with the return of wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming—while having several defensive miscues in implementing Jim Knowles’ plan to defend a mobile quarterback—in Ohio State’s 77-21 win over Toledo. Ryan Day again demonstrated his renewed commitment to reducing the Buckeyes’ tendencies by formation and protecting Ohio State’s base run plays.
Fulton Analysis: Scheme and Personnel
Ohio State’s defensive performance against Arkansas State underscored some of the strengths—and weaknesses—of Jim Knowles’ scheme and the Buckeye defensive personnel. Knowles again opened by principally playing cover 1 man buzz weak (a deep safety in the middle of the field with the other safety coming down in the hook/curl zone away from the offense’s formation strength,) on early downs—allowing the hook/curl safety to be heavily involved in filling against the run.
Fulton Analysis: Explosive But Clunky
Ohio State interspersed stellar drives with clunky play in its uneven 45-13 victory over Arkansas State. Befitting a Mark Dantonio disciple, Arkansas State defensive coordinator Rob Harley principally used a four-down, aggressive cover 4 scheme with safeties quickly triggering against the run and corners often left on islands. In response, Ryan Day and his staff continued their efforts to better break run game tendencies by formation after being often too predictable in 2021.
Fulton Analysis: Defense Drives The Night
Led by Jim Knowles’ revamped defense, Ohio State overcame a slow offensive start, the loss of All-American wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and an experienced, complex Notre Dame defense to win 21-10. EDITOR’S NOTE: We have gone back and made this premium story free so everyone can have an opportunity to check out one of our most popular features from Ross Fulton.
Fulton Analysis: Defense Drives The Night
Led by Jim Knowles’ revamped defense, Ohio State overcame a slow offensive start, the loss of All-American wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and an experienced, complex Notre Dame defense to win 21-10. Notre Dame opened by often bracketing Smith-Njigba.
Fulton Analysis: Comeback
Ohio State overcame opt-outs, injuries, and a 14-point deficit behind CJ Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s record setting performances in the Buckeyes’ 48-45 Rose Bowl victory. Defensively, Utah used an increasingly familiar formula against the Ohio State offense.
Fulton Analysis: Knowles' Defense
After two years of Ohio State often being held back by an overly simplistic defensive scheme that was repeatedly exploited—a situation that Ryan Day and Matt Barnes could only partly address in-season following the Buckeyes’ week two loss to Oregon—Day made perhaps the most important hire of his young tenure by bringing in Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State as the Buckeyes’ new defensive coordinator.
Fulton Analysis: Uninspiring
Ohio State’s passing game could not overcome an insipid offensive game plan—and a defense that was manhandled up front by Michigan and had no ability to address being stretched to the field and boundary—in the Buckeyes’ 42-27 loss to the Wolverines. As is his wont, Michigan defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald mixed in numerous cover 3 weak and fire zones with cover 4 man match coverages. But at the risk of oversimplifying, MacDonald’s game plan was as follows.
Fulton Analysis: Overwhelming
Ohio State turned in a complete performance in overwhelming Michigan State 56-7. Ryan Day and the Buckeye offense adeptly targeted the Spartans’ defensive scheme that mixes HOT pressures (3 deep, 2 under) and some cover 4 (particularly in the red zone) with base cover 3 weak (cover 6 in Nick Saban-speak), Ohio State was able to routinely pick up Michigan State’s HOT pressures featuring blitzes from both inside linebackers, before exploit the under manned second level of support.
Fulton Analysis: Explosive-less
Ohio State turned in another uneven performance in its 26-17 win over Nebraska. Against the Buckeye offense, the Cornhuskers took a page from Penn State’s playbook and varied looks based upon Ohio State’s tendencies. The Cornhuskers frequently mixed cover 3 pressures, cover 1, and aggressive cover 4 when Ohio State’s tight end was attached as a Y-off to the formation. At the snap, Nebraska would often slant or pinch their defensive tackles.
Fulton Analysis: Miscues and Missed Assignments
Ohio State’s offense was plagued by miscues, numbers, and missed blocking assignments in its 33-24 win over Penn State. Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry mixed a variety of looks against the Buckeyes—frequently stemming to an odd front on passing downs and featuring an over “load” front to the tight end side (lining with both a 3-techinque between the guard and tackle and 5-technique between the tackle and tight end) in run-first situations.
Fulton Analysis: On Track
Ohio State continued its run of combining a balanced offense targeting the weak spot in the opponent’s defensive scheme with its revitalized, cover-4 focused defense, in its 54-7 win over Indiana. The Hoosiers opened frequently playing variations of a tite front —which generally places three down linemen inside the offensive tackles to each side (a 4i technique) and a hybrid stand-up linebacker away from the passing strength.
Fulton Analysis: Ohio State and Cover 4
Perhaps nothing epitomizes the transformation of the Ohio State defensive scheme following the Buckeyes’ Oregon loss than Cover 4 becoming a staple of the Ohio State defensive scheme. Many observers are now familiar with how, under Ryan Day, the Buckeyes have traditionally pre-rotated their safeties before the snap—with one in the deep middle of the field and one over the tight end.
Fulton Analysis: Multiplicity
Ohio State turned in another stellar performance in its 66-17 victory over Maryland. Offensively, the Buckeye run game was slowed early by the Terrapins’ strategy to combine a condensed, odd front with a nose guard head up on the center with a soft cover 2 or quarters coverage to protect against big pass plays. In the run game, Ohio State seemed to have early identification issues against the odd front. For example, below, the Buckeyes run mid-zone insert.
Fulton Analysis: Complementary Football
Ohio State turned in its most complete, complementary game this season in its 52-13 win over Rutgers. Offensively, Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson had a well-honed plan to target Rutgers’ 4-3 stack that features a nose guard titled at the center, heavy amounts of slanting, and safeties that aggressively trigger to insert themselves in the box against the run. This was evident on the Buckeyes’ second offensive play. Ohio State ran G/Y counter off jet action.
Fulton Analysis: Defensive Scheme Change
Ohio State broke tendencies on both sides of the football in its 59-7 win over an over-matched Akron. Offensively, the Buckeyes overcame freshman quarterback Kyle McCord’s early game jitters by targeting the edge toward the halfback’s side in shotgun. Often, opposing defenses will slant and/or overplay away from Ohio State’s offset halfback, expecting zone runs to the opposite side.
Fulton Analysis: Tulsa Troubles
Ohio State turned in another uneven performance in its 41-20 win over Tulsa. The Buckeyes’ offense on Saturday featured a downhill, 12 personnel rushing attack that relied upon greater run game diversity against the Golden Hurricanes’ 3-3-5 that mixed cover 1 on early downs with cover 4 on passing downs. Specifically, in predicted run situations, Tulsa frequently brought their cover 1 free safety down in run support as an inside free hitter, often playing what effectively functioned as cover 0.
Fulton Analysis: Not Quite There
The Ohio State offense largely moved the football successfully against Oregon—but left too many points on the field to overcome the Buckeye defense’s inefficiencies and playing from behind in Ohio State’s 35-28 loss.
Fulton Analysis: Longstanding Shortcomings
Longstanding shortcomings in scheme and execution within Ryan Day’s Ohio State defensive system came to fruition against Joe Moorhead’s heavy run-pass option scheme in Ohio State’s 35-28 loss to Oregon. There may not be a college defense that runs less coverages than Day’s Buckeye defense. As off-discussed, Day prefers pre-rotated safeties that places one safety deep in the middle of the field and one over the tight end. safety to the box to obtain a plus-one against the run.
Fulton Analysis: Uneven Performance
Ohio State fought through an uneven performance on both sides of the football before pulling away with a 45-31 win against Minnesota. On offense, Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson used heavy amounts of trips and/or unbalanced formations—likely to cause confusion and/or outleverage the Golden Gophers’ two-high, split safety zone schemes (featuring heavy amounts of quarter quarter half with cover 4 to the wide field, cover 2 to the boundary).
Deep Customer Collaboration: The New Frontier
By Dave Duke, MetaCX and Ross Fulton, Valuize In part one of this two-part series, we introduced the concept of deep customer collaboration as an extension of deep collaboration — software that combines productivity and collaboration functionality in one place to get a specific job done.
Capitalizing On Untapped Opportunities To Prescribe, Deliver, And Measure Value With Customers
By Dave Duke, MetaCX and Ross Fulton, Valuize “Software is eating the world.” This famous statement made by Marc Andreessen in 2011 set the tone for the proliferation of software that has since engulfed almost every aspect of business across all industries and ecosystems. The software avalanche has provided opportunities for companies to reimagine the way they go to market and serve and support their employees and customers.
Analyzing the bullet position - Buckeye Scoop
After a porous showing against the pass for much of last season, the Ohio State Spring Game demonstrated that the Buckeyes do not plan to make significant changes to their base coverage schemes. But they did make one significant personnel change within that scheme—forgoing playing an outside Sam linebacker in favor of a hybrid linebacker/safety “Bullet—which should provide them coverage flexibility and adaptability against the pass in 2021.
Foreign Affairs: Scottish Independence, campaign rhetoric, and the fallacies of Boris Johnson
To campaign in poetry and govern in prose is a maxim that President Joseph R. Biden may do well to ignore. Whether his citations of Seamus Heaney on the campaign (‘hope and history can rhyme’) or references to St. Augustine in his inaugural address (‘a people was a multitude defined by the common objects of their love’) swung any voters to his cause is besides the point, especially in such stridently divided times.
Fulton Analysis: Couldn’t Keep Pace – Buckeye Scoop
An Ohio State offense that needed to keep pace with Alabama largely lost any chance to do so with Trey Sermon’s opening play injury in the Buckeyes’ national championship loss. Ryan Day’s offensive system is predicated upon the wide zone stretch play. Although the aim point of the play is the inside leg of the tight end (or inside leg of the offensive tackle with mid zone), the goal with stretch is to get the defensive front moving laterally to create running lanes.
Fulton Analysis: Death By A Thousand RPO Cuts – Buckeye Scoop
A short-handed Ohio State ran into a buzz saw in its 52-24 national championship loss to Alabama. The Buckeyes’ defensive scheme was a poor matchup—schematically and personnel-wise—for the Crimson Tide’s RPO-heavy offense. As previously discussed, Ryan Day utilizes a variant of Pete Carroll’s NFL scheme.
Fulton Analysis: Breaking down the Alabama offense – Buckeye Scoop
Despite operating the number one SP+ offense (an advanced statistical measure of efficiency—Ohio State is number two), Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian does not utilize a bevy of plays. Instead, he operates a few schemes that build off of, and are centered on, one core concept—the run-pass option.
Fulton Analysis: Targeting the Alabama defense – Buckeye Scoop
It is unlikely that there is a defensive scheme that Nick Saban, at some point in his career, has not used. Traditionally known as a 3-4 coach, Saban and his Alabama defensive staff had adapted to the spread era. Against Ohio State’s spread set, Alabama will likely primarily play a 4-2-5, with the nickel (what Saban calls the ‘Star’) going to the passing strength. But the Tide will also intersperse odd fronts—a traditional 3-4 against certain run sets, and Saban’s 3-3-5 “Mint” front.
Fulton Analysis: Hemming Clemson In – Buckeye Scoop
The Ohio State defense played effectively against Clemson by making critical adjustments within their defensive philosophy to slow the Tigers in the Buckeyes’ 49-28 Sugar Bowl win. Except on third downs and late in the fourth quarter, the Ohio State defensive staff did not play nickel against Clemson’s spread sets. Instead, the Buckeyes remained true to their base 4-3, single high, cover 3 scheme.
Fulton Analysis: How the Ohio State offense kept Clemson guessing – Buckeye Scoop
Ryan Day and his staff came out with a plan to target both the play calling system and the structure of Brent Venables’ Clemson defense in Ohio State’s 49-28 Sugar Bowl playoff semifinal win. As was much discussed leading into the game, the Clemson staff has a reputation for stealing play call signals. At a minimum, Venables waits as long as possible until the offense aligns to call his defensive play. To limit Clemson’s ability to do both, Ohio State would sugar huddle before racing to the line.
Fulton Analysis: Looking at the Clemson offense – Buckeye Scoop
Like its defense, the Clemson offense has maintained continuity in its offensive system that began with Chad Morris https://matchquarters.com/2018/12/01/the-morris-clemson-offensive-system/ since the Tigers’ rise to national prominence. Although both Clemson and Ohio State would be considered “spread” offenses, there are significant differences. Ryan Day effectively utilizes a pro-style offense from the shotgun; principally based around the wide zone run game and downfield passing schemes.
Fulton Analysis: Attacking the Clemson defense – Buckeye Scoop
Perhaps no current college football defensive coordinator has had more sustained success than Clemson’s Brent Venables. Although Venables came to the Tigers known as a four down, cover 4, match quarters coach, he has long since moved to mixing a variety of single high and split safety—primarily zone—schemes from both odd and even fronts.
Fulton Analysis: Running to win – Buckeye Scoop
Ohio State’s passing game inefficiency and questionable strategic decisions against a stellar Northwestern defensive gameplan kept the score closer than necessary in the Buckeyes’ Big Ten championship win. Last week, I outlined Northwestern defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz’s cover 4 defense, how successful Ryan Day and Ohio State had been against that coverage, and mused that Hankwitz may need to try something different. That is precisely what he did.
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