Ryan Day's sole focus now is on the Rose Bowl: finishing the 2021 season strong.

But as 2021 turns into 2022, there are a few things the Buckeyes may need to change if they want a chance to succeed in 2022, turning the page after a two-loss season.

Here are five things Ohio State football coaches would put on their Christmas list.

When it came to sacks and tackles-for-loss, Ohio State showed what it could do at points in 2021.

The Buckeyes were No. 2 in the conference, recording 35 in 12 games — two less than No. 1 Michigan State — for an average of nearly three per game.

However, there were three games in 2021 where Ohio State failed to record a sack: both losses to Oregon and Michigan, along with its win against Purdue. In those three games combined, the Buckeyes defense recorded six tackles-for-loss, five of which came against the Boilermakers.

And when opposing offenses didn't see pressure, they feasted, averaging 491 yards of offense in those three games with at least 31 points in each.

Sacks were incoming defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' bread and butter at Oklahoma State in 2021, leading a unit that recorded 55 in 13 games: the most in the Big 12 by 21 and four more than any other defense in the country.

With talent up front like Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau, along with Tyleik Williams on the inside, combined with the possible return of Zach Harrison at defensive end, pressure is the key to success for the entire defense next season and somewhere where Knowles will start with in his defensive transformation.

There wasn't much more TreVeyon Henderson could do in 2021.

The running back set a school freshman record 19 touchdowns, rushing for 1,165 yards in his first season with the Buckeyes, breaking a 49-year-old record when he rushed for 270 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries against Akron, ending the season with at least one touchdown in 10 of his 12 games played.

He was also No. 2 in the country with an average of 7.02 yards per carry, 0.04 yards less than Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen.

But Henderson, serving as Ohio State's No. 1 running back in 2021, still wasn't that workhorse.

The freshman averaged almost 14 carries per game for the Buckeyes in 2021, recording more than 10 carries only seven times in 12 games.

Yes, Henderson was balancing carries with redshirt freshman Miyan Williams and redshirt junior Master Teague III when both were healthy. However, he showed in spurts he can be trusted with a heavy workload, something Ohio State may entrust in Henderson heading into his sophomore season.

Ohio State's offensive line showed up for the majority of the 2021 season, allowing the third-least amount of sacks in the conference with 17 in 12 games.

However, against Michigan's pass rush against players like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the Buckeyes struggled mightily. The Wolverines recorded eight tackles-for-loss, including a season-high four sacks against redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud. All afternoon, it seemed like Michigan had the advantage off the edge, beating the tackles on the outside, making NFL-bound lineman look silly.

However, it's more than just the tackles-for-loss and the sack totals.

Ohio State struggled to find the balance in the run and pass game in 2021. Yes, Ohio State's offense was a primary pass-first offense, but sometimes the run game was taken out of the picture immediately, not finding consistent run fits leading toward a familiar and stereotypical offensive look, not showing much variety.

As Ohio State likely moves Paris Johnson Jr. back to his original position at tackle, while likely inserting players like Harry Miller and Matthew Jones in the starting lineup at guard, it may provide more natural looks for running backs and quarterbacks in the run game, giving Stroud and the offense more variety just based on what the line is giving him.

Like Henderson, C.J. Stroud could not have been much better in 2021.

Stroud was the first Big Ten player to earn the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year, the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year and the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year in the same season.

Stroud threw for 3,862 passing yards and 38 touchdowns in 2021, ending his regular season in New York City as a Heisman finalist.

He ranks in the top 10 nationally in eight major statistical categories, including passer efficiency (182.2), yards per game (351.1), touchdown passes and completion percentage (70.9).

Not bad for a first-year starter without a pass attempt to his name coming in.

However, Stroud's expectations only grow heading into 2022, bringing his accuracy in both the horizontal and vertical pass game likely without Chris Olave or Garrett Wilson to work with.

Whether its finding a new go-to weapon or picking up some of the responsibility himself with an increased running ability, Stroud will likely need to step up a bit if the offense is going to put up similar numbers to what it did in 2021.

As for the most immediate priority, Ohio State needs to finish up the 2022 recruiting class strong,

For the Buckeyes, it's all about the trenches.

Offensively, the focus is primarily on Carson Hinzman: the four-star guard/center, who is down to the Buckeyes and Wisconsin. Ohio State needs depth in that area, a position where it had a lot of bodies, but not a lot of playing experience.

On defense, the focus remains in the middle at defensive tackle, bringing in on or both of Hero Kanu or Christen Miller, while also looking at Omari Abor at defensive end. Kanu and Miller are most important here because, like guard, Ohio State doesn't have a lot of experienced depth there.

Ohio State still has the No. 4 recruiting class in 2022, something that will only improve with the additions of Hinzman, Abor, Miller and Kanu.