The pain for the Ohio State football program and its fans will continue for at least another season after falling to Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon, 30-24.
For the third straight year, the Buckeyes won’t play for a Big Ten title, and instead will have to watch their bitter rival with a chance to be crowned. The loss essentially puts Ohio State on the outside looking in for a College Football Playoff spot.
There were so many thoughts that have permeated in my mind since the final whistle blew — some of the irrational, some of them with clear thought. Let’s start off with why this loss still stings.
This Ohio State loss hurts more than most
Buckeyes Fall 30-24 in Ann Arbor
🗞️: https://t.co/Z8QKYvSaQ8 pic.twitter.com/Bfq2YplxSd— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) November 25, 2023
Thoughts
It’s not just a loss to Michigan that hurts, it does, it’s the nature of the loss. The Wolverines didn’t have Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines, they have been battling the conference and NCAA with the sign stealing allegations. The distractions were there for them not to focus on “The Game.” Everything was pointing to the Buckeyes to right the ship, but once again they capsized. We all hate losing to our rivals, this one feels like a missed opportunity to reclaim the conference.
Ryan Day’s future
As corny as this sounds, Ryan Day was still just a missed FG away from a national championship last season.
That wasn’t in his control.
No, he will not be fired.
No, he will not resign.
He’s here to stay, and will eventually break through. pic.twitter.com/hfkcLoQ0A8
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) November 25, 2023
Thoughts
It seems like a broken record for the last three years. This team will play tougher, make the plays necessary to defeat Michigan and win the Big Ten. Well, here we are, losing to the Wolverines, not playing for a conference title and having to endure another year of torture. In no way do I think Day is on the hot seat, but it sure is warm. Not sure if a loss next year I’ll be thinking the same. This loss was a bit different than the previous two, but it’s still a loss that stings.
Ryan Day’s refusal to be aggressive
Ryan Day not being aggressive is going to cost the Buckeyes
— "The" Mike F Chen (@MikeFChen) November 25, 2023
Thoughts
Michigan went 3for 3 on fourth down conversions and Day opted to not even give his team a shot to convert one. There were chances, the third drive of the game and the final one of the half stick out the most. You don’t win this game by playing conservative, which is exactly what Day did. No trick plays, broken tendencies, nothing specifically designed to confuse Michigan. The Wolverines sure had a different plan for us, why didn’t we do the same?
Ohio State’s team mentality
What am I watching? https://t.co/qend2M21Q5
— Joshua Perry (@RIP_JEP) November 26, 2023
Thoughts
I said it in my 5-stars, Michigan’s team mentality is so much better than Ohio State’s. It’s a massive part of their success over the past three seasons, they will themselves to win, while the Buckeyes think that it is going to be given to them. It seemingly changed, but not really, which showed on Saturday. They responded when their best offensive linemen went down with an injury, the Buckeyes didn’t. The idea that Ohio State is soft will continue, and it’s rightly justified.
Kyle McCord’s performance
INTERCEPTION@UMichfootball SEALS THE GAME 〽️ pic.twitter.com/37lF1aVeqo
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 25, 2023
Thoughts
In the biggest game of his career, McCord played one of his worst. You can’t wait to get into a groove against a top-three opponent, which is what McCord did. The first three drives the Buckeyes went three-and-out, a 5-play drive that spanned 22 yards, and then a costly pick that Michigan cashed in for a touchdown four plays later. McCord had a chance for redemption in the final drive but threw another pick.
The hot and cold nature of his game was on full display, unfortunately it was more cold on Saturday. It’s going to be an interesting offseason to see if Day looks to the portal for another option or continues to trot McCord who is still working through consistency.
Ohio State needed to play a clean game …
PICKED OFF @UmichFootball's defense jumps all over it pic.twitter.com/hZVmL1Xpmy
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 25, 2023
Thoughts
But didn’t. Every year, the team that wins the turnover battle, most likely wins “The Game.” Ohio State lost this, and it was an area that I believed was a key to a victory earlier in the week. The Wolverines were one of the best teams in the country in turnover margin, while the Buckeyes were average at best. This proved to be a huge part of the game, with Ohio State turning it over twice, while Michigan didn’t. Wolverine quarterback JJ McCarthy didn’t do anything special, but what he did do was play turnover free. It was a massive difference in this game.
Referee’s were terrible
TOUCHDOWN MICHIGAN
After review, the TD stands for @Umichfootball 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AnRHE6F0wt
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 25, 2023
Thoughts
I am not blaming the loss on the zebras, but they certainly didn’t help Ohio State’s cause. The spot for Xavier Johnson on the Buckeyes second drive wasn’t close to where he was down. They gave McCarthy a first down when he clearly wasn’t past the maker. A catch by Roman Wilson where he wasn’t close to being inbounds, was called one. Yes, the last two were reversed, but those should have never happened. The biggest blunder was the “touchdown” Wilson scored, where it sure looked like he didn’t have complete control and Denzel Burke took it away. All you ask for is impartial calling of plays, and that was not the case Saturday.
Parker Fleming needs to go
Jayden Fielding : 1/2 FG's & 3/3 on extra points (Missed a 52-yard FG to end the 1st half) pic.twitter.com/5BtaWAAcNU
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) November 26, 2023
Thoughts
I’m not going to fault Jayden Fielding for his missed field goal at the end of the half, to me that’s on Day for not being aggressive enough. Punter Jesse Mirco had one of his worst performances, averaging just 36.7 yards on three attempts. That’s not flipping the field by any means. No yardage on punt returns, barely anything on kickoffs. Getting a punt downed inside the two by letting the ball bounce is all on coaching. In a year of mistakes from this unit, it wasn’t surprising to see another game with more of them.
Ohio State’s inability to finish defensive drives in the second half
Last three second halves against Ohio State:
Michigan punts: 1
Michigan scoring drives: 12
— Spencer Holbrook (@SpencerHolbrook) November 26, 2023
Thoughts
Although it seemed like the Buckeye defense made improvements, its weaknesses showed once again in “The Game.” Four Michigan drives in the second half, not including the final kneel down, resulted in points. The Buckeye defense just could not get off the field, which in turn made it much more inefficient as the game continued. The offense didn’t help the cause either, the three and out after Michigan broke the 17-17 tie hurt. The exact same issues that haunted the Buckeyes the last two years reared their ugly heads again, just this time without the big play taking center state.
Ohio State’s linebackers got abused again
_________ was your Week 13 @bigten standout?
Our guys' picks:@JLeman47 👉 Colston Loveland @SweetFeet_White 👉 Hudson Card @BTNDaveRevsine 👉 Taulia Tagovailoa pic.twitter.com/OIRjZxcqLA
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 26, 2023
Thoughts
It was clear that Michigan found an advantage in targeting the Buckeye linebackers, who are much better at stopping the run than playing the pass. The Wolverine tight ends caught 7 passes for 113 yards, which confirmed the game plan. The lack of athleticism from this Buckeye group was exposed, and this starts with recruiting, where they have had multiple misses to improve the roster over the past few cycles. I’d make an offseason move to switch Sonny Styles to linebacker, and immediately insert C.J. Hicks as the other starter. This unit has been picked on and it needs to stop.
Another Ohio State offseason full of questions
Roman Wilson when asked about the Buckeye's toughness and physicality: "They want to put on the Louis V, the $1,000 outfit and you wanna act hard .. but when were out there, they're not hard. I see the film. You're not tough." pic.twitter.com/vJRf6fda61
— Marlee Wierda (@marleewierda) November 25, 2023
Thoughts
Most likely Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, J.T. Tuimoloua, Denzel Burke, and Jack Sawyer are off to the NFL. Those are just the underclassmen, not counting the players that have exhausted their eligibility. That’s not even mentioning players who could transfer, leaving plenty of holes for the Buckeyes. Yes, this is one of the few programs that reloads instead of rebuilding, but next year’s team might be even more vulnerable than this year. Day exceeded expectations, many believed a three-loss season was in store, but with a much deeper Big Ten going forward, this team could struggle next season. (I hope I’m dead wrong.)
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