These are the five lessons we took away from Ohio State Buckeyes defeat at Michigan.
It took time for the Buckeyes to get into high gear in most of their wins this fall, as they were unable to score more than one touchdown in the first half in four of the last five weeks and even trailed Rutgers at halftime earlier this month.
Coming into this weekend, they were ranked 33rd in the Football Bowl Subdivision with an average of 16 points, a drop from last season when they were third with an average of 23 points over the first and second quarters. Although their slow starts had not doomed them, they did cost them a game against a top-five opponent.
In the first quarter, Ohio State gifted Michigan their first touchdown after quarterback Kyle McCord’s interception put the Wolverines at the Buckeyes’ 7-yard line. Later, in the second quarter, the Buckeyes would trail Michigan 14-3 before scoring a touchdown just before halftime. The Wolverines were able to control the ball and hold possession for 18:15 of the thirty minutes in the second half as a result of the deficit.
Fourth-down choices influenced the outcome.
Twice in the first half, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day decided against going for it on fourth down. With just a few seconds left in the second quarter, the Buckeyes settled for a 52-yard field goal attempt, seemingly the most agonizing call of the game.The Buckeyes faced a fourth-and-two situation at Michigan’s 34-yard line after quarterback Cody McCord connected with tight end Cade Stover for a 7-yard gain.
With just three seconds remaining, they sent kicker Jayden Fielding out to attempt a career-long field goal rather than trying to move the chains and get a shot at the end zone. After Michigan called a timeout to ice Fielding, he attempted a practice shot from that distance but missed the real one as halftime approached. Day remarked, “You feel great if you make it.” “You don’t if you don’t. Since he missed it, you have to doubt everything.
Day thought that going for it would have meant running out of gas on a drive that started at Ohio State’s 2-yard line, but that it was the “right thing to do” to try.He went on, “You don’t get anything if you don’t convert.” In the first quarter, the Buckeyes were faced with a fourth-and-1 at their 46-yard line as well, but they chose to punt.
Three times on fourth down, Michigan went for it and converted, including once in the first quarter on a fourth-and-1 when the Wolverines were inches away from the end zone. Instead of attempting a field goal, Blake Corum scored a 1-yard touchdown on foot. The circumstances, along with Day’s somewhat conservative appearance, helped the Wolverines take an early lead.
A hiring decision will be carefully considered.
A few weeks into his 2019 season as head coach of the Buckeyes, Day offered a scholarship to a quarterback from Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Prep.That sophomore committed by the end of April.J.J. McCarthy was not chosen as the quarterback for Ohio State’s 2021 recruiting class; instead, McCord was.
Three quarterbacks in a row were chosen as Heisman Trophy finalists thanks to Day’s meticulous management of the crucial position over the years. However, choosing McCord over McCarthy is a move that will undoubtedly come under closer examination following this weekend’s events.
In his second year as Michigan’s starting quarterback, McCarthy contributed to the team’s victory in The Game. Despite only throwing for 148 yards and a touchdown, he was accurate, finishing 16 of 20 passes including his final seven and scrambled for 15 yards to extend a third-quarter touchdown drive that broke a 17โ17 tie.
Despite throwing for 271 yards and two touchdowns, McCord was intercepted twice. McCarthy seemed to have outdueled Day on the recruiting trail, so even though he has another chance to write his legacy in the rivalry next season, Day’s choice will be reexamined.
Michigan continues to define Ryan Day’s tenure.
The most passionate supporters can casually mention the Ohio State coaches’ records against Michigan.
Urban Meyer went 7-0; Jim Tressel was 9-1; John Cooper held the dismal 2-10-1 mark.
Day currently has a record of 1-3; even though he has a 56-7 record overall, this record will continue to influence how people view this period.In upcoming seasons, when the College Football Playoff becomes more widespread and the Big Ten does away with divisions, the consequences of a loss to the Wolverines will not be as great.
The Buckeyes would have another chance to defeat Michigan in the league championship game, which matches the two teams with the best conference records against one another, if this scenario were to recur the following season. However, the way the game is currently set up, the Buckeyes’ loss to the Wolverines cost them a third consecutive Big Ten championship and will probably keep them from making the playoffs for the second time in three years.
In addition, rivalry tensions have been elevated due to a sign-stealing incident at Michigan that resulted in coach Jim Harbaugh’s three-game suspension and heightened animosity prior to kickoff. When Buckeye Nation was hoping to end a two-game losing streak against its fierce rival, things got worse. Day’s victory over Michigan was last experienced during his rookie campaign in 2019. (The 2020 match was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.)
The odds of making the playoffs are slim.
The fact that the Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast conferences failed to produce a champion with fewer than two losses allowed Ohio State to sneak into the playoffs last season after losing to Michigan. Plotting a comparable course, however, will be challenging given that the odds are once more 11-1.
Near the top of the rankings has been a group of unbeaten Power Five conference teams. For the first time ever, five teams came into this weekend 11-0. Though it’s not an impossible plot, more mayhem must occur before the Buckeyes can advance past the four-team postseason. At this point, a New Year’s Six bowl bid seems more likely, a postseason fate that will force a few players to opt out and remove Ohio State from the running for the national championship.