There is one game on the Ohio State schedule that you absolutely cannot lose. Over the last four tries in that game, Ohio State lost. From the beat-downs in 2021 and 2022 to Kyle McCord‘s interception at the end of last year’s game, 2024 should have been different. Ryan Day’s team came into the game 10-1 with just a narrow loss at top-ranked Oregon. A win over Michigan meant an appearance in the Big Ten Championship for the first time since 2020. Now, there must be a change in Columbus after a 13-10 loss at home against the worst Michigan team since before Jim Harbaugh came to town.
There won’t be, but there needs to be.
It has been more of the same from this team and its current leadership. Winning non-conference games over the MAC and managing to squeak by Penn State yearly should not be the ceiling at Ohio State. Urban Meyer may have lost ugly games to unranked Big Ten teams. What he didn’t do was lose to Michigan. It’s been five years since Ohio State beat Michigan. That hasn’t happened since the beginning of the Bill Clinton administration.
It’s Time for Change in Columbus After Another Inexcusable Loss to Michigan
Too Many Mistakes
As a three-score favorite, all Ohio State needed to do was its job. Upsets like this happen when the perceived better team makes too many mistakes to overcome. Michigan did what it could to give the game away. Ohio State did more.
Just about every player suited up for this game messed up in some way. Jayden Fielding missed two chip-shot field goals. Will Howard had happy feet after his interception and injury and sped up his internal clock. He finished with a pair of picks. It looked like Carnell Tate was putting together another great performance but he dropped an easy first down on the final failed drive. Denzel Burke refused to turn around for a lollipop of an interception on a nonsensical trick play and was called for pass interference. The list goes on.
Credit where it’s due, of course. Caleb Downs played incredibly well from his safety spot. He led the team with 11 tackles and hauled in a crucial interception (that resulted in a missed field goal). Both running backs did what they could. Unfortunately, they couldn’t do much because of the Michigan defensive line.
Change in Columbus won’t come after this. But it should.
Out-Coached Again
If you knew only the statsheet of this game and saw that Michigan threw for 62 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, how much money are you putting on the Buckeyes? Of course, Ohio State’s stats aren’t much better. In total, the Buckeyes out-gained the Wolverines, 252-234. Michigan ran for 177 yards, furthering the correlation-versus-causation cliche of, “whoever rushes for more yards in The Game wins.”
Ohio State’s vaunted defense played well for the majority of the game, just as it did last year. And, just like last year, the weight of carrying the entire team proved too much. Over the first eight Michigan drives, the Wolverines had one drive of more than six plays. Five drives were four plays or less. Michigan did have one 11-play drive that resulted in a goal-line stand.
Then, Howard threw an interception after two failed runs. Those runs, of course, will be the target of much ire. Michigan had two defenders worth its salt. Those two defenders are going to be first-round draft picks. For some reason, Ohio State’s game plan was to run directly at them. Predictably, it failed.
On offense, Ohio State looked all kinds of discombobulated because of that galaxy-brain game plan. When Ohio State threw the ball, more often than not, it went well. Yes, Howard had two interceptions. He also led the Buckeyes on a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive before the half. Then, Chip Kelly went right back to running directly at Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.
Jeremiah Smith was being covered one-on-one and beat the Michigan secondary in the first half. The only way Michigan stopped him from scoring was by committing pass interference. Even then, he still scored. His efforts were rewarded with two targets on back-to-back plays on the first drive of the second half. And nothing more.
Day and Kelly were incredibly out-coached. Again. Jim Knowles coached his defense well but when it came down to it, Michigan’s final two drives went 134 yards off 26 plays, resulting in the game-winning field goal. The offense did the defense no favors. After that first drive of 15 yards and 77 yards — which ended with a goal-line interception by Sawyer — the offense went three-and-out and punted the ball back after 1:35 of game time elapsed. The defense had no time to recover.
CFP Bound…Yay
As the players gathered to sing Carmen Ohio in the South end of the stadium, as it does after every game, Michigan players were celebrating at midfield. A few players attempted to plant the flag in the synthetic turf, to which a response was evidently warranted. The Ohio State players ran to meet the victors and a fight broke out. Then, as there was calm, another flag made its way around and this time, Sawer ripped the flag from the player, straight off the pole, and threw it on the ground, resulting in another skirmish.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, this was the only fight the team had all afternoon.
A fight has broken out between Michigan and Ohio State after The Game pic.twitter.com/XPwdAjfYzN
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 30, 2024
Now, with no Big Ten Championship to prepare for, the Buckeyes must wait and see if/when their name is called on Selection Sunday. Ohio State entered the game as the presumed five seed (Oregon is the presumed Big Ten champion and Ohio State would get the top at-large seed). Now, what?
Sure wins over Penn State and Indiana are more than some of the other top-ten competitors have done. However, is this a team that deserves a College Football Playoff spot? In all reality, the Buckeyes will fall a few spots, earn a home game in the first round, and we will go from there. Even then, there’s a very real possibility it falls so far that there is a road game in the future. Maybe it’ll be like 2022 when the team woke up and played the eventual National Championship within an inch of its life.
The bottom line is yes, Ohio State is recession-proof. It is the only program in all of FBS that has never had an eight-loss season. And yet, despite being one of the most dominant programs over the last 25 or so years, there are only two National Championship trophies in that case.
Change in Columbus is needed. And Day isn’t the only one who should be feeling the heat. The only way to put change on the back burner is to surprise the world and win the 12-team CFP. If it plays as it did today, that isn’t happening.
Change in Columbus is needed. But, if we are being honest, nothing is going to happen. And that’s a shame.
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