This felt like the lowest point as an Ohio State fan and alum in some time. Worse than last year (by far) and worse than 2006’s Florida game. 2015 MSU felt bad, and as a kid, year after year against Michigan felt like the end of the world.
I would even argue this was a little ground-shifting for me. I’m 35, a father of a 2-year-old, with another on the way in April. I prioritize OSU football. I tell my wife we can’t do things on Saturday because it is reserved for Ohio State games. I make it overly important to my life, listen to hours of podcasts, and ingest OSU content for hours a week. I think about this program a lot, probably far too much. Today felt like a reason to take a step back. Worry more about things that impact my immediate life, like my family, career, friends, etc. Maybe that sounds dramatic, but this felt a lot different than past defeats. We came up lame against the best of the best, but being #2 in the B1G isn’t something fans have felt since the early days of this millennium. College football is changing, and I don’t love the vibe as much as I once did. It’s only becoming more NFL-like in the future, and that makes it lose some luster to me.
Thoughts on the game and program:
1 - Last year they weren’t the better team. I don’t know if they were the better team today, but it felt like they were severely held back by the coaching and playcalling.
2 - They dominated the first half but felt like they wouldn’t get out of their own way. How was it not 28-10 at half? Bill talked about getting a big lead, and they blew it.
3 - Ryan Day outsmarted himself. You have arguably the best QB and WR in the sport. They just couldn’t finish on offense and focused too much on targeting Stover and Xavier Johnson.
4 - Matt Jones' situation hurt more than I thought it would. The hold was a killer.
5 - Chip was pretty good, but it seemed like they had something in Hayden, and he got two carries. He must fumble every other carry in practice? It’s so confounding.
6 - Defense had them contained, and then the dam broke. The 3rd down all-out blitz call that led to the first long score injected life in UM and sapped it from OSU.
7 - The punt down 4 felt like a scared move. Go get momentum back.
8 - The DBs weren’t it. They didn’t want to sniff transfers. It was the undoing of this defense. The front seven deserved better.
9 - The really troubling thing was the lack of mental toughness, composure, and willingness to stay in the fight. When UM players say they knew when your will broke in the post-game, that’s an issue. THE PENALTIES, especially in crucial game-changing situations, were a backbreaker.
10 - They quit… I don’t remember seeing OSU teams in the past do that? Why can’t they punch back instead of folding? They dog walk bad teams all year, and when they are in a dog fight with a talented team, it seems like they want no part of it.
11 - The toughness issue was physical last year, this year, it seemed more mental. Is Mick still maximizing this team? Is Day? It’s a question that should be asked because, honestly, what changes in the next 365 to flip this outcome?
12 - The soft thing is lame, but this program has a lot of question marks. Why so many injuries? The JSN thing was genuinely puzzling. I get you can rest guys, and win a lot of games, but the roster has seemed so disjointed all year.
The way Birm looked in Snap Judgements resonated. He looked sick. That’s how many fans feel, and I feel sick tonight. I feel sick for the players who work hard for this. I know they didn’t deliver, but they must feel 100x worse than any of us. I feel sick for CJ Stroud. His postgame was heartfelt, and you know, 2 decades from now, what people will say about him. He was two wins away from a Heisman and more team accomplishments and came up empty twice. It’s not easy having the spotlight, and he will have to live with the outcome of this for a long time. Sorry for this long post, but I felt like ranting before I could go to sleep. I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, despite today.
