Ohio State’s loss to Michigan is still fresh on the minds of … well, everyone.
The five touchdowns allowed of 45 yards or more was the biggest storyline of the 45-23 loss — and for good reason. Ohio State’s defense was supposed to be better. It was supposed to be tougher. It was supposed to be built differently.
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The offense was a problem, as well. Ohio State scored just three points in the second half, a season-low for points in a half.
I went back and looked at every drive to see what went wrong, and, not surprisingly, it was a combination of things.
The criticism of coach Ryan Day’s play calling is understandable. Some calls were just unacceptable for a team with as much talent as Ohio State. But there were also solid play calls that Ohio State failed to execute.
Let’s take a look what derailed the offense in the second half.
First drive of the third quarter
Ohio State’s first drive of the third quarter went for 17 yards on five plays and ended in a punt.
The highlight of the drive was a 7-yard pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. on a slant route for a first down. The problem with this drive, though, is that after the successful throw, Day just abandoned the passing game.
To be fair, the first play after the completed pass was an 8-yard run by Chip Trayanum, who had a good day. He ran for 83 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.
The next play was a run for a 1-yard loss.
It’s third-and-3 and this pitch is what Day called:
We talked about this a bit Saturday after the game, but this play just blows my mind. I wouldn’t call this play, in this situation, even with a healthy Miyan Williams or TreVeyon Henderson. You have to trust your Heisman candidate quarterback and talented receivers to make a play. Now, if you were going to run, then you go for it on fourth down. Day didn’t. It was just confusing all around.
It was a great play by Michigan to stop this from getting outside, but, again, this could’ve been avoided.
Second drive of the third quarter
That third-and-3 call didn’t ending up hurting the Buckeyes too much. They got a defensive stop and regained possession at the Michigan 48-yard line after a punt.
The first play, though, killed Ohio State’s momentum. Quarterback C.J. Stroud connected with Trayanum, who made a few good moves for a 24-yard reception. But this hold from Donovan Jackson and an unacceptable head-butt by Gee Scott Jr. negated the gain and set up a first-and-35:
These are things you just can’t do. Jackson gets beat and has to hold his man so Stroud doesn’t get sacked. The Scott head-butt is a horrible play. You have to know better than to do that in this game, especially down four points with the ball in plus territory. That’s a terrible decision, but this is also about discipline. That goes back to coaching. Ohio State had 19 penalties in the final two games of the season, and that has to be fixed. In fact, Ohio State had 18 penalties combined in the last two games against Michigan.
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Regardless, Ohio State works back to set up fourth-and-5. Day decides to punt when Stroud clearly wants to go for it. Again, Ohio State has one of the best passing attacks in the country. You have to trust your players. The Buckeyes got 27 yards in two passing plays before punting on fourth down. Let them go make a play.
The drive ended in three plays and resulted in a punt.
First drive of the fourth quarter
This drive had to be a good one for Ohio State. Down 31-20 after Michigan put together a seven-minute touchdown drive, the Buckeyes had to get points. They threw on the first two plays.
The Wolverines did a good job in the second half to keep Ohio State in front of them and not give up a big play. That resulted in a 1-yard pass to Williams. Then Stroud found Fleming on the sideline. Ohio State was at least trying to throw vertically. I loved it. I thought the Buckeyes were going to get back in the game. Then came third down.
Day loves bubble screens. I think many people still have nightmares of the first three quarters of the Penn State game.
Day drew another one up on third-and-3. The pass never got to Xavier Johnson. It was batted down by a defensive end:
I hate the play call. Despise it. Again, you have Stroud, Harrison, Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming and Cade Stover. Throw the ball past the first-down marker.
This drive went three plays and resulted in a punt after the incomplete bubble screen.
Second drive of the fourth quarter
With 9:21 left on the clock, Ohio State trailed by 11 points and again needed points before things got out of hand.
Then came this play, a 44-yard pass to Egbuka that got Ohio State into scoring position once again. Great ball by Stroud, great route by Egbuka:
This drive was well called by Day. Ohio State has made a living on getting Stover in space in the red zone and finding him on play action, and that was the plan on third third-and-4 from the Michigan 9-yard line.
This one caught Michigan off guard but just wasn’t executed well enough.
The pressure from the Wolverines forced Stroud to throw the ball off of his back back foot and it is broken up by Mike Sainristil.
If Stroud is able to step into this throw, it’s likely a touchdown. This one comes down to execution, Stroud just needed another half second here.
This drive went 52 yards in seven plays. It ends with a field goal, but I liked the Day play call.
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Third drive of the fourth quarter
The game felt over at this point, but Ohio State still had a pulse. A touchdown on this drive, down 15 points, would’ve given the defense one more chance at a stop to keep hope alive.
Ohio State was driving too.
I thought Stroud played well in the second half when he got the chance to use all of his weapons. He’ll regret this play, though. The Buckeyes got back into the red zone in just seven plays, six of them passes. This play, on third-and-10, from the Michigan 16-yard-line, ended in an interception. Stroud is trying to make a play but felt some pressure and wanted to get out of the pocket.
This interception ended the game. Without seeing the coverage from the end zone view, it’s tough to hate the play call. Michigan did a good job making Stroud go through his progressions.
As good as Michigan played, Ohio State had chances to keep the game close. But poor execution and play calling doomed the Buckeyes on promising drives and now they are forced to watch their rivals head to the Big Ten Championship Game once again.
College Football Playoff
A lot has changed in the CFP landscape in the past week.
Both Clemson (lost to South Carolina) and LSU (lost to Texas A&M) played their way out of the Playoff race.
There are still a few paths for Ohio State to sneak back into field. First, it’s important to note if the Buckeyes are ranked ahead of Alabama on Tuesday night. That, obviously, would enhance their chances.
A Utah win over USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game would be the cleanest path. But don’t assume TCU is a lock if it loses in the Big 12 title game.
Ohio State vs. TCU — a pair of one-loss teams without a conference championship — would be a fascinating debate.
(Photo of C.J. Stroud: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)