We’ll talk about this later: When rivalry week goes wrong (I need to get the taste of this pizza out of my mouth)
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

Your dose of lighthearted takes from yesterday’s games.

Each week, we’ll break down something that happened during the Ohio State game (and occasionally other games) that we’ll be talking about for a while—you know, the silly sideline interactions, the awful announcing and the weird storylines that stick with us for years to come. We’ll also compare each of these happenings to memorable moments in pop culture, because who doesn’t love a good Office reference?

Ugh, yesterday was rough, so let’s keep it brief. Yesterday’s loss to Michigan eliminated Ohio State’s hopes of a Big Ten title and drastically reduced the odds of a College Football Playoff appearance. It’s absolutely disappointing.


For the second-straight season, the consolation prize looks to be a spot in the Rose Bowl Game. In most seasons and for most teams, that would be a mark of a successful year. But not for Ohio State.

There are many reasons this loss stings. It sucks to lose to a rival. It sucks to lose on Senior Day. It sucks to miss out on the aforementioned accolades and see Michigan representing the Big Ten East when it could have been us. But it also sucks that we have to wait until January for the chance to get this bad taste of a loss out of our mouths, and all the way until next November to have another crack at beating Michigan.

It’s like when Michael Scott accidentally got the bad pizza from Pizza by Alfredo instead of the good pizza from Alfredo’s Pizza Café.


Michael had to drive all the way to New York to get real, New York-style sushi before he could relieve himself of that bad taste and bitter feeling.


Just hang on, Buckeye Nation. We’ll get our New York-style sushi soon.

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Column: Ohio State isn’t going to fire Ryan Day, so what’s next?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Unless Gene Smith can pull Mike Vrabel from the NFL, is there really anybody better for the Buckeyes than Ryan Day?

I’m going to say something that is probably going to be a little bit controversial today: I’m not ready to say that Ryan Day should be fired as Ohio State’s head coach. I know that there are a lot of people in Buckeye Nation — and many here at Land-Grant Holy Land — who disagree vehemently, and honestly have been ready for such a drastic step long before yesterday’s failure in The Game.


While I think moving on from Day is probably still just a smidge premature, I stand by what I wrote in my postgame columns yesterday; I think that the issues with the Buckeyes in recent years have been every bit the result of the coaching staff’s shortcomings, up to and including the head coach.

I think that they have often missed the forest through the trees, opting to chase a reputation or style of play that just didn’t fit the team as constructed, rather than establishing and developing one that was natural for the collection of talent they had assembled. There’s no doubt that Ohio State has the skill to reach its goals, and I do not question for even a millisecond the dedication, hard work, or sacrifice of the players... or, to be fair, the coaches either.

Unfortunately, the coaches’ deficits have put the Buckeyes in a position that they haven’t been yet in this century, looking up at their rivals. In an article yesterday, I said, “Ohio State can, should, and must do better.” Not that athletic director Gene Smith is going to ask my opinion, but if he did, I would tell him that I am emotionally willing to give Day an opportunity to turn things around, but some things have to change.

I think that Day is a very good offensive coach and an even better human. As the CEO of this organization, I think that he has what is necessary to be successful, with perhaps one exception. However, he jumped a few rungs on the coaching ladder in becoming Ohio State’s head coach and he was clearly unprepared for some of the things that come with being in charge at this, or any, level.

When Day took over, we knew that he would be learning on the job to a certain degree, but the first two years of his tenure (thanks to early successes and a pandemic-impacted season) masked some of the deficiencies in his set of coaching skills that have clearly come home to roost in years three and four. First and foremost, I think that he lacks the killer, competitive personality that you seemingly have to have in order to win at the highest level.

I’ve often bemoaned the dregs of humanity that climb the ranks of the coaching profession by making being ultra-competitive their only personality trait. That is part of the reason that I have been drawn to Day because he seems to be a different type of coach who is thoughtful about things outside of his sport and how the demands of the game impact the young people entrusted to his care. But perhaps there needs to be some sort of middle ground.

Urban Meyer came to Columbus with that type of killer instinct, but it seemingly resulted in him making some pretty inexcusable decisions and likely led to the acceleration of his burnout and health issues. In fact, by the time he “retired,” Meyer had nearly completely lost that part of his personality; he was no longer innovating on offense and for years he declined to make the staffing changes that were painfully obvious to everybody watching.

Unfortunately, I think that Day began his career already at that point. His inability — whether due to time management or his specific personality — to keep up with the necessary changes on the offensive side of the ball have been glaringly obvious for multiple years now, and while he did the clearly necessary thing of replacing the majority of the defensive staff last season, he still seems to be hesitant to make needed changes if they will upset the apple cart.

That being typed, just like I believe that players can improve from one year to the next, I believe that coaches can do the same. However, unlike the hours upon hours in the weight room and running drills that it takes for players, coaches need to take the time to do the often painful work of self-evaluation to identify where they are failing and then do the research, critical thinking, and rehabilitation necessary to get better.

Besides, Luke Fickell is now the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, so who do you go out and get to take over if you fire Day? I’d imagine Smith would have to make Mike Vrabel the No. 1 target, but if he doesn’t want to leave the NFL, do you call Deion Sanders? Lane Kiffin? Matt Rhule? Lance Leipold? Jeff Saturday? Any one of the Stoops brothers? Promote Brian Hartline? Tony Alford? I don’t know at this point if any of those options are upgrades over the current coach.

So, what can Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes do to turn this quickly sinking ship around? I’m glad you asked Mr. Smith, because I have some suggestions:

1) Ryan Day Must give Up Play-Calling Duties


I’ve been beating this drum for nearly a year now, but there is never any reason for a head coach to be an offensive or defensive play caller beyond his first two or maybe three years on the job. I understand that when coming from a coordinator position, retaining play-calling responsibilities can help ease the transition, so, I’m ok with it at first. But, the further removed from play-calling being your primary job function you are, the more out-of-touch you naturally become with what it takes to do it well.


As a head coach, you inherently have myriad responsibilities and claims on your availability that prevent you from putting in the requisite time to self-study, watch opponents’ film, keep up with the latest trends and evolutions on your respective side of the ball. Instead, you are meeting with administrators, doing radio hits, overseeing an entire multi-million-dollar organization; there are just not enough hours in the day to do that job as well as you did when it was the most important thing on your plate.

Then there’s the fact that as the head coach, you are on the sideline during the game. And I know that there are plenty of play callers who aren’t head coaches and do their job from the sideline, but you will never convince me that being in a box, high above the field isn’t the right spot for someone calling plays. There is a reason that coaches use the All-22 to break down film; being in the box is the IRL equivalent, so that’s the view that a play caller should have, in my opinion.

Also, when you’re on the sideline, there are so many other distractions that can get in the way of being able to focus, prepare, and adjust for the next set of downs.

But it’s not just my hard-and-fast objections to head coaches as play callers that necessitate this change for the Buckeyes. Day has shown that there is a disconnect between what he thinks are the right plays in-game and what is actually working. As my colleague Gene Ross said in a column earlier today, Day seems to be lacking any type of play-calling flow; something that I don’t think was true when he was just the offensive coordinator or in his first year as head coach.


I mean, how many times have we seen the Buckeyes struggle to get a play call in this season only to have to take a delay of game penalty? How many times has OSU run a couple of plays that allowed them to move the ball at will only to have those concepts completely abandoned for the rest of the game for no discernable reason? With the absurd athletic downfield ability of the quarterback and receiving corps, why was Day so insistent on throwing the ball horizontally despite nearly never working?

I know that the raw numbers that Ohio State’s offense has put up this season are impressive and would be the envy of nearly every program in college football, but that means very little when they still pale in comparison to what they should have/could have been, and can never be replicated against the best teams on your schedule.

Ohio State has wasted incredible opportunities the past two seasons, especially in 2022 when there is no definitive best team in college football that stands head and shoulders above the rest. A national championship was there for the taking, but the head coach couldn’t get out of his own way to allow his team to grab it when they had the opportunity.

2) You Have to Fix the Secondary Via Recruiting and/or Transfer Portal ASAP


I am not going to besmirch the good name of J.J. McCarthy, especially after what he did to the Buckeyes yesterday, but I would venture to guess that 75% of the yards that he put up on Saturday were against air; OSU corners and safeties were continually and regularly burned and/or out of position making it woefully easy for the Wolverine QB to have a career day.

Now, I don’t know nearly enough about the Xs and Os of secondary play to accurately diagnose whether the issues that we’ve seen in the back half of the defense this season were because of poor play or ineffective coaching; though I would venture to guess it is some combination of both.

But, what I do know is that this team went into the season with an inexcusably tiny number of cornerbacks on its roster and as the season went on, the play of its safeties progressively and demonstrably got worse.

The Buckeyes opened fall camp with six whole scholarship cornerbacks; by the time camp wrapped up, they had three healthy scholarship cornerbacks. To make matters worse, the lack of depth at the position did not come as a surprise; Ohio State didn’t have a surprise transfer late in the summer; the team didn’t have someone retire for medical reasons right before camp, this was something that they knew about and actively chose not to address.


Day said that they didn’t want to dip into the transfer portal — especially at cornerback — because they were afraid it could upset the chemistry in the room; which by translation meant that they were afraid guys would transfer. And while I think they clearly made the right decision by not bringing in Eli Ricks, the coaching staff made the decision to sit pat in the personnel department and it ended up biting them in the ass.

I’m not sure if the diminishing returns of first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ safety-driven defense were due to increasing competition, injury attrition, or guys who were recruited for a different system, but this offseason is when you have to start addressing whatever the root cause(s) was. I know that recruiting probably took a hit after yesterday’s debacle (and I hate to think that the Buckeyes might have missed their opportunity to flip Caleb Downs), but Ohio State still has a tremendous amount to offer highly-skilled secondary prospects coming from high school or the portal, and that needs to be a priority.

The secondary was not the only issue with the 2022 Buckeyes, nor against Michigan, but it has been the biggest problem for multiple seasons and was so again the rivalry game this weekend. In my novice opinion, much of that was on the coaches who continued to run man-coverage, Cover-0 schemes despite that being obviously the wrong strategy for this collection of defensive backs.

I know that there are some people who think that even after just a single year in Columbus, one or two defensive coaches should be shown the door, but I’m not there yet. The secondary was really bad under the previous regime and at times even showed promise this fall, but it is a far cry to the glory days of OSU’s #BIA era, and it needs to be one of the top priorities this offseason.

3) You’ve Gotta Figure Out What the Hell is Going on with These Injuries


I wrote about this a few weeks ago, and it remains true now; there is something very strange going on with Ohio State’s injuries over the last few seasons. As Gene points out in his article linked above, not one Buckeye who got injured this season ever returned to anything approaching full strength.


I have no degrees in kinesiology or physical therapy, so I have no real answers or insight here, but if there is something in Ohio State’s training regimen that is leading to them being especially prone to significant, lingering injuries, then that needs to be evaluated.

Maybe it was just bad luck this season, but it is curious that aside from multiple guys with broken hands, so many of the injuries were ligament strains that took far longer than normal to heal.

4) Bowl Practice Needs to Focus on Getting Young Players Much Needed Reps


Let me say this first and as clearly as possible, if Ohio State does not get a backdoor berth to the College Football Playoff and players want to sit out the bowl game in order to prepare for the NFL Draft, I 100% support them. They have given years of their lives to chase the possibility of potentially playing professional football, and if they decide to pursue the next step in that process rather than playing in what amounts to an exhibition game, I see no reason for anyone to complain about that.

In fact, if the Buckeyes end up in the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cheez-It Bowl, Toilet Bowl, whatever, the entire process should be focused on getting young players as much practice and as many reps as possible for next season.

For the last three years, whether due to a shortened COVID season or just coaching prerogative, young players (especially at quarterback) have not gotten nearly enough in-game snaps as they should have in order to prepare them for eventually becoming starters, either due to injury or the matriculation of players ahead of them.

If the Buckeyes are not slotted into the CFP, then what remains of this season should be singularly focused on getting guys that will be counted upon next year as many reps as humanly possible. The coaches need to get young guys as prepared as possible for what lies ahead, and they need to give themselves enough opportunities to accurately evaluate their team in order to see what changes — be they scheme or personnel — need to happen during the offseason.

If that means playing both Kyle McCord and Devin Brown in the Rose Bowl so that you have additional data points for the eventual head-to-head competition, so be it. If that means throwing C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles into first-quarter action on defense, bring it on. If that means drawing up some funky plays to see if they can help maximize your talent, let’s fucking go.

At 11-1, by all standards other than the ones set by the team and its coaching staff, this has been an objectively successful season. The Buckeyes should celebrate what, at worst, will be a New Year’s Six bowl game. But more importantly than a likely trip to Southern California, a bowl affords the staff and players a month of extra practices. They need to take advantage of that time in order to hit the ground running for the 2023 season.

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No. 4 Ohio State women’s basketball tame North Alabama Lions 105-67
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State University athletic department

The final game before the ACC/B1G challenge and Big Ten play ends in a win

As most of the Big Ten Conference was taking part in tournaments in exotic (and not-so-exotic) locations, Ohio State women’s basketball stayed close to home. With a top-10 match-up against No. 10 Louisville on the horizon, the Buckeyes played a final tune-up game, against the University of North Alabama Lions. For the sixth game in a row, Ohio State earned a double-digit win, beating the Lions 105-67.

The win definitely wasn’t guaranteed for the Buckeyes, especially with how well North Alabama came out to start the game. Leading the charge was guard/forward Skyler Gill. In the first minute of play, Gill hit her first layup attempt on the day and made a strong block under the basket on Buckeyes forward Rebeka Mikulášiková.

Gill was the highlight of the first half for the Lions, but for Ohio State, it was forward Cotie McMahon keeping the Buckeyes in the game. McMahon hit her first two threes of the game, making it the first game of her college career making multiple threes.

Joining McMahon in the first quarter scoring column was Mikulášiková. The forward hit 4-for-6 from the floor, grabbed two rebounds, and had the Buckeyes' only steal of the quarter, which was a lowlight for a Scarlet and Gray side who usually like creating the turnovers. North Alabama had only three turnovers in the first quarter, compared to four for the Buckeyes.

That meant a much closer quarter than Ohio State’s played in over three games. With 1:14 left in the first, the Lions and Buckeyes were tied with 22 points apiece. It was confident play attacking the basket that stretched the lead going into halftime.

Up first was a pair of layups for forward Taylor Thierry. The Cleveland, Ohio native hit two layups by charging the basket, putting Ohio State up four, then with only seconds on the clock, guard Madison Greene showed the home fans a sign of things to come in the second quarter.

Inbounding on the opposite side of the court, the Buckeyes moved the ball down the length of the floor and Greene hit the layup, putting Ohio State up 28-22. The Buckeyes stopped a seven-point Alabama run to end the quarter with six of their own.

The runs for North Alabama didn’t carry into the second quarter. Ohio State stretched their six-point lead up to 10 within the first minute of the second quarter. A peculiar part of the Lions’ defensive plan was leaving Thierry open.

Thierry was left open three times in the first four minutes of the quarter, with the North Alabama defense opting instead to fill the paint. With time to spare, Thierry received three passes, making a three and midrange jumper with nobody in her face, giving the forward nine points and five rebounds in the first half.

After a quiet first quarter of only three points, guard Taylor Mikesell also received looks, and once decided to shoot anyway with a defender in her face. Mikesell scored nine of her 12 first-half points in the second quarter but showed a lot in dishing the basketball, tallying three first-half assists. Ohio State stretched their six-point first-quarter lead up to 22, entering halftime up 59-37.

Starting the second half, North Alabama came out like they did in the first quarter, on the offensive. The Lions cut the lead down to 17 thanks to a pair of threes from guard Jade Moore, but Ohio State flipped the switch again, outscoring North Alabama 19-6 to end the quarter.

With just over three minutes remaining, Mikulášiková made a play that she’s starting to make regularly this season. Greene found the Slovakian forward at the top of the key, and Mikulášiková opted to charge the basket. Instead of going for the layup, aware of Gill who already had three blocks on the day at that point, sent a quick no-look pass to McMahon for a contested layup, and a trip to the free throw line.

Ohio State went into the fourth quarter with a 30-point lead that they increased in the final 10 minutes of the game.

The fight of the Lions didn’t transfer over to the fourth quarter. Instead, Thierry and the Buckeyes made North Alabama pay. The sophomore forward grabbed a steal and offensive rebound in the first half of the fourth quarter, extending her scoring on the day to 13 points.

At the final buzzer, the Buckeyes did what they intended to do on the three-game home stretch, stay undefeated and prepare for the beginning of a tougher section of the calendar that stretches into Big Ten conference play.

Buckeyes also scored triple digits in their second straight game, the first time Ohio State’s done that in program history. In their first-ever matchup between the two sides, Ohio State beat the Lions 105-67.

Forward Power


Leading into Sunday’s game, head coach Kevin McGuff said Ohio State needs to improve in forward play and on the boards. Against North Alabama, the Buckeyes did just that.

Mikulášiková, McMahon and Thierry controlled the game’s rebounding. Also, all three of them hit double-digits in points, with Mikulášiková and McMahon scoring 23 and 20 points respectively.

Madison Greene Continues Stellar Play


With starting guard Jacy Sheldon still out Sunday, with a lower leg injury, Ohio State had the ball in the capable hands of Greene. Starting her second game in a row, she continued where she left off from Wednesday’s win against Wright State.

Greene entered the locker room at halftime with 10 points and four assists and almost played her way to a double-double. Instead, Greene still had 15 points and seven assists in the final game before Power Five opponents hit the court.

What’s Next


The Buckeyes have two days off before heading down to Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday. Coach McGuff’s side faces the No. 10 Louisville Cardinals, with it still unknown if Sheldon will be available for the ACC/B1G Challenge match-up.

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Column: I was wrong about Ohio State, and it sucks
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

After spending a year thinking the Buckeyes couldn’t possibly lose two straight to Michigan, Ohio State laid an egg at home

I have been wrong plenty of times before in my life, and I’m sure there will be plenty of other times the rest of my life that I’ll miss on things. All you have to do is go look at some of my college football picks to see instances of me being hilariously wrong about teams and their talent, effort, and coaching.

There was nothing funny about yesterday’s Michigan-Ohio State game. Everybody else saw the warning signs, but apparently I was too dumb to notice them. There had been games earlier in the season where the Buckeyes started slow, and I just dismissed them as Ohio State not being inspired to play hard because the were playing a weaker opponent. Against Northwestern, I just shook the performance off because of the wind and the rain.

I gave Ryan Day the benefit of the doubt following last year’s loss to Michigan because I know every once in a while Michigan was going to get one back. To me, the Wolverines had just got their once in a decade win. In my eyes, Day at least went out and fixed the biggest problem the Buckeyes had last year and hired Jim Knowles to overhaul the defense. Little did I know that Day might be the biggest weakness.

Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

Day’s own arrogance got in his way. We’ve seen the issues Kevin Stefanski has had with the Cleveland Browns not only trying to be a head coach and run the offense. With both Stefanski and Day, it worked initially, but it has fallen flat in their teams biggest games. Not that I really think Kevin Wilson is the answer to all of the problems on offense, it has just become obvious that something needs to change with how the offense is run, which is a wild thing to say when Ohio State has had one of the best offenses in the country under Day... until games where it matters the most.

For all of Urban Meyer’s faults, at least he had his teams fired up to play Michigan. That just doesn’t seem to be the case under Day. We might get some lip service about how this game is always the most important one on the schedule for the Buckeyes, but his teams haven’t played like it is the last two seasons. Not only did Ohio State get embarrassed last year in Ann Arbor, they got run out of their own stadium yesterday in the second half.

There is talk about how Ohio State would be wise to move on from Ryan Day. I wouldn’t say I’m quite to that point, I just know that I’m a whole helluva lot closer to getting there than I was before the start of yesterday’s game. What is holding me back is I’m not sure right now who you would get that is going to better right now. I do know there at least has to be some concessions made by Day on how the Buckeye offense is operated, because it certainly isn’t working when it needs to. Maybe put a clause in his contract that the next time Day calls a bubble screen he gets fired.

As tough as it is to admit I was wrong about Ohio State, it’s even tougher to admit I was wrong about Michigan. I thought last year was a fluke and the Wolverines wouldn’t be able to do the same thing in Columbus this year. The prospect at winning two in a row against the Buckeyes looked like it was going to be even tougher for Michigan when Blake Corum was injured last week. The Wolverines didn’t even need Corum, as Donovan Edwards ran for 216 yards and two scores.

With Corum’s status being iffy for the game, I thought J.J. McCarthy would wilt under the pressure inside Ohio Stadium. McCarthy didn’t even play that great in the game, only completing 50 percent of his passes. The ones he did complete, he made sure they counted, with the majority of his yards coming on three touchdown passes. While C.J. Stroud completed 19 more passes than McCarthy, there certainly aren’t as many that standout or were as important as McCarthy’s completions.

While there is a shot Ohio State could make the playoff if TCU or USC fall in their conference championship games, I’m not holding my breath for it to happen. Honestly, after the beating Ohio State took yesterday, I don’t think they belong in the playoff. If the result was reversed and the Buckeyes won 45-23, nobody would be saying Michigan deserves to be in, so I can’t justify saying Ohio State deserves to be one of the four playoff teams.

Instead we’ll likely watch the Buckeyes head to another Rose Bowl. It’d be hard to blame C.J. Stroud if he opted not to play in a non-CFP bowl game, since what does he really have left to show NFL scouts? Maybe Ohio State goes and wins a bowl game, but that doesn’t change the fact that this team played soft a lot of the year and those players and coaches that are coming back are going to have to take a long look at how they go about things, since it’s obvious that whatever they are doing now isn’t working.

I wish I would have seen it earlier. Not that it would have made yesterday easier to stomach, I just wouldn’t have felt like such an idiot for believing in something that wasn’t there.

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Column: Ohio State isn’t going to fire Ryan Day, but they should
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

I’ve seen just about enough.

For the second year in a row, Ohio State’s season has effectively ended after an embarrassing loss at the hands of their biggest rival — this time at home, something that hasn’t happened against the Wolverines since the year 2000, and the first time the Buckeyes have lost The Game twice in a row since 1999-2000. While losing by far the biggest game of the year in consecutive seasons is cause for concern enough, Ohio State’s issues extend far beyond that, and the majority of the blame can be cast squarely on the shoulders of head coach Ryan Day.

Now, you may think this is simply an overreaction to another upsetting loss, but this is not the case. I have been skeptical of this coaching staff ever since the 2020 National Championship loss to Alabama, and the way these last two seasons played out led me to believe nothing of the contrary. The defenders of Ryan Day will say that he is 45-5 as the head coach for Ohio State, that the recruiting is still near the best in the country, and that he has made the College Football Playoff in three of his five seasons as the headman in charge. All undeniable facts, yes, but I’m here to tell you that simply isn’t good enough.

When it comes to his record, losing only five total games across five seasons, sure that looks good on paper. But how many actual losable games does Ohio State play in any given season? You and I could probably coach this team to wins over teams like Rutgers and Indiana. The talent gap is simply far too wide for the Buckeyes to really get tested in the vast majority of its regular season games, regardless of who the head coach is. I’m not giving any coach across the country credit for beating up on the dregs of their conference, so I’m certainly not doing it in the Big Ten, which features about 2.5 real teams.

The reality is, Ohio State has had a total of six games against real competition during Day’s tenure: Clemson (2019), Clemson (2020), Alabama (2020), Oregon (2021), Michigan (2021), Michigan (2022).

Day’s record in these games? 1-5. The Wolverines he beat in 2019 were a four-loss team. You can give him credit for wins against Penn State, but Ohio State has won 10 of the last 11 games in that series and would be a perfect 11-0 if not for a blocked field goal, so once again, talent gap.

Notre Dame this season? Meh. That one win over Clemson in 2020 was a game that was planned for over a full-year’s span. The results in big games just have not been there, and Day has been at fault in a number of these losses.

The recruiting is a valid point, but how hard is it really to convince the best players in the country to an already established elite brand like Ohio State? I will give him credit when it comes to quarterback recruiting, as the Buckeyes have seen an unprecedented run at the position since he took over in Columbus, but that is really it.

Outside of that, and of course the wide receiver talent courtesy of Brian Hartline, the recruiting is basically status quo. If anything, defensive recruiting has started to see a downtick, especially in the secondary, and offensive line recruiting has remained a problem. Sure they’re getting five-star guys at some of these positions of need, but most come from in-state. Recruiting on a national scale is starting to lag, at least by Ohio State’s standards.

Which brings me to his staff hires. Both the recruiting efforts and on-field play are largely impacted by your assistant coaches, and Ryan Day has made a number of poor hires or simply failed to replace coaches that are holding the program back. The last two years it was Kerry Coombs and Al Washington, and this year it’s been Tim Walton and Mickey Marotti.

Walton inherited a cornerback room with a freshman All-American in Denzel Burke and a proven veteran in Cam Brown, plus a handful of former high four-star recruits. Burke and Brown both regressed significantly, and none of the young guys seemed to have a clue on the field. All year we saw corners fail to turn around and make awful plays on the football in the air, and when all the guys are doing the same exact thing, it’s probably a coaching issue. I still think Jim Knowles was a good hire, even though his game plan against Michigan was horrendous and his defense actually let up more points to the Wolverines than Coombs did, but he got no help from the cornerback play, which he would have needed for that scheme to work.

On the strength and conditioning side, the Urban Meyer holdover in Marotti has cost Ohio State dearly for several years now. On the strength side, his entire philosophy of bulking guys up seemingly for the sole reason of looking bigger with no regard to actual football performance has made several players slower and worse. On the conditioning side, Ohio State didn’t have a single player get injured this season that ever recovered. Jaxon Smith-Njigba got injured in the first quarter of the season opener and never played another meaningful snap. Both Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson never fully recouped from early-season injuries. Matthew Jones played injured all year. The list goes on and on.

So, Day’s ability to prepare for big games and his staffing hires have both been awful, but surely his play-calling has been great right? Wrong! So wrong!

Ohio State still managed to put up great offensive numbers this season on paper, but that can purely be chalked up to talent advantage, as everything positive that happened offensively this season was basically in spite of Day’s in-game coaching. His obsession with using the field horizontally, whether it be via stretch runs or bubble screens, severely hampered the Buckeyes’ effectiveness all season long. Gone were the quick slants and mesh routes that made Ohio State’s passing attack so lethal.

His obsession with proving that his group was tough and not just a finesse team caused nothing but problems, and he never learned — which ultimately cost the Buckeyes their season.

Bringing me to another one of my biggest gripes with Ryan Day: the lack of any ability to self-scout. Day came into every game this season with a clear game plan, and never strayed from it regardless of how poorly it was going until at best late in the third quarter.

Every week Ohio State seemed like it was banging its head against a wall trying to get one particular aspect of the offense to work, when — in reality — the Buckeyes could have just utilized its spectacular vertical passing attack whenever it wanted to put up points. The middle of the field was seemingly always open, but Day refused to go there. It was like he was always trying to prove that he could do things the hard way and outthink the opposition when instead he was just overthinking and handcuffing his offense for no apparent reason other than to look like the big tough guy that Michigan said he wasn’t.

So what are we doing here? How many seasons can go by where Ohio State is shooting itself in the foot due to the ego of its own head coach before they have to call it quits? This year the College Football Playoff was ripe for the taking, with no dominant team in the way of a national title.

Instead, the Buckeyes’ headman in charge turtled up and played terrified en route to another huge loss against their rival — something we’ve now seen in almost every single big game he’s had to coach in. You can say Ohio State fans are jaded for wanting more, but that is the reality of the world we live in. Ohio State plays in a conference it should dominate and should be competing for a national title every year. Right now, they are not even close to doing either of those things.

Day isn’t going to be fired this offseason, unfortunately, but there need to be massive changes made in order to avoid this exact same fate next year in Ann Arbor. For starters, the staff needs to be turned over. Mick Marotti, Tim Walton, and Kevin Wilson should all be fired and replaced with people who actually know what they are doing. Parker Fleming should be fired and his staff spot dissolved and replaced with an actual important coaching spot, whether it be another offensive or defensive staffer. People will probably get mad at me for calling for specific guys’ jobs, but so be it. These dudes all make millions of dollars and will be just fine in life. You can get fired at any other job for not performing adequately. If you want to play with the big boys at this level, you either walk the walk or take a hike.

Secondly, Ryan Day has to give up the play-calling. I’m just fine with him designing the offensive passing attack alongside Hartline while continuing to coach up the QBs. But, there is no reason for the head coach to have to be the play caller. Replace Wilson with a real offensive coordinator who Day can provide ideas to, but ultimately Day should not be the one calling shots on game days. He has no feel for situational football and cannot make any sort of adjustments on the fly, and he clearly doesn’t have even the slightest idea on designing a run game. Bring in a play-caller who can work alongside Day, Hartline, Tony Alford, and Justin Frye. Everyone can give their ideas and input, but at the end of the day one guy needs to put those ideas together to make it all work, and it obviously is not Day.

This is a critical time for this Ohio State program. We are long removed from Meyer’s dominance against Michigan, and next year’s game won’t be any easier on the road. Not to mention, Ohio State will have to travel to Notre Dame early next season. The Buckeyes’ reign atop the sport feels like it is in jeopardy, but it can very easily return to form if they make the clear and obvious changes to right the ship. There is simply too much talent on this roster to fail year in and year out. Will Day make the necessary hirings and firings this offseason? Will he finally give up play-calling for the betterment of the team? I’m very skeptical that he will, and if he doesn’t, his last game on the sidelines as Ohio State’s head coach will be next season in Ann Arbor.

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Buckeye Stock Market Report: Ohio State suffers total collapse against rivals, with everything on the line
David M Wheeler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Where’s the defense? | Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Defensive lapses, inferior coaching, penalties doom Buckeyes

After each Ohio State game during the 2022 football season, LGHL will offer its market analysis of the Buckeyes’ performance. Using a standard bond rating system, we’ll evaluate the offense, the defense, and the special teams, according to this formula:

AA: Very Strong
A: Strong
BBB: Adequate
BB: Facing Major Uncertainty

Then, we’ll take a look at any individual players whose performance stood out (in one way or another!) and assign them a stock rating: Blue Chip, Solid Performance, Penny Stock (akin to a junk bond, dangerously high risk).

Quick Overview


How quickly it all happened. One minute you’re planning your weekend around the Big Ten Championship game and confirming the playoff dates; the next minute, you’re realizing that you may have already seen C. J. Stroud play his last game as a Buckeye. A couple of hours – and it was all over.

The game looked promising. The weather was beautiful. The crowd was huge and extremely loud. After a couple of tries, the dangerous Blake Corum was on the sidelines.

In fact, I thought that the Buckeyes started strong, had a good game plan on both sides of the ball, and controlled the game throughout the first half. OSU’s first drive moved steadily down the field and produced a touchdown after five minutes. The Bucks’ second possession stalled in the red zone but resulted in a field goal, making the score 10-3. The opening quarter ended with Michigan going three and out on its second drive.

Ohio State’s third possession, I thought, was key. The offense was in rhythm, Stroud was accurate, and Miyan Williams was playing running back. Maybe Ryan Day called too many running plays, using the not-100% Williams, I don’t know. But the Bucks found themselves fourth and two at the Wolverines’ 34-yard line. Stroud’s pass to Stover was just wide – incomplete. The Buckeyes turned the ball over on downs at a point when another TD would have altered the entire tenor of the game. Day never again chose to try to convert a fourth-down play.

OSU still controlled the game. Until they didn’t. The shift in momentum occurred on one play on UM’s fourth possession of the half. It was third and nine on Michigan’s own 31. The Bucks blitzed and almost got to J.J. McCarthy. Almost. But they didn’t, and he completed a 69-yard TD strike to Cornelius Johnson. Cam Brown got burned, but he was out there on his own. College football is a game of energy, emotion, momentum, confidence. All of those elements shifted to Michigan at the 7:26 mark of the second quarter.

Oh, Ohio State got another touchdown and another field goal before halftime to go into the locker room up 20-17. And the Bucks dominated the first-half stats. But that long TD pass and the play immediately after it – a 75-yarder – on first and ten on UM’s fifth drive put TTUN back in the game.

The coaching adjustments made at halftime sealed the Bucks’ fate, as they were outplayed in the third quarter and demolished in the fourth. Jim Harbaugh had answers. Ryan Day and Jim Knowles did not. I’m not saying that the Buckeyes gave up (I think that they did last year) but in the third quarter they played scared, and in the fourth quarter they expected to lose.

So, what all did the Buckeyes lose? They certainly failed to meet two of their season’s three goals, beating Michigan and winning the Big Ten championship. The national championship, their third goal, is possible, I suppose (see below), but seems remote. Ohio State lost its conference supremacy, something that they’ve enjoyed for nearly a decade. They lost bragging rights and dropped surely in their recruiting edge. It was said that the Heisman Trophy was Stroud’s to lose. He lost it, not winning the big game, not performing well. Face it, Stroud was considerably better in 2021 and even at the beginning of this season. If the Bucks don’t miraculously make the playoffs, don’t expect to see Stroud play in a meaningless bowl game. A lot was lost all around.

Offense


Overall rating: BB Facing Major Uncertainty

To some, it may seem harsh to give this lowest rating to an offense that produced nearly 500 yards. But the next highest rating is “adequate,” and this offense wasn’t. Oh, it was pretty solid in the first half. The Bucks picked up 16 first downs, 124 yards rushing, and another 191 through the air. They had seven (not counting the knee to end the half) first-half possessions and scored four times, two touchdowns, and two field goals.

The second half, obviously, was another story, as OSU was outscored 28-3. Seven first downs, 19 rushing yards, and 167 total yards. For the game, the Bucks produced 492 total yards but only two TDs. There were dropped passes, missed blocks, stupid penalties, and questionable play-calling. Ohio State didn’t seem to be able to pick up the crucial third (or fourth) down. Michigan was getting important stops.

I had said in a previous column that the Buckeyes needed big-strike scoring plays, and that they wouldn’t be able to count on consistent five-minute drives to produce points. The Bucks had only one – a 49-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison, Jr. to provide a nice response to UM’s second long score. Harrison’s touchdown gave OSU their final lead of the game, 20-17 at the 3:49 mark of the first half.

For some reason, Chip Trayanum saw most of the carries. We saw Xavier Johnson playing some running back too. And they didn’t play badly. But was Williams hurt? What about Dallan Hayden, who had only two carries for the game? What about pass routes? Lots of wide plays, little up the field or over the middle, even though Stroud usually had all day to throw. Knowing that Stroud wasn’t going to run, the Wolverines focused on coverage and did a good job with it.

All in all, the offense didn’t get the job done. Twenty-three points weren’t going to beat Michigan.

Defense


Overall rating: BB Facing Major Uncertainty

If the offense was inadequate, the defense was worse. After starting off well, the Ohio State D gave up four touchdowns of 60 yards or more. Four? After yielding only one such play in the previous 11 games.

This disaster was a combination of at least a couple of factors. First was the defensive scheme. Jim Knowles was apparently hired to create a defense that would stop Michigan’s running game. Early in this game, the Bucks did. But, to do so, they had to move safeties up toward the line, leaving their dubious cornerbacks in one-on-one man coverage. They weren’t up to the task. Denzel Burke slipped, while covering Ronnie Bell, to give up a 32-yard completion that set up Michigan’s first field goal. Cam Brown missed his tackle in man coverage to allow the 69-yarder. Safety Cam Martinez was the one who got burned on the second long TD pass. In each case, they were in single coverage.

The second issue was, of course, execution. Although the Bucks succeeded in pressuring McCarthy, they couldn’t really get him. And they couldn’t rattle him. He had too much success. Ohio State has gotten by all year by covering speedy wideouts with their safeties. If you have a speed disadvantage, you need to rely on technique. Pass interference calls on Lathan Ransom and Ronnie Hickman were instances of poor technique. They were a step behind. They ran at the receiver. They didn’t look back. They committed the penalties. And they were costly – especially the one on Hickman that gave the Wolverines a first and goal at the two and permitted them to cap their 15-play, eight-minute drive with a TD that put them up by two scores.

The OSU defense ended up giving UM 242 rushing yards in the second half, most of them on long runs, very long runs, by Donovan Edwards. Again, where was the Buck secondary? Led to the other side of the field by receivers. Sucked into the middle. But, finally, simply gone.

One sack. No takeaways. 530 yards. 45 points.

Special Teams


Overall rating: BB Adequate

Adequate is the word. Certainly, the special teams did nothing that would win a game, but Jesse Mirco punted pretty well, Noah Ruggles made his two extra points and three field goals, and Xavier Johnson had some good kickoff returns.

Individual Performances

Blue Chip


The blue chippers all wore blue in this game. Since this is an Ohio State site, I won’t go into detail, but I will recite the names: J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Edwards, Cornelius Johnson, Ronnie Bell.

Solid Performance


Emeka Egbuka. In general, I thought that the receivers played decent games. Harrison, Jr. had his first dropped pass of the season but played pretty well, as did Julian Fleming. It was Egbuka, though, who had the best game. He made the catches; he made the plays. He seemed to be able to get open on slants over the middle – but not many were called. He finished the game with nine receptions for 125 yards and a TD.

Penny Stock


All those guys who committed bad penalties. Ohio State had nine penalties for 91 yards. Of those, seven for 71 yards came in the second half. Michigan, the better-coached team, had no penalties in the second half. Gee Scott gets singled out for his bonehead head butt on the sidelines, an unsportsmanlike conduct call that, combined with Donovan Jackson’s holding penalty, put the Bucks at first and 35 after a big play was nullified. No excuse. Cade Stover was also called for unsportsmanlike conduct. I mentioned the two big interference calls. In addition to Jackson’s hold, linemen Dawand Jones and Paris Johnson had false starts. Sloppy play. Costly play.

Defensive secondary. All year the cornerbacks have been shaky. But the safeties have come through, and the offense scored lots of points. Yesterday, the cornerbacks were a severe liability. Burke, Brown, J.K. Johnson all played poorly. Michigan exploited them. Ransom, Hickman, and Tanner McCalister — all of whom have generally played well throughout the year — had subpar games. Probably because of the schemes they were playing.

Ryan Day and Jim Knowles. Both were badly outcoached by their Michigan counterparts. Day’s playcalling was conservative and unimaginative. Knowles’ left his defenders vulnerable to big plays. Neither made any necessary adjustments during the game. Things started well. Got bad. Got worse. Then caved in. I would expect new coaches to be hired, folks who can teach cornerbacks how to play.


So, what happens now? Theoretically, the Buckeyes still have an outside shot at a playoff spot. But the three undefeated teams – Georgia, Michigan, and TCU – are all ahead of them, as will be Southern Cal. Interestingly, the Trojans and the Buckeyes are the only teams with a single loss. A stumble by the front runners could open the door for the Buckeyes. But how would they fare against any of these teams? Or against two-loss Alabama or Tennessee, for that matter?

No, it’s probably time to start thinking about basketball.

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Game Preview: No. 4 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. North Alabama
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The fourth of four-straight games against smaller conference schools ends Sunday, finally

In the remnant of Ohio State’s nation-stopping rivalry game against the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, the Ohio State women’s basketball team takes the court. Finally answering the popular, and now outdated, “We want Bama” rallying cry, kind of. The Scarlet & Gray welcome a team from Alabama to the Schottenstein Center – the University of North Alabama.

Who is North Alabama? Will the Buckeyes be at full strength for Wednesday’s trip to Louisville? Can Ohio State score 100 points in two straight games?

Preview


It feels like forever ago since the Buckeyes played in a truly meaningful quarter of basketball, roughly 15 straight quarters where Ohio State’s been in the driver’s seat against four different opponents.

Since the first quarter against Boston College on Nov. 13, head coach Kevin McGuff’s side has outscored opponents 355-199. Of the four teams, three came from teams outside of a Power Five conference like the MAC’s Ohio University or Southland Conference’s McNeese State.

Sunday is the final game against another smaller conference opponent before Wednesday’s ACC/B1G Challenge and the start of conference games on Sunday, Dec. 4 against Rutgers University.

Even if the games haven’t been too difficult for the Buckeyes, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been value in the 40-minute affairs. Sunday gives another opportunity for depth players to find their game legs and help Ohio State prepare for a Big Ten season with a target on their backs.

Part of that group is forward Eboni Walker and guard Hevynne Bristow. Walker is part of a forward group that has talent with starters Taylor Thierry, Cotie McMahon, and Rebeka Mikulášiková, but lacks depth beyond the starting five. The Syracuse transfer Walker has played well in the past two games, and will likely receive ample minutes to continue that trajectory.

In Bristow’s case, the senior guard’s normally played behind the Buckeyes' group of four stellar guards in Jacy Sheldon, Taylor Mikesell, Madison Greene, and Rikki Harris. However, before Wednesday’s matinee victory against Wright State, Sheldon and substitute Emma Shumate each missed the game for a lower leg and undisclosed injury respectively.

Bristow’s played more like a forward for the minutes she’s seen the court, grabbing 13 rebounds and 18 points across the past two home games for the Buckeyes. After missing much of last season battling injuries, Bristow looks hungry on the court and is making an argument for getting more minutes as the season progresses. Sunday is another good opportunity.

North Alabama (3-2) comes to Central Ohio to end the long holiday weekend. Part of the ASUN Conference, home of reigning champions Florida Golf Coast University, the Lions has kept a quieter non-conference schedule. Outside of a 77-40 loss against SEC’s Mississippi State, North Alabama’s kept it to smaller schools in the southeast.

Voted by ASUN media to finish sixth in the conference this year, they shouldn’t give the Buckeyes much trouble, with one exception. A standout on the Lions' roster is guard/forward Skyler Gill.


Only a sophomore, Gill’s already racked up honors entering her second season. In Gill’s freshman year, the 5-foot-11 athlete won ASUN Freshman of the Year and Defender of the Year. Gill averaged 9.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game and so far this year, Gill’s playing better. In five starts, Gill increased her shooting average up to 12.4 points per game and kept her rebounding and blocking just under last year’s averages.

The Buckeyes face a challenge in Gill, who gets into good positions to make plays defensively and offensively. Her awareness to grab blocks and rebound will put an Ohio State team who needs improvement on grabbing boards in check.

Projected Starters

Lineup Notes

• Guard Greene could make her second straight
• Mikesell leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 16.8 points per game
• Thierry’s 69.4% field goal percentage leads the team, with the forward consistently making layup attempts and shots inside the paint

Lineup Notes

• Freshman guard Alyssa Clutter started four games before missing the Lions' last game
• Guard Jade Moore is someone to watch deep, taking 47 attempts across her five games played
• Guard Hina Suzuki is second in the ASUN in assists, averaging 6.3 per game

Prediction


For the fourth time in a row, and third time in a row at home, the Scarlet & Gray shouldn’t have any trouble coming away with a victory. The only way a slip-up could happen is if eyes are already thinking about Wednesday’s game against the No. 10 Louisville Cardinals.

Expect Greene to have a big game starting at point guard, assuming Sheldon again doesn’t get a start. Even if she is available to play, starting Greene could be the smart move, giving Sheldon more rest before the ACC/B1G Challenge.

Either way you slice it, the Buckeyes should pull out a large margin of victory and keep their place as a top team in the country.

How to Watch


Date: Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022
Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Schottenstein Center - Columbus, Ohio
Stream: B1G+

LGHL Prediction: 97-52 Ohio State Buckeyes

ACC/B1G Challenge Looms


As the football season winds down, the basketball season is kicking into another gear following Sunday’s game. There are 14 match-ups between Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, with Ohio State and Louisville starting things on Nov. 30.

Then, Sunday begins the conference schedule with a trip to Rutgers.

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Instant Recap Podcast: Ohio State lost to Michigan 45-23, and the Buckeyes have nowhere to hide
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

The Buckeyes failed in The Game and now a fanbase ponders what’s next

Ohio State lost to the Michigan Wolverines in Columbus for the first time since 2000 losing 45-23 in a game where the Buckeyes were out schemed, out toughed, and out played.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

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To get the show started, the guys get into a discussion about the failures of Ohio State the last two years and how the moment was too big for everyone in the program. Ryan Day’s seat is hot, and now the Buckeyes have nowhere to hide.

Then the duo gets into a discussion about J.J. McCarthy’s performance, and how he epitomized the difference between the two teams. They talk about how when his team needed a big play, he made it giving them the confidence moving forward.

Ohio State’s secondary was atrocious and this leads to a conversation about the secondary moving forward. This also leads to a discussion about how the team came up short in more ways than just scheme as the Buckeyes took on the personality of their head coach.

After that, Jordan and Chris discuss Ryan Day’s extremely hot seat and how we will truly find out what Day is made of since he is fully backed into a corner now.

To conclude the show, they give some advice to take with you on the road. This was an emotional episode and a lot fo ranting was done, so the show summary does not include everything.


Connect with Chris Renne:
Twitter: @ChrisRenneCFB

Connect with Jordan Williams
Twitter: @JordanW330

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Column: Ryan Day both fucked around and found out because he wanted to prove he was tough
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

It didn’t have to be this way.

This was not the way that this game was supposed to go. Last year’s loss to Michigan was supposed to be a blip on the radar for a program that has dominated its rival for the entirety of the 21st Century. Ohio State, the team with more talent reconfigured its entire defensive coaching staff to be able to ensure that what happened last year never happened again. The Buckeyes spent the entire offseason and fall camp talking about how last year’s game had sharpened their resolve and how they now understood this rivalry more than they ever had before

I honestly think all of that might have worked (I said might have, not would have) if it wasn’t for one word, “tough.”

After last year’s game, then Wolverine offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said of the Buckeyes, “They’re a finesse team, they’re not a tough team.”

That was clearly more painful to Ryan Day than the loss itself. He seemed to take that comment personally, not as the coach of a football team, but as an individual. Proving Gattis wrong — or last least making it impossible for anyone to say that again — seemed to become his singular focus, all other areas of improvement be damned.

The insistence on proving how tough his team is became more important than actually just getting better and doing what they need to do to win. I don’t mind the focus on toughness during the offseason, when you have to give players a reason to put in the grueling hours of physical training that define their upcoming season, but Day’s pursuit of “toughness” seemed to cloud his ability to focus on who his team actually is.

Instead of playing to his offense’s strengths, Day forced this faux-toughness on them and insisted on running the ball between the tackles in short yardage, never took full advantage of the best quarterback and wide receiver combination in the country, and kept putting injured running backs into games chasing that elusive “toughness.”

Essentially, Day fucked around all season and squandered the ability to maximize what his team was and could be, because his ego was bruised so he decided that he wanted them to be something completely different than what he had built them to be.

To me, the two parts of Gattis’ statement are not saying the same thing, and Day focused exclusively on the wrong part. Ohio State is absolutely, unequivocally, without a doubt a finesse team as currently constructed. You do not assemble that level of offensive talent and not rely on finesse. Even from the running backs, while Miyan Williams was a bit of a revolution this season in a more physical mode, TreVeyon Henderson came to Ohio State as a quick-cut, home-run-hitting type of back who was more likely to run away from a defender than to run him over.

And let me be clear, being a finesse team is not a bad thing. Sure, you want to have some physicality to go along with all of that skill and finesse, but Day and his coaching staff — at least on offense — built the team to be able to score quickly either vertically or by turning a short or intermediate play into a chunk play on the sheer talent of the players with the ball.

Besides, you can be a tough team without having to line up and play smash-mouth offensive football. Toughness can be in wide receiver hand fighting, in tight ends not getting embarrassed in open-field blocking, in your quarterback not continually throwing off his back foot at the first sign of pressure.

Yes, I would love to see Ohio State’s offensive line absolutely obliterate the opposition in running blocking on every short-yardage play, but that’s just not who this offense is. In his first few seasons, it seemed like Day understood that, but the deeper he’s gotten into his tenure as head coach, the more confused he’s seemed to become about his team’s identity.

He used to have a creative, aggressive offensive approach. His unit used to be able to score at will against good teams and bad (not just the bad). But, because of one comment from an opposing coach, Day decided that wasn’t good enough anymore. We here at Land-Grant Holy Land have seemingly been on an island alone in questioning Day’s play-calling all season (one of the benefits of being a blog vs. an official beat outlet, I suppose), and while it might have seemed like an overreaction early in the season, that position has only proven to be more and more correct with each passing week.


Day seemed to think that his team’s talent didn’t need nurturing, didn’t need refining, didn’t need repetition. Instead, he assumed that it was a given and that spending time — both in practices and in games — on things that ran inherently counter to who they were as a team were going to magically transform them into a different team of completely different players.

Obviously, when trying to compete at the highest levels, you want to work to improve your weakest areas, but that doesn’t mean that you can abandon your strengths and expect them to continue to be as strong as they could be when you need them most.

Go ahead and plant some rutabaga and asparagus in your garden if you want, Ryan, but make sure you tend to your money crops too. Ryan Day didn’t do that, and he found out what can happen when you take your eye off of your identity and fuck around with things that need not be fucked around with.

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Irrational Overreactions(?): Ohio State’s coaching staff continues to be the problem
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

This is not just a pattern, this is just who they are.

Ohio State fans live in the extremes, whether good or bad. As they say, we have no chill. So, I am going to give voice to those passionate opinions by running through my completely level-headed, not-at-all over-the-top, 100% unbiased takeaways from Saturday’s loss over That Team Up North.

Clean house, start over with a new coaching staff


I very well might come down from this fevered pitch in time, but right now, minutes after The Game has ended, it is clear that Ohio State’s coaching staff is almost uniformly in over its head. They have relied on talent to carry them for multiple seasons — which is generally something that I support — but the talent has had to overcome scared, stubborn, and short-sighted coaching.

Is the team better than it was last season? I mean, I guess, but not nearly as good as they should be with the collection of talent that they have. This game felt like nearly every other big game during the Ryan Day tenure as head coach; out-coached, unprepared, scared. If you remove the Sugar Bowl following the 2020 season against Clemson, I’m not sure there has been a marquee game in which OSU had the better coaching performance.

Saying that Ryan Day and his staff should be fired still feels like a massive overreaction — even for me — given all of the success he’s had in four years, but when you have the type of talent that the Buckeyes do, the level of expectations is higher than most programs.

Winning 10 or 11 games per season is a monumental success for most teams, but when you have the inherent advantages that Ohio State does and you simply feast on the also-rans on your schedule and go full turtle against the opponents on your level, that is more than a problem; it is unacceptable at a school like Ohio State.


The offensive guru moniker that has been tagged on Day has clearly worn off. I’ve been saying it for nearly a year now — much to the dismay of a lot of Buckeye fans — but your head coach should not be your play caller; that is a rule that I believe in 100%, no matter who the coach is, but in this case, I really think that Day’s stubbornness and inability to put his offense in the best position to win big games has undermined his standing as the head coach of this team.

If you continually get beaten by practically every other competent team on your schedule, it’s time for Gene Smith to start considering what’s next. Day made all of those changes on the defensive side of his coaching staff in the offseason and yet the same problems remained in the biggest games on defense, and the offense still frustratingly underachieves when the team needs them the most.

Not only does the coaching staff — on both sides of the ball — appear to not be able to prepare their units for major opponents, they are clearly incapable of making substantive adjustments against good teams in-game; and what’s even more annoying, is that they seem to not even want to make them.

I know that football schematics are much more complicated than what idiots like me can see on the TV broadcast, but this is not an acceptable output from a coaching staff that is paid this much money and has this much talent.

Getting embarrassed by every top-level team on your schedule is no longer a coincidence for this Ohio State staff, it is not even a pattern, it is just who they are. Ohio State can, should, and must do better.

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LGHL Staff Predictions: Shocker, everybody picks Ohio State to win The Game
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

I mean, did you really expect anything different from us?

Today’s the day, fam. The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes will host the No. 3 Wichigan Molverines at 12 noon ET in Ohio Stadium in a game to be broadcast on FOX. The Game is always a big deal for these two fan bases, but this year it is even bigger than usual. Whether it is the ramifications on the Big Ten title hunt, College Football Playoff berths, or the larger narrative for both programs, it is difficult to imagine a game that will have more storylines at play than this one.

There has been a lot of discussion about those stories already, and there undoubtedly will continue to be during and after the game as well, but we are going to put a cap on those conversations with the official predictions of some of Land-Grant Holy Land’s staffers.

Before the season started, we asked everybody what they thought the outcome of The Game would be and those predictions are included as well. So never say that we don’t hold our writers accountable for their predictions! You can check out our full preseason predictions in the link below.

Land-Grant Holy Land Staff’s Score and Storyline Predictions for The Game!

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LGHL Asks: Ohio State fans weigh in on starting RB, Blake Corum, The Game score prediction
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.

Every day for the entirety of the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.

Ok. The day all of Buckeye Nation has been waiting for is finally here. One year after losing to That Team Up North for the first time in a decade, head coach Ryan Day and the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0, 8-0) will host the No. 3 ichigan Wolverines (11-0, 8-0). The 2022 edition of The Game will determine the Big Ten East representative in the conference championship game and essentially a spot in the College Football Playoff, but more importantly, it will determine the narrative for both of these programs for at least the next 365 days.

Have the Mitten State Muskrats taken control of the rivalry, or was their 2021 win just a blip in the two-decade dominance for the Buckeyes? Heading into Saturday’s contest, we asked Ohio State fans their thoughts on a variety of topics surrounding the Game.


In this week’s SB Nation Reacts survey, we asked fans everything from who Day should start at running back to how they are feeling about TTUN’s injured star running back Blake Corum; from what they are most worried about to what they think the margin of victory will be.

Check out their answers below and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Question 1: Who do you think Ohio State should start at running back?



If we had to send out this question now, I probably would switch some of these percentages. The more we hear through the unofficial grapevine makes it sound like Miyan Williams is closer to 80% while I am imagining that TreVeyon Henderson is less likely to be a major contributor after putting up just 1.7 yards per carry against Maryland last weekend.


I’m on record advocating for Dallan Hayden to be the starter for this weekend, and I am glad to know that so much of Buckeye Nation agrees with me. All things being equal and everybody being fully healthy, I’d go Miyan, Trey, and then Dallan, but those first two guys aren’t anywhere close to being fully healthy. So, I’m riding the hot, healthy hand, Dallan Hayden

Question 2: Do you want TTUN running back Blake Corum to play in The Game?



I admire the character of the 58% of respondents who want Ohio State’s rivals to have their best player so that when the Buckeyes beat them, the Mitten Men don’t have something to complain about. But here’s the thing, I’m not a very good person, I am more than petty enough to want the Buckeyes to have the best chance to win.

After all, Ohio State’s best offensive weapon, Jaxon Smith-Njgba, has been out all season, and — as I said above — I would be starting the guy that started fall camp as the Buckeyes’ fourth-string running back in this game if the decision were up to me.

If this was practically anybody else in the country save for Penn State or Clemson, I would be willing to entertain the “want them at their best” argument, but this is That Team Up North, the whiniest group of players, coaches, and fans in the history of sport, so, while I certainly do not wish any ill-will or prolonged injury to Corum, I am fine leveling up the injury statuses between the teams for The Game today.

Question 3: What are you most worried about in Saturday’s game?



Before Corum got hurt against Illinois last week, that was obviously the correct answer, and I think even earlier in this week, that made sense. But, the longer the week has gone on and the more we’ve heard coming out of Ann Arbor, I am becoming less and less concerned. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am still concerned about Donovan Edwards returning, even with an injured hand, and Corum pulling a Willis Reed and having a career game after being hurt, but my level of anxiety has come down to some of the other concerns.


Earlier this week, while my colleague Jami Jurich took stopping the TTUN run game in our Wednesday You’re Nuts article, I went with keeping the pass rush from getting to C.J. Stroud, which finished second in this poll. Last season, Aidin Hutchinson and David Ejabo were an incredibly disruptive force against the Buckeyes, despite Stroud throwing for 394 yards.

Both of those edge rushers are now in the NFL and while the TTUN defensive line is still very good, they aren’t game-changingly great like they were last year. Stroud has been near perfect when not pressured this season and the only times when it felt like he wasn’t completely in control have come with rushers in his face. Overall when under pressure, Stroud has still been good, but in recent weeks, he has had a tendency to assume that his arm strength would be enough to make plays and he has let his fundamentals falter.

Stroud is a technician, not a gunslinger, so if his offensive line — which will likely see one new starter at right guard — can keep him clean, that’s a huge advantage for the Scarlet and Gray.

Question 4: What do you think the results of The Game will be?



At the beginning of the week, I was much closer on my predicted score than I am now. As I’ve thought about it more and let my homerism take root as I spent the holiday with my Buckeye-obsessed family, I have settled on 41-17. That would put me with the group with 6% of the respondents between a 22-point win and a 35-point win for the Buckeyes.

I will obviously be happy with a single-point victory in this one, but I think that we are going to see the absolute best version of the Buckeyes today in The Horseshoe.

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LGHL Tailgate Podcast: Everything you need to know to watch today’s Ohio State vs. TTUN game
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Set Number: X163079 TK1

The only Ohio State game day podcast you need.

Before every Ohio State football game, Matt Tamanini will get you ready with all of the information that you need for that day’s game on the “LGHL Tailgate” podcast.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

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No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (-8) vs. No. 3 TTUN | over/under 55.5


Game Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 26 12 noon ET
Location: Columbus, Ohio
TV: FOX
Online: Sling TV
Radio: 97.1 FM/1460 AM

The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes will host their No. 3 rivals today in a game that has more storylines than most New York Times Best Sellers. From a Big Ten Championship Game berth to a spot in the College Football Playoff; from trash-talking coaches to which team is really tough, a lot is on the line today.

In the “LGHL Tailgate” podcast, we run you through everything you need to know in order to be the most informed Buckeye fan possible.

Matt’s Game Prediction: Ohio State 41-17


C.J. Stroud: 22-for-29, 400+ passing yards, 5 TD
Receiving TDs: Harrison- 2; Egbuka, Fleming, Stover- 1 apiece


Contact Matt Tamanini
Twitter: @BWWMatt

Music by: epidemicsound.com

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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The good: The weather was nice
The bad: everything else

Post your thoughts/rants/wants/etc here.

A Pall Over the Horseshoe


Over the years, I have lost enough friends and acquaintances (figuratively and too often literally) to alcoholism, drug abuse, mental illness, and other less unnatural means that a bad result in a football game means fuck all to me - it's four hours of lousy television and then back to the regularly scheduled programming of everyday life, the stuff that allegedly really matters, the stuff from which sports is supposed to be our distraction (although we often invert the reality and the diversion therefrom, grieving over the entertainment whilst ignoring (or at least de-emphasizing) the trials and tribulations of real life). Losing a game, even The Game, can be painful, but that pain of loss is ephemeral and insignificant compared to the pain of loss that occurs every day in real life (on both the macro and micro levels). I'm already over it. I hope that you are as well - get back to the everyday pain that really matters, because I know that you have some to deal with.

1. As I've said before, I will say again: C.J. Stroud doesn't have the "it" factor, he isn't a dynamic football player. Stroud is robotic, and while robots might perform exceedingly well in Hollywood movies they have a difficult time succeeding on the gridiron in real life. If Stroud has a clean pocket, and if his receivers run precise routes, and if the timing is just right, and if there's no wind or rain or snow, and if the opposing defense isn't a bunch of big meanies getting in his face and disrupting plays, then Stroud is just fine, way better that fine actually, maybe even superb. But if some little thing goes just a little bit wrong, then we get what we got today in The Game, a performance that wasn't bad, exactly (31/48, 349 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), but was far from a winning effort. Passes that were just a little bit behind receivers or just a little bit overthrown ... retreating in the pocket when stepping up or moving laterally would be far more likely to keep the play alive ... failing to take 5 or 10 or 15 yards on the ground when the defense is literally giving it to you ... panicked decisions that gave Browns fans PTSD flashbacks of Brandon Weeden. Stroud may be a perfectly fine NFL quarterback - he may even be the Next Big Thing in The League - but he is not really all that great at the college level, where a quarterback is supposed to lay everything that he has on the line to lead his team to victory. Craig Krenzel, with half the surrounding talent and a quarter of the natural ability, comes directly to mind....

2. Emeka Egbuka had 9 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown, while Marvin Harrison Jr. had 7 receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown. Both were excellent in defeat, if there is such a thing as excellence in defeat.

3. The running game was working ... until it didn't. In the first half, the Buckeyes rushed 19 times for 128 yards (6.7 average, not counting a kneel down), but in the second half rushed only 8 times for 27 yards (3.4 average, not counting an 8-yard sack). The Buckeyes were gaining significant yardage running between the tackles but for reason the Smartest Guy on the Sidelines decided that what was working wasn't good enough to win The Game.

4. Outside of a hold (legitimate) and a couple of procedure penalties, the offensive line played just fine. Stroud had plenty of time to throw (not that all that time helped him very much) and there were running lanes for the backs (at least when the Buckeye Braintrust called for the run).

5. Counting punts and kick offs, there were 161 total plays in this year's version of The Game; in my humble opinion, exactly three of those plays doomed Ohio State's chances for a victory.


6. Leading up to The Game, Cade Stover said: "To be honest, I really don’t give a shit what anybody else says about our toughness. We know what we’ve got." Well, Mr. Toughness dropped a pass on fourth down to kill a drive, dropped a pass in the end zone to kill another drive, had a personal foul penalty, and generally failed to block anyone (a recurring theme for him). Anybody can talk tough, few can back up their bravado. Mr. Stover ain't that guy.

7. The defense gave up 45 points and 520 total yards, including long touchdowns of 45, 69, 75, 75, and 85 yards. It was perhaps the worst defensive performance in recent Buckeye history (they get somewhat of a pass for surrendering 52 points and 621 total yards to Alabama during the Covid season). Apparently, Jim Knowles hasn't changed much during his first year in Columbus, as Ohio State is still prone to giving up huge plays on defense (9 of the 25 touchdowns surrendered by the defense this season - that's 36% - were of 40+ yards), largely thanks to breakdowns in the secondary, linebackers not filling the proper gaps, and defensive linemen getting blown off the ball.

8. There were a couple of bright spots on the defense: Zach Harrison had 4 tackles, a TFL, 2 batted passes, and a QBH, while JT Tuimoloau had 4 tackles and 2 TFLs. Everybody else was decidedly below average.

9. Noah Ruggles was 3 for 3 on field goal attempts, with a long of 47 yards.

10. Continuing a bad year-long trend, Ohio State committed 9 penalties for 91 yards. Except for a questionable defensive pass interference call that had little to do with the final outcome, all of the penalties were justified.

11. Ohio State actually had more first downs than Michigan, 23 to 16 ... which makes sense because Michigan had so many long scoring plays.

12. The Buckeyes converted their first four third downs, and then went 1 for 12 the remainder of the game.

13. After the 2016 Clemson game, a 31-0 blowout loss in the Playoffs, I said:

LordJeffBuck said:

8. J.T. Barrett is an enigma. Is he part of the problem or part of the solution?

Click to expand...

At this point, the same can be said for head coach Ryan Day: Is he part of the problem or part of the solution? Although Day has an overall record of 45-5 (.900), he has a 1-2 record against Michigan, has a 2-2 record in bowl games, and hasn't had a signature win since beating Clemson in the 2020 playoffs (last year's Rose Bowl was fun but not really a satisfying consolation prize after losing to Michigan and missing out on the Playoffs). While Day is a great recruiter, program manager, and face of the franchise, he is stubborn, predictable, slow to adjust, and seems to lack both instinct and fire and p7erhaps even poise. Day may not be John Cooper (yet), but he might be Pat Fitzgerald with a bigger recruiting budget and lower admission standards - a guy who is too good to terminate but who will never lead his team to the promised land.

14. As you might imagine, I have written this drunk, not because Ohio State lost to Michigan, but because it's Saturday night and despite my advanced age I still often get drunk on Saturday nights: I like to do so, it's in my blood (I'm Welsh, which is like Irish on steroids), and my wife (the saint that she is) will stay sober and drive me home from the local watering hole while I play depressing songs (see above) way too loudly on the car stereo. It's a good system, it works for us, especially for me, life isn't fair but beatification comes with a cost just like everything else....

Tomorrow will be a new day. It will be a beautiful day for all the reasons that days are beautiful; it will be an awful day for all the reasons that days are awful; it will be one day closer to our human certainty. And if we're lucky, it will also be one day closer to Revenge.

Embarrassed to bring this up after getting violated today.

But are we in with a USC loss next week?
Do they play Oregon?

Or a loss by TCU to K-State?

The game is over and it was not the ending anyone other than michigan fans wanted. It was humbling and maybe what was needed. However, I am still optimistic about this team and coaching staff.

The rivalry is definitely back. As bad as it is to lose to ttun two years in a row, our run of dominance was due to come to an end. Things return to their mean. I would love to beat them by 50 every season, but having a true rival makes those wins that much sweeter.

I still believe in this coaching staff, although a few more changes will happen. We had quite a few new coaches added to the staff this season. I didn't expect any of them to turn their units into the number 1 units in the country. Change takes time and I expect continued improvement next season. So, I'm not expecting mass turnover like we had last season, but definitely some tweaking.

I would be perfectly happy with Day giving up calling plays. Being the head coach has always seemed like a CEO position to me - hire the best coaches and let them do their jobs while you coordinate the big picture. I'm sure he and Gene Smith will be having serious meetings soon.

The upcoming recruiting class seems underrated to me. We are grabbing most of the top players in Ohio and I don't expect a big let down as we approach the finish line. Plus the stud class we had last year has a full year under their belts and I expect are chomping at the bit. Lots of talented depth will be there.

We have resources most colleges cannot imagine. From the fan base to the facilities to the donors to the support of the administration.

We are definitely still in a golden era of OSU football. If you aren't sure, just go back and look at OSU records the last 50 years to see what the last 20 years have been like.

Before my final comment - thanks to all those young men who bring us this joy, and sometimes pain, every Saturday in the fall! I cannot imagine what they sacrifice for my enjoyment. Especially considering many of them are not even old enough for me to buy them a beer.

Finally, I lived in tsun during many of the Cooper years. If I can survive being an OSU alum living there during that period I certainly can handle a two game losing streak to ttun and am confident it will be a totally different outcome next November.

Go Bucks!!!

In this article, I will look at Ohio State and Michigan during three Eras of college football: the Pre-Poll Era (from 1869 to 1935); the Poll Era (from 1936 to 1997); and the Playoff Era (1998 to present).

During the Pre-Poll Era, all national championship recognized by the NCAA were awarded by historical committees after the fact.

The Poll Era began in 1936 with the advent of the Associated Press (AP) Poll, which is still in existence. From 1936 to 1949, the NCAA recognizes the AP national champion as the sole national champion; and from 1950 to 1997 as one of the national championship selectors. The NCAA also recognizes national championships awarded by the following selectors: United Press International (UPI) coaches poll from 1950 to 1997; the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) from 1954 to 1997; and the National Football Foundation (NFF) from 1959 to 1997. During the 48 years of multiple national championship selectors, there were 15 split national championships, and twice the national championship was split three ways (1964; 1970).

The Playoff Era began in 1998 with the BCS Championship, which was essentially a two-team playoff designed to settle all future national championship disputes. Despite the best efforts and intentions of the BCS and their computer models, there was still a split national championship in 2003, when the BCS awarded its championship to #2 Louisiana State (13-1 record, winner of the BCS Championship Game over #3 Oklahoma), while the AP and FWAA awarded their respective national championships to #1 Southern Cal (12-1 record, winner of Rose Bowl over #4 Michigan).

The Playoff expanded from two teams to four teams in 2014, and thus far this expansion has prevented any further split national championships.

A few additional notes: Unanimous national championships are in parentheses. Outright Big Ten titles are in parentheses. Consensus All Americans are those recognized by the NCAA. Vacated games and titles have been counted. The Heisman Trophy has been awarded from 1936 to present; the Maxwell Award from 1937 to present; the Outland Trophy from 1946 to present; and the Lombardi Award from 1970 to present.

The Pre-Poll Era

Michigan was clearly the dominant team in the Pre-Poll Era, with significant advantages in total wins (+75); winning percentage (+.118); Big Ten titles (+11); national championships (+7); and in The Game.

The Poll Era

In many ways, the two teams were basically even during the Poll Era: wins; winning percentage; postseason games; All Americans; Big Ten titles; and in The Game. However, Ohio State held a significant advantage in major award winners (19 to 3) and in national championships (6 to 2).

The Playoff Era

Ohio State has clearly dominated in almost all categories during the Playoff Era: wins (+54); winning percentage (+.150); postseason (19 wins to 8 wins); All Americans (28 to 17); Big Ten titles (12 to 5 overall; 8 to 2 outright); national championships (two to zero); and especially in The Game (18-5 record; .783 winning percentage).

For a definition of DSC, among other things, click HERE.

Teams Ranked by DSC, showing CFP ranking and the difference between DSC and CFP ranking.

Team	DSC Ratio	DSC Rank	CFP Rank	Difference	Conf.
Georgia	3.697	1	1	0	SEC
Michigan	3.115	2	3	1	B1G
Ohio St.	3.025	3	2	-1	B1G
Alabama	2.584	4	7	3	SEC
Penn St.	2.339	5	11	6	B1G
Tennessee	2.215	6	10	4	SEC
Texas	2.011	7	23	16	Big 12
Florida St.	1.960	8	16	8	ACC
Louisiana St.	1.863	9	5	-4	SEC
Kansas St.	1.861	10	12	2	Big 12
Illinois	1.810	11	NR	15+	B1G
Utah	1.793	12	14	2	Pac-12
Clemson	1.731	13	8	-5	ACC
Central Fla.	1.863	14	22	8	AAC
Notre Dame	1.863	15	15	0	Ind.
Louisville	1.863	16	25	9	ACC
Iowa	1.863	17	NR	9+	B1G
Minnesota	1.863	18	NR	8+	B1G
Tulane	1.863	19	19	0	AAC
Oregon St.	1.863	20	21	1	Pac-12
Southern Cal	1.863	21	6	-15	Pac-12
Boise St.	1.863	22	NR	4+	MWC
Texas Christian	1.863	23	4	-12	Big 12
Mississippi St.	1.428	24	NR	2+	SEC
Oregon	1.425	25	9	-16	Pac-12
UCLA	1.288	35	18	-17	Pac-12
Mississippi	1.277	38	20	-18	SEC
Cincinnati	1.222	39	24	-15	AAC
Washington	1.200	44	13	-31	Pac-12
North Carolina	1.168	48	17	-31	ACC

Teams in top 25 in DSC but not in CFP in RED.
Teams in top 25 in CFP but not in DSC in BLUE.

Here is a snapshot of The Rivalry as of Hate Week 2022 as seen through Differential Statistical Analysis (DSA - simpler than it sounds). For a primer on the terms used herein, click HERE. That's enough of an intro for Hate Week. Here it is, unvarnished:

Differential Statistical Analysis

SO: Scoring Offense
SD: Scoring Defense
DSO: Differential Scoring Offense
DSD: Differential Scoring Defense
RO: Rushing Offense
RD: Rushing Defense
DRO: Differential Rushing Offense
DRD: Differential Rushing Defense
YpCo: Yards per Carry - Offense
YpCd: Yards per Carry - Defense
DYpCo: Differential Yards per Carry - Offense
DYpCd: Differential Yards per Carry - Defense
PO: Passing Offense
PD: Passing Defense
DPO: Differential Passing Offense
DPD: Differential Passing Defense
PEo: Pass Efficiency - Offense
PEd: Pass Efficiency - Defense
DPEo: Differential Pass Efficiency - Offense
DPEd: Differential Pass Efficiency - Defense

Stat	Ohio State	Michigan
SO	46.455	39.364
SD	16.909	11.727
DSO	1.973	1.574
DSD	0.652	0.505
RO	203.55	243.82
RD	107.91	79.55
DRO	1.392	1.606
DRD	0.721	0.529
YpCo	5.528	5.507
YpCd	3.075	2.787
DYpCo	1.448	1.355
DYpCd	0.808	0.718
PO	289.18	208.82
PD	175.46	161.73
DPO	1.390	0.951
DPD	0.811	0.788
PEo	182.32	147.70
PEd	119.94	100.46
DPEo	1.494	1.184
DPEd	0.940	0.813

Numbers that lead the nation are shown in red. It should be noted that, while Ohio State's Differential Pass Efficiency - offense (1.494) is second in the nation to Tennessee (1.518 vs FBS opponents), CJ Stroud leads the nation's starting quarterbacks at 1.499 (Hendon Hooker is 2nd at 1.431).

Those familiar with DSA might remember that these numbers can be used to provide a crude prediction for the game. It is called a prediction, but no one actually believes that this (or any) analysis is capable of distilling this rivalry down to numbers. But where this rivalry is concerned, we leave no stone (or Buckeye) unturned. This year the predictions are tweaked by a new modifier we call rigidity, which measures how well a team holds up to better competition, something that is vitally important in a game this big.

DSA Prediction for the game:

Stat	Ohio State	Michigan
Points	27	28
Rushing	120	180
YPC	4.3	4.4
Passing	226	168
Pass Eff.	151.2	140.8

There you have it. Unvarnished, unadulterated. DSA predicts the unthinkable.

Vegas Disagrees - But Why?

As for the other games this week (if you're one who believes in the existence of such), DSA lines up with the Vegas predictions (line) for each game with amazing reliability. So why do DSA and Vegas see this one differently? There are several possibilities.

Injuries

It is possible that the Vegas line is based entirely on a belief in Las Vegas that Blake Corum is too injured to be a factor in The Game. That seems unlikely, as this line hasn't moved much since the pre-season (though there was a wider range of available lines shortly after the Corum injury than you usually see). Perhaps they know that some of Ohio State's players that have been out of commission will be redeployed. Also impossible for us mortals to know; only the scions of Vegas seem to have this information before game-time in the college football world.

Held in Reserve

There is the belief by some, most notably Austin Ward of Lettermen Row, as expressed in a radio appearance this week, that the Buckeyes have been holding back all year, and that the fully operational death star will not be unleashed until this week. This is one that all Buckeye fans would love to believe, but what reason have we to believe it?

On the plus side, there is the fact that previous Ohio State coaches have done it. Tressel famously went with a formation and personnel package that he hadn't used all year. On another occasion he lined Ted Ginn up as a tight end and ran him up the seam, something he hadn't shown all year. I could go on, but so could we all. John Cooper said that, "In order to break a tendency, you have to establish a tendency" or something to that effect. Other Ohio State coaches have done similar things throughout the years. But to what extent can this be counted on?

It seems likely that the Buckeyes might show something different on Saturday, not because it's been held back for use against the skunk bears (a Native American term for them, not mine), but because Day has been working on improving weaknesses against lesser opponents. This certainly seemed to be the case in some games, as he doggedly worked on the running game until finally taking what the defense was giving a time or two to create a comfortable margin.

Whether Day has been holding anything back for one reason or another, the question then becomes, is it wise to have done so? Speaking only for myself, it seems to me that the team's confidence seems to be dancing on rotten ice right now (for at least part of the team anyway). Can that just be reclaimed in a week of practice? Then there is the larger question: has Day really been holding anything back at all?

Perhaps the Offense...?

It used to be said that "Defense Wins Championship". In fact, "used to be" is something that applied just a few years ago, but college football has changed. Offenses have gotten to the point where the best of them can score at will against anyone. Is the Buckeye offense at that level? In a word, no. But they were approaching that level earlier this season.

At mid-season, a two-post analysis was done that showed that the Buckeye offense was far beyond any other offense in the country in the first 3 quarters, and that being the most dominant team in the country was hurting their traditional statistics as they coasted through every fourth quarter. Click HERE if you would like to see the details. The short version is that Ohio State was scoring 5.833 offensive touchdowns, on average, in the first 3 quarters of games, Tennessee was second at 5.0, and the rest of college football was even farther behind. The Buckeyes were crushing everyone and then coasting.

A repeat of that analysis shows that Ohio State is no longer the juggernaut they were at the time, but they are better than TTUN by a larger margin than even DSA would have you believe. This is best examined by showing Yards per Play (Y/P) and TouchDowns per Game (TD/G) for each team, by quarter. The following tables show each team's offensive output by quarter for all 11 games to this point in the season. Ranks for each stat are for all of FBS.

1ST QUARTER	Y/P	Rank	TD/G	Rank	Notes
Ohio State	8.503	1	1.818	1	That's Right; We Bad
Michigan	7.069	19	1.182	8	6 way tie for 8th place

2ND QUARTER	Y/P	Rank	TD/G	Rank	Notes
Ohio State	6.463	32	1.000	56	12 way tie for 56th
Michigan	6.157	48	0.909	69	8 way tie for 69th

3RD QUARTER	Y/P	Rank	TD/G	Rank	Notes
Ohio State	7.268	8	1.727	1	That's More Like It
Michigan	6.300	40	0.909	32	14 way tie for 32nd

4TH QUARTER	Y/P	Rank	TD/G	Rank	Notes
Ohio State	7.287	1	1.364	4	3 way tie for 4th...
Michigan	5.973	25	1.364	4	...with Clemson

Before we get to the important bits, let's get this out of the way... The second quarter issues that we thought might be a coincidence in the early season... Yeah... Whatever has been causing that all season; it doesn't last all season if it's a coincidence. Not to that level. Not #1 in the country in touchdowns per game in the first and 3rd quarters and #56 in the country in the 2nd. No... That's not a coincidence. The odds of it being a coincidence are far too small to be believable. Having said that, the conversation will be left there, not because one cannot think of an explanation, but because there are so many possibilities.

Having dispensed with the weirdness (after a fashion), let's get right to the point. Ohio State is better than TTUN in every single quarter, even the second quarter. The only place where they tie Ohio State is in Touchdowns in the 4th quarter. TTUN's BEST quarter for Touchdown production is the 4th, where it is tied with Ohio State's 2nd worst quarter of Touchdown production. The Buckeyes' worst quarter of TD production is better than two of TTUN's quarters (2nd and 3rd), and two of Ohio State's quarters are better than TTUN's best quarter, and the Buckeye's 3rd best quarter ties TTUN's best.

But the most important takeaway may be this, and it bears repeating. The Skunk Weasels score more offensive touchdowns in the 4th than in any other quarter, and that's when the Buckeyes are coasting.

I know what some of you are thinking. You're thinking that TTUN equals the Buckeyes in the 4th quarter because they have man-balled their opponent into submission by that time, right? If that's so, explain this:

In the first 3 quarters of games:

• Ohio State: 5.50 yards per carry - Pass Efficiency 177.09
  
• Michigan: 5.52 yards per carry - Pass Efficiency 147.10

BUT - (Yes, that's a big but)

In the fourth quarter of games:

• Ohio State: 5.59 yards per carry - Pass Efficiency 211.36
• Michigan: 5.46 yards per carry - Pass Efficiency 149.93

Why does Ohio State's rushing efficiency increase in the 4th quarter while the same can't be said for the Skunk Weasels? Perhaps the Buckeyes are tougher than you think.

Before turning to the defense: None of this pretends to be dispositive. The biggest question on all of our minds is, can the Buckeye offense return to that elite level that we saw earlier in the season; the kind of offense that needs only a mediocre defense to see it through to a National Championship?

If you dig a little deeper for context about that defense though, you might find that the offense might not have to be world beaters.

What About That Defense?

It turns out that Ohio State is even better on offense than most stats make them look because of all of the substitutions and clock-killing in the fourth quarter, while TTUN are bullies in the fourth quarter, at least on the scoreboard. Might the same be true on defense? Is there a way to dig in to the defensive numbers to see if one of these teams is building stats on the backs of weak opponents while the other is massively substituting and perhaps trading yardage for clock at certain points in the game?

If you've followed DSA this year, you know that we are now producing a number we call rigidity to determine how well teams hold up to better competition. The same concept can be used to produce a number that determines how well you're defense is doing with respect to how many points your offense is scoring. If you tend to give up more points in blow outs, that number would provide an indication of that. You could take the analysis further by comparing how well your defense does with respect to your opponent's differential scoring composite. By combining these numbers, we can separate teams that allow more points in blowouts from those who beat up on weaklings. The one fly in the ointment is that this analysis can allow teams who are getting blown out to have the same numbers as teams that are dominating. By combining our number with overall point differential, we now have a number that shows which defense has been hurt the most, statistically, by playing with large leads. The top 6 and one other team in this metric, called Defensive Coasting Factor (DCF), are as follows:

Team	DCF	Rank
Ohio State	1421.25	1
Clemson	868.32	2
Cincinnati	659.44	3
LSU	641.04	4
Utah	607.20	5
Alabama	530.24	6
Michigan	-56.08	71

While the numbers involved are large (well, some of them are), the adjustments they precipitate in our analysis are moderate. Nevertheless, this analysis shows the same thing that the deeper analysis of the offense showed. The Buckeyes' stats are hurt by taking it easy on vanquished opponents (to a greater extent than for anyone in the nation for the defense), while the Skunk Bears are bullies who have yet to come up against the kid who can stand up to them.

But the DSA numbers show that TTUN is a team to be respected, bully or no. What is clear is that they have not yet played a team that can put an end to the bullying. But is there something hiding in the numbers that we CAN learn from the teams they've played?

Another Explanation

And there it is, our favorite question, "Who have they played?"

In the case of That Team Up North, that question can be divided into parts. One, have they played a team the quality of the Buckeyes so far? Obviously not, but neither have the Buckeyes played a team as good as the skunk bears (not my term, I swear). The other part of the question is more about the type of teams faced than the quality of them. So of the teams that TTUN has faced, what quality gave them the biggest issues? It turns out that the numbers tell you the same thing that your eyes do. balanced teams are the skunk bears' Achilles Heal.

As with any other term, we have to define "balanced" carefully. In this case, let's not just look at balance based on regular stats, which can be skewed based on who you've played, but based rather on differential stats. When ranking teams based on their offensive balance using differential stats, Ohio State is the 4th most balanced team in the country, meaning that their Differential Passing Offense and Differential Passing Efficiency have similar rankings to their Differential Rushing Offense and Differential Yards Per Carry. That's good, but as with Defensive Coasting Factor, we need to analyze this to determine who is both balanced AND powerful. One of the teams ranked higher than the Buckeyes in Balance is Eastern Michigan, who is very well balanced, and also very bad at both running and passing. Among the top 15 most balanced teams, only 3 apart from the Buckeyes (Alabama, Penn State and Georgia), are also top 10 offensive teams, and Ohio State is actually significantly better than those 3, despite their high rankings as there is a very steep drop off from the best offenses to the rest of the top 10, and Ohio State is the only elite offense with elite balance.

Where this becomes relevant is when you start comparing defenses based on how well they handle balanced teams. By boiling balance down to a number and comparing each team's game-by-game results, we can come up with a number like Rigidity, but with a twist. Where Rigidity measures how well a team holds up against better competition, and Defensive Coasting Factor measures how much your stats are hurt by blowing teams out, our new number (Balance Rigidity for lack of a better term) measures how well a team holds up against more balanced competition. So where do the skunk bears (again, not my term) rank in terms of this metric? This is what this is all about right? We see that the Buckeyes are very balanced, so how well does TTUN stack up against balanced teams?

Their Balance Rigidity is -57.045, which ranks 128 out of 131 FBS teams.

128....

As in, only Louisiana Tech, Washington State, and South Alabama are worse by this metric.

Yes, TTUN is 4th from the bottom in holding it together against balanced teams, and Ohio State is 4th from the top in balance, but let's keep this in perspective. This is still the top scoring offense (vs FBS teams) against the top scoring defense (vs FBS teams). This is as much about Ohio State getting back to the potential they showed earlier in the season as it is about balance, but when it comes to balance, the numbers speak loud and clear: Few teams have more issues vs balanced teams than TTUN, and NO ONE combines balance with powerful offense like the Buckeyes do.

It Gets Better

So who was the most balanced team that TTUN faced? That's just it: by numbers Penn State is the most balanced team they faced (and UM did well), but anyone who watched both of the Nittany Lions' games against the participants of The Game can tell you that PSU was a total no-show against TTUN. They were awful on every level; they played much better against the Buckeyes. If you eliminate the game vs PSU as the aberration it was, then TTUN's Balance Rigidity goes down to -72.842.

This is a good defense, but their only opportunity to play a balanced offense came against an offense that didn't show up. If the Buckeyes don't similarly pull a complete no-show, look for them to use a balanced attack to score well beyond the DSA prediction.

Go Bucks
Hang 100

Game #3 in Maui is vs the Red Raiders of TT

Column: What I am grateful for heading into The Game
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

There sure is a lot to be thankful for surrounding this Buckeye football team, especially during rivalry week leading up to The Game.

Rivalry Week is officially upon us... as well as Thanksgiving (I think The Game might be a bigger holiday). This week is a time to pause and reflect on all that we are grateful for this year. Buckeye fans are supremely blessed with an 11-0 season, filled with breakout players and dominant wins. That all culminates on Saturday.

Here is a list of what I am thankful for as we head into The Game.

1. Home Field Advantage

Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

How painful was it to hear “Pump it Up” after every single touchdown at The Big House last year? Six dreadful times of hearing that song along with the crowd going absolutely bananas. I am extremely grateful that this year, if the Shoe’s DJ decides to be petty and plays it, it will be for a Buckeye TD and not a Wolverine one.

If it isn’t played, I will be equally as happy. That song permanently scarred me. It is such an advantage that in one of the most important games in the series history, it will be played in Columbus. The Buckeyes have definitely had their fair share of struggles on the road this season with Penn State, Northwestern and Maryland. However, they are dominant at home.

Personally, this will be my first ever Ohio State-Michigan game that I am attending. I am ecstatic. The stadium was electric during the Penn State game last year and the Notre Dame game this year, but I expect the crowd to be dialed up about 10 notches. It’s going to be loud and there’s going to be a lot of scarlet. Buckeyes- 1, Wolverines- 0.

2. Dallan Hayden

Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Obviously, I am thankful for everyone in the running back room. However, Hayden is stepped up big time when needed, especially against Maryland this past Saturday. It seems like either Miyan Williams or TreVeyon Henderson is out every week, making Hayden the backup. He has gotten a lot more snaps than initially anticipated this season, but he has made the most with the time he has gotten on the field.

It is nice to have him as a security blanket. Unfortunately, there seems to be a theme of a starting running back getting injured each week, and the other starter has to shoulder the majority of the load. That’s where Hayden comes in to share some of the snaps, and experiencing massive success while doing so. I feel like he will be a major key in The Game.

3. Marvin Harrison Jr.

Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images

I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. He’s the GOAT. He should be the Biletnikoff Award recipient. He’s been damn near perfect all year long. However, last Saturday’s game revealed why he is even more important than we think.

He’s clearly the best weapon on the team, making amazing plays for positive yardage and averaging one touchdown per game. However, he was being heavily defended against Maryland, even more so than usual, limiting him to just 68 receiving yards. This isn’t entirely a bad thing. When he gets double teamed, it frees up the other receivers to make great plays, as demonstrated by Emeka Egbuka on Saturday. This team is full of talent, and honestly, Marv makes a lot of great things possible.

4. A hungry defense in need of some food (I think Wolverine is their favorite)

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

This defense is READY!! This is the moment they have been training for all season long. They have skyrocketed in terms of their improvement, and this game I expect them to ball out. They are going to be amped up, they are going to jump from the line of scrimmage in search of someone wearing maize and blue to take down to the ground.

I see J.T. Tuimoloau and Tommy Eichenberg having big games. Eichenberg has been here before, so his leadership will be invaluable. Tuimoloau I think is just ready to erupt, and this will be the perfect opportunity. Yes, the defense had a bit of a blip against Maryland, but I think that was an anomaly. Will there be some nerves, and as a result some penalties? Probably. But I believe the good will outweigh the bad in this case, and their energy will be to their advantage.

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Column: Come on, where’s our petty Jim Harbaugh?
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

It’s only a matter of time.

Two decades ago, when Jim Tressel and Lloyd Carr faced off against one another, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry was perhaps the classiest in all of sports. The two coaches never showed anything but the utmost respect for one another. And while other rivalries like the now defunct Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia or the Miami (FL) vs. Florida State games of old often resulted in fisticuffs, such occasions didn’t feel as common in the days of yore for the Buckeyes.

Then came the series of unfortunate events for Michigan that was Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke that eventually led to Jim Harbaugh, and the concurrent transition from Tressel to Urban Meyer and, finally, to Ryan Day.

And here we are, in 2022.

Things feel different now. But perhaps it’s just the passage of time and the warmth of nostalgia that makes me yearn for the rivalry of yore. Regardless, the rivalry we see today, from a coaching perspective, shows two men who are not fans of each other and don’t try to hide it.


That disdain may be because the pair are so different. Day is kind of a boring coach, all things considered. Obviously he has a great mind for coaching, but he’s about as anti-drama as they come. Generally, he’s calm, cool, collected and logical. It’s what made moments like his near-fight with Greg Schiano earlier this season so wild.

Harbaugh is Day’s foil. He is eccentric and, at times, downright absurd. See challenging a walrus to a pushup contest, having a sleepover at a recruit’s house and his obsession with milk. And that’s not even getting into the whole thing with his khakis. He’s a distraction in and of himself, and seemingly can’t get through a presser without either a weird or disparaging comment.

(We should give credit where credit is due: Harbaugh’s eccentricity is in many ways a shield for his players. As much as he’s blamed refs, opposing coaches and others for Michigan’s shortcomings, that blame has never publicly fallen on his players, which is more than can be said for a lot of coaches. Looking at you, Brian Kelly.)

Those personalities show themselves in perceptions of Ohio State and Michigan. Ohio State has a ton of flash (think Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Louis Vuitton cleats), but Day is very much the anchor behind the scene that keeps his stars flashing at their flashiest. When we think of the faces of Ohio State football, Day is probably not even in your top five.

On the other sideline, Harbaugh is Michigan’s brand all by himself — he’s undoubtedly the face and name that comes to mind when you think of Wolverine football.

Of course these opposites would clash over time. We all have that person who gets under our skin. For Day, that person is Harbaugh. For Harbaugh, it’s pretty much anyone who crosses his path, including Day. Seriously, he just doesn’t have the patience to maintain positive relationships with many opposing coaches, players and officials. See here and here for examples.

For Day, that frustration boiled over in 2020 during a Big Ten coaches conference call, when Harbaugh interrupted Day while he was speaking to accuse Day of breaking rules. Day responded by telling Harbaugh to worry about his own team while Day worried about Ohio State. Later that week, Day famously told his team they’d hang 100 on the Wolverines. (That was in 2020 and Michigan backed out of the regular season finale due to COVID). It was reminiscent of that time Woody Hayes said “because I couldn’t go for three” in response to why he went for a two-point conversion against his rivals in 1968, but without any of the genial ribbing.

For Harbaugh, things came to a head with Day in 2021 when he made his now worn statement: “Sometimes, people that are standing on third base think they hit a triple.” The words came in the post-game presser after, *gulp* Ohio State fell on the road to the Wolverines and, while not said directly in reference to Day, were a clear statement about the well-oiled program Day inherited from Meyer.

Neither of these statements was kind hearted or friendly needling. Both were incredibly mean spirited.

When asked in his Monday presser about Ohio State and Ryan Day, Harbaugh deflected the question and even said there was “No need to hate.” It’s a break from the drama we’ve grown accustomed to.

But it’s still early in the week, and Harbaugh has time.

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