THE SITUATIONAL: October Surprise
By
Ramzy Nasrallah on October 16, 2024 at 1:15 pm
@ramzy
© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Six walk-off drives against top 10 opponents in just five and a half seasons.
You cannot say Ohio State football has been boring under Ryan Day. He's averaged at least one game-ending parade-planner or pants-shitter
per season since taking control of the Ohio State football program. Ohio cardiologists have been on notice since 2019.
If mixed sports metaphors are too confusing,
walking off an opponent happens when the offense ends a game with its final possession. The Buckeyes are not just getting these moments every year - they are taking place in literally
every month. Those six walk-offs were in September (1) October (1) November (1) December (2) and January (1). This is Diversity and Inclusion.
The Day chatter post-Oregon has been stuck on his record in quote-unquote
big games but peel back the plaques and tangles wrapped around your smart parts and you'll realize it's deeper than that: Day has coached zero walk-off games against sub-top 10 opponents. Those are effectively over when the 4th quarter begins.
Most of the schedule, rightfully, is defeated on Signing Day - this is the perk of a privileged program. As a result, Day is 0-0 in walk-off opportunities against teams ranked lower than no.9 nationally. It's the games against the best that are scrutinized, and Day
said prior to the season the Buckeyes had to leave no doubt in those matchups this year.........
Here is a frame from each of those six walk-offs since 2019. Look at the scores and clocks.
Top L-R: 2019 CFP Semifinal final drive, 2022 Rose Bowl final drive, 2022 CFP Semifinal final drive. Bottom L-R: 2023 Notre Dame final drive, 2023 Michigan final drive, 2024 Oregon final drive.
Ohio State has the ball on the opponent's side of the field with seconds remaining every single time, it's the stuff childhood sports fantasies are made of. Short summaries:
- 2019 CFP Semifinal: Walk-off drive crushed by miscommunication between Justin Fields and Chris Olave resulting in an endzone interception (L)
- 2022 Rose Bowl: A shell-shocked Day called timeout eight seconds too early, ceding the walk-off and forcing another kickoff by Parker Fleming's special teams to a Utah return unit which had already housed one earlier in the game (W)
- 2022 CFP Semifinal: Abrupt puckering on what should have been a walk-off, squandering the final minute and settling for a long field goal attempt which landed in another zip code (L)
- 2023 Notre Dame: An epic final drive featuring a dropped interception and the Irish defense only sending 10 players onto the field for each of the final two snaps. Sometimes the pants-shitting is on the other sideline. Inexplicably, Ohio State attempted an untimed PAT after the touchdown and risked a game-tying block/return instead of kneeling on it (W)
- 2023 Michigan: Walk-off drive crushed by a Kyle McCord interception (L)
- 2024 Oregon: A walk-off drive and a high-percentage field goal were in play, but abruptly transformed into what was already the prevailing Day narrative in these opportunities - the consequence of leaving doubt (L)
Don't jump to the comments to defend
They Were One Play Away University just yet.
They Took a Top Five Team to the Brink University doesn't need your breathless defense.
They Were Right There and Got Unlucky University will continue to be a top five brand and beat every team it's supposed to without requiring a final at-bat.
The guy in charge talked extensively about Leaving No Doubt. He's right. Doubt has been unkind.
These bright lights are what coaches and dippy sportswriters alike insist are why Ohio State players choose Ohio State. The problem is the teams of the past six seasons have behaved the waning moments of those games like they're surprised to be there. Even in the two they didn't lose, the jitters were practically fluorescent.
The fear of screwing up trickles down. Last week Josh Fryar
spoke of how much he didn't like these types of games when he was chosen to speak to the media. Denzel Burke called Oregon
a big test to see where (he's) at, while during the same session saying he was built for games like this.
Burke was
the first player to say natty or bust back in March. Lathan Ransom, who had a couple of brutal whiffs including one on Dillon Gabriel's touchdown run talked to the media about
winning the perimeter and making open-field tackles. Gee Scott Jr. talked about toughness and the albatross hanging around his head coach's neck.
Despite losing at Oregon, the Buckeyes are in position to accomplish every goal which kept 11 NFL Draft-eligible players on campus for another season. But will Ohio State's coaches allow that to happen?
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