TTUN post-mortem

[Nati-Toledo Bucks]

"one loss doesn't define us" is a problem in and of itself.

It's back to back losses in the exact same way to your biggest rival. It's refusing to run when you have giant lanes to run in for a first down. It's making a bad throw because you retreat in the pocket instead of being willing to take a hit to deliver a good ball. It's your coach struggling to consistently move the ball against average defenses for several weeks and then coming out and doing the the exact same thing against the best defense you're going to play all year.

The idea that the defining is based on one loss is the exact lack of self-awareness that causes situations like this.

thats all I’ve been trying to say..u cannot make that statement after going 0-2 the last 2 years..I’m not gonna bash stroud..just won’t do it. Great kid..but Fields, Troy, Braxton etc is gonna make things happens to make sure they left no doubt rather it be extending plays on the ground, etc. literally lanes where u can get 8+ yards on broken plays he just won’t do it. It’s frustrating.

 

[Jake]

I've been as salty and upset about this as anyone on here. But I think people are not understanding what CJ meant. I don't think he meant "The Michigan Game does not define us", I think he meant "this one loss does not define us". Big difference there

There are losses and then there's getting your doors blown off in the second half by TTUN in The Shoe. Big difference there, too.

 

[JCOSU86]

There are losses and then there's getting your doors blown off in the second half by TTUN in The Shoe. Big difference there, too.

Sure. And while that's 100% true, I don't think that's the point. I don't think he was minimizing this loss, he was just not letting it define them going forward. I heard him say he would be remembered as 0-2 to dUMb, and I'm sure it wasn't what he wanted. Just my thoughts.

But a rematch with dUMb - it is VERY hard to beat a good team 2 times in 1 year. I remember back in the day, Nebraska beat Oklahoma (after many failures in that rivalry) and won the Big 8 and got the berth in the Orange Bowl, then their championship bowl. The bastards invited Oklahoma to be the other team setting up a rematch. The Sooners won costing Nebraska a National Championship. Food for thought.

 

[Buckeneye]

CJ is the first OSU QB to lose back-to-back versus TTUN in over 20 years. It's not entirely his fault - that's not my point - but for him to say what he did after the second loss tells me the importance of The Game is lost on him. How is that possible? Who is not making that clear to him? More importantly, how many other players agree with him?

The guys who played for Tressel would have never said that, nor would Urban's guys. They understood the importance. Not just the game itself, but how winning or losing that game impacts every other goal you had for the season.

"Attitude reflects leadership"

I think he meant "this one loss does not define us". Big difference there

The only problem is, in a vacuum he might be correct, but looking at the body of work over a career - either interpretation then becomes wildly off the mark.

Not to single out C.J. either, as I said above with the leadership quote. But the QB takes the face of the team and he has given us words that are difficult to spin in a positive light, not the other way around.

 

[buckeyemania11]

One loss DOES define you though when its a second straight beating in the biggest game of the year against your rival. With a trip to the conference title game and the CFP on the line.

 

[JCOSU86]

"Attitude reflects leadership"



The only problem is, in a vacuum he might be correct, but looking at the body of work over a career - either interpretation then becomes wildly off the mark.

Not to single out C.J. either, as I said above with the leadership quote. But the QB takes the face of the team and he has given us words that are difficult to spin in a positive light, not the other way around.

I see it as "we aren't quitting because of this loss, we're regrouping and being who we can be". Maybe that's a lot to read into it. But saying "that was a complete organizational failing from top to bottom" isn't going to help.

 

[sg86]

I see it as "we aren't quitting because of this loss, we're regrouping and being who we can be". Maybe that's a lot to read into it. But saying "that was a complete organizational failing from top to bottom" isn't going to help.

I don't think it's as much about the response to the loss as it is how the statement shows the mindset going into the game. Basically, if your response afterward is akin to "it's just one game" that kinda tells the whole story. It's not just another game. And treating it as such says a lot to some people about why they haven't shown up two years in a row.

 

[Buckeneye]

I see it as "we aren't quitting because of this loss, we're regrouping and being who we can be". Maybe that's a lot to read into it. But saying "that was a complete organizational failing from top to bottom" isn't going to help.

I think both can be true in his words, and at the same time no less.

 

[Buckeye doc]

With the decent amount of time CJ usually had to throw, either he couldn't find anyone open or had to force into really tight windows. Was scUM just totally ready for every route the receivers ran and covered them perfectly, receivers ran bad/lazy routes, or what? That seemed weird to me. In years past Day was excellent at scheming guys open. It seems defenses have figured that out, it wasn't just vs. scUM we saw that this year. Especially in the 2nd half of the season. I've talked myself into believing Day needs an OC who calls the plays. My preference would be someone currently outside the program for that outsider perspective.

 

[JCOSU86]

I don't think it's as much about the response to the loss as it is how the statement shows the mindset going into the game. Basically, if your response afterward is akin to "it's just one game" that kinda tells the whole story. It's not just another game. And treating it as such says a lot to some people about why they haven't shown up two years in a row.

I'm not sure why I'm defending this, but I really don't think that's what he said or meant. I mean, what the fuck do you want him to say? "Yeah, this game destroyed us and we should just quit"? They asked him what was his legacy going to be at OSU and he said he will be remembered as being 0-2 against dUMb. He also said he did everything he could to win the game.

Listen, I was (and still am) livid about this fucking game. On Saturday i wanted to punch a smug Michigan fuck right in the face. Even that drunk chick in the gif. (Maybe especially?) but goddamn, I really don't think he meant "it's just one game". They need to regroup, win their bowl game or, if they're lucky enough, get ready for revenge in the CFP. They need to move forward. I think that's what he's saying. I'm not sure what's wrong with that.

 

[Elephant]

You play in big games...you better have the majority of your guys balling out. My fear these last two years (Michigan game mainly) is we have guys that are playing career worst games. Our best players...are not stepping up in that moment. You can call it coaching but I tend to view it being somewhere in the middle.

 

[sg86]

I'm not sure why I'm defending this, but I really don't think that's what he said or meant. I mean, what the fuck do you want him to say? "Yeah, this game destroyed us and we should just quit"? They asked him what was his legacy going to be at OSU and he said he will be remembered as being 0-2 against dUMb. He also said he did everything he could to win the game.

Listen, I was (and still am) livid about this fucking game. On Saturday i wanted to punch a smug Michigan fuck right in the face. Even that drunk chick in the gif. (Maybe especially?) but goddamn, I really don't think he meant "it's just one game". They need to regroup, win their bowl game or, if they're lucky enough, get ready for revenge in the CFP. They need to move forward. I think that's what he's saying. I'm not sure what's wrong with that.

It is what it is. There's really not much he could've said honestly. And in a vacuum, I don't think what he said would be a big deal. I think it's a combination of things and the statement was the last straw. A lot of people see a guy who never seems to energize or galvanize his team. The only time he really ever emotes is when he's got his head down moping. He's not willing to run for tough yards. He's not willing to step into the pocket and risk getting hit. All of that stuff is frustrating to a lot of people and when you come out and make a statement like "one game doesn't define us" or "I did everything I could" it's like the cherry on top of the underachievement sundae.

I was upset at first but with a couple days to think on it, he's just not the guy. He's a good person. He's talented. He's just not the guy mentally. Doesn't make him a bad person. Doesn't mean he didn't do everything he could in his own mind. It just means that being a rally the troops kind of guy and/or putting his body on the line for the team are just not things he's interested at all in doing, so to him, he did everything he was willing to do to win. We got spoiled seeing guys like JT, Fields, Braxton and even Cardale, who had no fear. Those guys left everything they had on the field. Stroud's just not that guy no matter how bad everybody might hope that he can be and it's just difficult to have to come to grips with that for some.

 

[brodybuck21]

You play in big games...you better have the majority of your guys balling out. My fear these last two years (Michigan game mainly) is we have guys that are playing career worst games. Our best players...are not stepping up in that moment. You can call it coaching but I tend to view it being somewhere in the middle.

urbans quote....

"when i needed you the very most....you did your best"

 

[Jaxbuck]

urbans quote....

"when i needed you the very most....you did your best"

Day's quote:

"or not"

 

[Bucklion]

I'm not sure why I'm defending this, but I really don't think that's what he said or meant. I mean, what the fuck do you want him to say? "Yeah, this game destroyed us and we should just quit"? They asked him what was his legacy going to be at OSU and he said he will be remembered as being 0-2 against dUMb. He also said he did everything he could to win the game.

Listen, I was (and still am) livid about this fucking game. On Saturday i wanted to punch a smug Michigan fuck right in the face. Even that drunk chick in the gif. (Maybe especially?) but goddamn, I really don't think he meant "it's just one game". They need to regroup, win their bowl game or, if they're lucky enough, get ready for revenge in the CFP. They need to move forward. I think that's what he's saying. I'm not sure what's wrong with that.

Context is important, and he's a player, not a coach, so that has to factor in to what I am about to say. But, unfortunately, those words will get spread like wildfire in this day and age, and when they do, it brings all of the negativity into play like:

"He's a SoCal kid, of course he doesn't get it".
"There's what the 'get 5* recruits nationwide instead of caring about Ohio kids' gets you"
"No one wants to hear 'but I beat Notre Dame and Penn State'. No one cares."
"It's obvious the players are treating Ohio State like an NFL farm system and don't care like we do."
"It's obviously just another game to them now."
"NIL has made them soft. They don't care about winning rivalry games any more than the pros do anymore."
"There's no school pride."
"Dill pickles are too spicy for them."
"It's obvious this team supports no-touch icing."
and on and on and on...

Now, many of those things I just listed above we heard versions of at the end of the Cooper era, and if Day had said any of them, he would be getting rightly crucified. Given that it's a kid who just played and took a shitload more bumps than I did, I think he should get a great deal more benefit of the doubt. But it's a good lesson for all of them that you have to watch what you say very carefully, and even how you say it, particularly when it comes to this game. Because even if he does think that the 2 games don't define him...to a lot of people in Columbus, it absolutely will. Right or wrong, he'll be on the Bellisari wall, not the Troy/JT/CJ/Fields/Haskins wall.