The Hodgepodge: Recapping Some Hard Truths About the Ohio State Loss to Michigan, Rivalry Week Brings out the Tempers, Four Power Four Jobs Open

By Garrick Hodge on December 2, 2024 at 11:48 am
Ryan Day
Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Welcome to The Hodgepodge.

There was very little doubt in my mind a week ago this column would start by recapping Ohio State’s triumphant return to the victory column against its archrival. Unfortunately, instead, we have to discuss some hard truths regarding the program. 

For the fourth consecutive year, Michigan bested the Buckeyes, winning a rock fight Saturday in Ohio Stadium. The Wolverines held OSU to 10 points, shut out the Buckeyes in the second half entirely and did not punt in the fourth quarter for the fourth straight year. I’ll repeat that because it’s an insane stat, Michigan has not been forced to punt against Ohio State in The Game in the fourth quarter since 2019.

The past three defeats didn’t sting any less than the one suffered Saturday, but you could at least explain them away. Michigan was a College Football Playoff team in each of those seasons and was also mired in a very public sign-stealing scandal. 

Saturday’s loss is flat-out indefensible. 

Ohio State had a clearly superior roster and was a three-touchdown favorite entering the game. Michigan stars Colston Loveland and Will Johnson missed the contest with injuries. The Wolverines had little prayer of moving the ball consistently against Jim Knowles’ defense. 

And yet, they left Columbus with a win nonetheless, their first road win of the season. Not because they benefited from a cheating scandal this time, or because of plain bad luck. 

Nah, the main culprit here is coaching malpractice. 

There was essentially one path for the Wolverines to leave Ohio Stadium with a win. Ryan Day and Chip Kelly’s offensive game plan played right into it. The Buckeyes ran in between the tackles 14 times by my count Saturday. Why OSU would willingly opt to run the ball up the gut with an offensive line marred by injuries against Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, two guys who are probably going to be first-round draft picks this spring, we might never know. 

Especially when you have Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Emeka Egbuka to deploy against a Wolverines secondary that had been suspect without Johnson. Day tried to defend the strategy postgame by saying he didn’t want to abandon the run (despite averaging three yards per carry) and that the wind made throwing conditions more challenging. Only Day knows this for sure, but it sure felt like he was trying to win the game a certain way rather than just playing to Ohio State’s strengths to win the game.

The wind didn’t seem to bother Ohio State much running a two-minute drill to close out the first half, when the Buckeyes went up-tempo and had the Wolverines all out of sorts, eventually resulting in a Smith touchdown. The sped-up air raid had Michigan on its heels, so it was incredibly puzzling why Kelly and Day didn’t go back to that once the entire second half. At the very least, if the conditions played a factor, it’s puzzling why there weren’t more plays called that focused on the perimeter, since running outside was where OSU’s running game was most effective. 

There were other contributing factors to the defeat besides coaching, of course. Jayden Fielding had a day he’ll likely want to permanently scrub from his memory, missing two chip shot field goals. OSU had other special teams miscues, such as TreVeyon Henderson’s misplay on a kickoff return which resulted in the Buckeyes starting the second half from their own six-yard line.

Will Howard also picked a bad time for his worst career game in a Buckeye uniform, as his costly turnover in the first half set up the Wolverines’ lone touchdown of the game. In defense of Howard, I don’t know that you can confidently say he was fully healthy after taking a big blow to the head in the first half. The Kansas State transfer, who has conducted himself with class since transferring to Columbus, took the brunt of the blame postgame and apologized profusely to fans afterward. 

That said, I still think he shouldn’t be the main one apologizing.  

Between the game plan and coaching mistakes such as not targeting Smith once in the final 25 minutes of game action and running 12 players on the field out of a timeout late in the game on 3rd-and-3, Day needs to bear the brunt of this defeat. And there’s no doubt he will.

Ohio State spotlight of the week: Ryan Day

This may be a weird thing to say following by far the worst loss of Day’s career, but he’s strangely fortunate right now. The College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams this season and Ohio State is safely in the inaugural 12-team field. 

If we were still under last season’s rules, the season would essentially be over, Ohio State would prepare for a New Year’s Six Bowl that would probably have a ton of opt-outs and Ross Bjork would have a tough call to make within 48 hours about Day’s future at Ohio State.

But this is not last year’s format. Ohio State is still in contention to win a national championship, even if that chance seems far-fetched to some given what we watched Saturday. Thus, he has a chance at redemption. 

In 2022, Day suffered a humiliating blowout defeat to Michigan at home, then rallied a month later and turned in arguably the best coaching performance of his Ohio State career, even if the Buckeyes eventually lost to Georgia by a point in the CFP semifinals. He’s going to have to do the same thing, but four times, this go-around. 

If you’re not an OSU fan, the prospect of potentially moving on from Day sounds downright insane, considering he’s 66-10 in his career. That gets you a statue and a lifetime suite at most institutions. But going 1-4 against Michigan at Ohio State is a recipe for turmoil, and nobody knows this better than Day himself. 

Earlier in the week, Day said losing to Michigan was probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to him in his life outside of the loss of his father. Unfortunately for Day and his family, they’re going to have to go through the nightmare all over again now. It’s the worst part of the job, and it’s hard to endure, regardless of how well he’s compensated. 

But this is also a cutthroat industry and Bjork will have an interesting decision on his hands if OSU’s postseason run is short-lived. Would the Buckeyes really have an appetite to pay a $37 million buyout with revenue-sharing expenses coming fast and furious to college athletics, plus pay a massive salary to a presumed new coach and foot a hefty NIL bill to do your best at retaining players? 

It’s tough to imagine the administration (and boosters) footing that bill for a coach that’s 66-10. But it’s even tougher to imagine the angst that will take over the fanbase if this $20 million roster that both Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel called one of the most talented teams they've ever seen is wasted. 

Sunday evening, Bjork publicly backed Day as OSU’s coach, but what he didn’t say is that Day would return to the Buckeyes in 2025 no matter what. If you read between the lines and decipher athletic director speak, it sure seems like he’s saying “we’ll see how the playoff goes and make a decision from there.” 

It’s a fascinating time for Ohio State, with the next month providing a wide range of outcomes for the future of the program. Day could shake off the loss and redeem himself in (most) fans’ eyes with a deep playoff run. Or, Bjork will have a major tenure-defining decision to make if the CFP run doesn’t go well.

Week 14 also had some other notable moments

  • Somehow I didn’t even touch on the brawl that ensued following game. Yours truly was on the field as it unfolded and yeah, it was every bit as ugly as reported on both sides. However much you think these teams hate each other, it’s probably safe to multiply that times two. I probably was better at self-preservation than I was at getting the money shot as a photographer during the whole debacle, but fortunately, I was not one of the unfortunate souls who caught a taste of pepper spray. If you want a complete recap of who did what following Michigan’s flag plant at midfield, Andy Anders did a tremendous job breaking everything down. Though I can't say I'm too up in arms about it when you know damn well FOX is going to cut a promo of it promoting next year's game about how heated the rivalry is and the Big Ten fined each program $100,000 (essentially the equivalent to a field storming fine in the SEC) and called it a day.
  • The OSU vs. Michigan brawl got the most attention nationally because of the brands of the two programs, but this was one of around 10 postgame skirmishes that broke out during rivalry weekend. North Carolina and North Carolina State, along with Florida State and Florida, also sparred with each other following a flag plant. Missouri and Arkansas players got into it. Texas and Texas A&M players were on the verge of it happening until the situation was defused at the 11th hour. In short, if the NCAA wants to stop these postgame tempers from heating up, they may have to make a rule penalizing teams for flag-planting. Though the best way to prevent it from happening is winning on the field. 
  • Penn State took advantage of Ohio State’s letdown Saturday, dismantling Maryland 44-7 at home to clinch a Big Ten Championship Game berth. Maryland coach Mike Locksley was agitated at James Franklin for throwing a touchdown pass with his backups with four seconds remaining, but I thought Franklin gave a pretty good reasoning for approaching it the way he did afterward.
  • Oregon secured the only undefeated regular season in the FBS by earning revenge against Washington and dismantling the Huskies 49-21.
  • Texas nearly played with its food at the end, but grinded out a 17-7 victory over hated in-state rival Texas A&M and earned an SEC Championship berth.
  • It seems like it happened a week ago, but Georgia continued its streak of being maddeningly inconsistent this season, engaging in a brass-knuckle fight with Georgia Tech that took eight overtimes to decide. The Bulldogs survived despite trailing 17-0 at halftime, somehow, and now will enter the SEC championship guaranteed a playoff spot. On that note, I understand why the NCAA changed the rule format to limit the number of plays possible in a game, but there’s gotta be a better way to determine an outcome than the football equivalent of penalty kicks, no?
  • Iowa beat Nebraska in the most Iowa way possible: Forcing a fumble with less than a minute left in regulation, then kicking a 53-yard field goal to win a 13-10 contest despite being outgained 334-164 by the Cornhuskers.
  • The scoreboard says Notre Dame defeated USC by three touchdowns, but don’t be fooled, the Trojans were driving deep into Fighting Irish territory with less than four minutes remaining in a one-possession game. Then, this pick-six happened. Followed by another on the next series. Nonetheless, Notre Dame is headed to the College Football Playoff and will be one of the four teams hosting a first-round game.
  • Miami potentially had its season ruined by former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord (more on him later) in a loss that kept the Hurricanes out of the ACC Championship Game and gave a 9-3 Clemson team new life. By the way, Miami blew a 21-0 lead.
  • Indiana beat Purdue so badly it became the most lopsided game in the history of the Old Oaken Bucket Game, 66-0. Considering Curt Cignetti’s boys scored with less than two minutes to play, I have a pretty good inkling of why he didn’t get too upset when OSU ran up the score on him two weeks ago.
  • Arizona State and Iowa State secured spots in the Big 12 title game with wins. Both of these programs would make for fun Cinderella stories in the College Football Playoff, you can’t go wrong rooting for either one.
  • UNLV and Boise State each picked up wins and will have a rematch in the Mountain West Championship on Friday. It would be pretty shocking if the winner of that game didn’t end up going to the CFP.
  • Tulane blew its shot at entering the Group of Five playoff bid discussion by falling to Memphis 34-24 on Thursday.
  • South Carolina secured a rivalry win against Clemson, and now the Gamecocks are firmly on the CFP bubble with Alabama, Ole Miss and Miami all in contention for the final at-large spot. I guess we’ll see how the committee views each on Tuesday.
  • Despite trailing 17-0, Tennessee rallied to beat in-state rival Vanderbilt 36-23. The Volunteers all but locked up a playoff spot, and they just might be Ohio State’s opponent in round one.
  • In somewhat disappointing fashion, the Iron Bowl was a bit of a snoozer despite Alabama turning the ball over four times. The Crimson Tide were never really pushed to the brink and won 28-14.

Week 14 had some fun moments

  • Day deserves every piece of scrutiny thrown his way for the indefensible gameplan in the Michigan loss and it’s fully fair to question his job security heading into the College Football Playoff. That said, even in defeat, I think he deserves recognition for his class act of ensuring Ohio State radio announcer Jim Lachey had a private flight back to Columbus after attending his son’s final collegiate game at Iowa on Friday night, ensuring his streak of calling OSU games stretched out to 358. 
  • This is probably bad defense more than anything, but somehow Duke walked off Wake Forest on a wide-open 40-yard bomb with eight seconds left. Hell of a season from Manny Diaz and Duke by the way, going 9-3. Even better than the 8-5 performance from a year ago that landed Mike Elko the Texas A&M job.
  • Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love hurdled the hell out of a poor USC defender on Saturday and this angle is pretty awesome.
  • Considering Nebraska captains refused to shake Iowa captains’ hands in the pregame coin toss, I love star Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins being petty enough to spring to Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule following the win and ensure he got a handshake. Hilarious.
  • The good vibes didn’t last the whole day, but Vanderbilt taking the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Tennessee was pretty cool. 
  • It’s that time of the year where we’re seeing players do snow angels following touchdowns.
  • Pretty fun interception pulled off by Tennessee.
  • We all love some MACtion where the first points of the game come on a safety from a blocked punt.
  • Fun snag here by Boston College wideout Reed Harris.

Week 14 had some wacky things, too

  • Where else but college football would you see a man holding a dog while riding a longhorn to the Texas vs. Texas A&M game? Apparently the cops stopped them from getting too much further, though.
  • Uh, that’s not very sportsmanlike, Notre Dame.
  • North Carolina wasn’t having North Carolina State trying to plant its flag on the Tar Heels’ field, either.
  • An Arizona assistant coach headbutted one of his players trying to pump him up while the player was wearing a helmet. If this is the Wildcats’ coaching strategy, it explains a lot why they lost 49-7.
  • Somehow, this wasn’t called a hold against Georgia.
  • Stanford forced two fumbles in one play and eventually returned the second for a touchdown. 
  • Miami wideout Jacolby George got his foot caught in the field goal netting while trying to catch a touchdown pass. Can’t say I’ve seen that one before.
  • Things got a little chippy in the Iron Bowl.
  • In case you were wondering, planting a trident brings out the same feelings from the opposing team that planting a flag does.
  • We’ve got Florida State head coach Mike Norvell getting involved in the Florida vs. Florida State scuffle by throwing a Florida flag. 
  • This young man probably had his heart racing through his chest at this moment.
  • If you can, describe to me what happens on this play.
  • A very inexplicable safety taken here by Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson.
  • BYU at least gave Colorado a flash of hope for a second by having the worst execution of a reverse we’ve seen in a while. 
  • I normally don’t comment too much on FCS happenings, mainly because I don’t want to make this column too broad, but I have to share this ridiculous stat line from Southeast Missouri State quarterback Paxton DeLaurent in a playoff game against Illinois State: 48-of-85 (!) passing for 557 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions. His team lost the game by a touchdown, in case you were wondering.

Former Buckeye of the week 

Week 14 former Buckeye of the week: Kyle McCord, Syracuse

Since I’m allowing repeats for the first time on rivalry weekend, who else would it be? The former Ohio State gunslinger absolutely torched Miami and put the Hurricanes’ playoff hopes on life support, completing 26 of 36 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns.

It wasn’t very fun for Buckeye fans to see that the same week OSU’s offense went absolutely lifeless against Michigan, especially when McCord said “everything comes full circle” when asked about it postgame. If one wanted to debate that argument, you could look at McCord’s stats in Syracuse’s three losses this season and it might tell a different tale. But for this week, there’s no doubt McCord’s play backed up his smack talk. 

Past results

Week Zero former Buckeye of the week: Mason Arnold, LS, Florida State
Week One former Buckeye of the week: Evan Pryor, RB, Cincinnati
Week Two former Buckeye of the week: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Week Three former Buckeye of the week: Mookie Cooper, WR, Missouri
Week Four former Buckeye of the week: Julian Fleming, WR, Penn State
Week Five former Buckeye of the week: Noah Rogers, WR, North Carolina State
Week Six former Buckeye of the week: Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse
Week Seven former Buckeye of the week: Joe Royer, TE, Cincinnati
Week Eight former Buckeye of the week: Cameron Martinez, DB, Boston College
Week Nine former Buckeye of the week: Bryson Shaw, S, USC
Week 10 former Buckeye of the week: Enokk Vimahi, G, Washington
Week 11 former Buckeye of the week: Reid Carrico, LB, West Virginia
Week 12 former Buckeye of the week: Parker Lewis, K, Arizona State
Week 13 former Buckeye of the week: Jesse Mirco, P, Vanderbilt

Games of the week

We’re probably going to do a separate piece for picking all of the bowl games, so we’re guaranteed to finish at least with a .500 record for the season. Huzzah? In any case, it’s championship weekend so screw it, let’s pick 'em all.

Week 14 record: 4-4
Overall record: 54-45

CFP Stakes

Big Ten

Penn State at Oregon, 8 p.m. Saturday on CBS

Pick: Oregon -3.5

Breakdown: I lowkey was a little shocked Oregon only opened as a 3.5-point favorite against the Nittany Lions. This is a massive game for Penn State, do you really, really think I’m picking Big Game James to cover here? Hell no.

SEC

Texas at Georgia, 4 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Pick: Texas -3

Breakdown: Perhaps this is a foolish endeavor considering what happened the last time these two teams played, but I hate how Georgia is finishing down the stretch and think Texas has built some momentum. It’s also very difficult to beat a team twice.

ACC

Clemson at SMU, 8 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Pick: SMU -2.5

Breakdown: Nobody is excited about the prospect of this massively disappointing Clemson team competing for a CFP spot, so call this a wish-casting pick more than anything. The tradeoff is this may let a three-loss SEC team into the final at-large spot for the CFP, but so be it.

Big 12

Iowa State at Arizona State, noon Saturday on ABC

Pick: Arizona State -2.5

Breakdown: I’m all aboard the Kenny Dillingham and Cam Skattebo hype train for this once. But honestly, both of these squads winning would be a tremendous story. Arizona State was literally picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll this summer, while Iowa State has won 10 games for the first time ever in program history. Someone gets to make a hell of a playoff appearance and I’m all for either one. But Skattebo will carry his team to a win on Saturday.

Mountain West

UNLV at Boise State, 8 p.m. Friday on FOX

Pick: Boise State -4

Breakdown: Boise State has looked mortal at times over the past month and UNLV played the Broncos closely the first go-around. But I just can’t bet against Ashton Jeanty when it matters most. With Tulane’s loss on Thursday, we’re pretty locked into the winner of this game getting guaranteed the Group of Five spot, I’d imagine.

No CFP stakes, just good clean conference pride

American Athletic Conference

Tulane at Army, 8 p.m. Friday on ABC

Pick: Tulane -4

Breakdown: The Green Wave had a massive letdown against Memphis last week, but I still think they’re the better team here. I wouldn’t be surprised if this prediction looks foolish considering Army’s offense is very unique to prepare for, though. 

Sun Belt

Marshall at Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Pick: Louisiana -3.5

Breakdown: I took this line while I could get it considering Marshall coach Charles Huff is rumored to be taking the vacant Southern Miss job and the announcement could come this week. That’s a hell of a distraction for a team in championship week. Does his Tudor’s Biscuits all-you-can-eat NIL deal extend to the South? Asking for a friend (Huff). 

Conference USA

Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State, 7 p.m. Friday on CBS Sports Network 

Pick: WKU +3.5

Breakdown: Somehow I realized I’ve been doing nothing but taking betting favorites all throughout these picks. Need to change it up to not give the impression I’m simply a frontrunner.

MAC

Ohio vs. Miami (OH), noon Saturday on ESPN

Pick: Ohio +2

Breakdown: I was probably going to pick the RedHawks here, but then realized I have several family ties to Ohio that would never leave me alone if I picked against the Bobcats, so I’m opting for peace of mind instead. They don’t call my picks science for nothing, folks.

Hot seat tracker

Well wouldn’t you know it, we have four Power Four conference jobs opening all of a sudden: North Carolina, Purdue, West Virginia and UCF. Three of those four became open due to a firing, while UCF coach Gus Malzahn took the Chip Kelly approach and left on his own accord to become an offensive coordinator at Florida State. Black Sunday in college football has come and gone, and perhaps some decisions could spill over into Monday. But for now, this could be a slow college football coaching carousel for the time being.

Things could get interesting later on for several schools of course. Maybe Ohio State opens up if the Buckeyes suffer an early CFP exit. Marcus Freeman and Dan Lanning have recently been connected to the NFL. And there could be more surprises along the way nobody expects, like a surprise retirement or two.

Once colleges have an understanding of what their finances look like once revenue sharing goes into place though, I have a feeling next year’s cycle will be much more active. We’re keeping track of the already fired coaches below, but also raise an eyebrow as to which coaches will be under pressure to deliver in 2025, in no particular order.

Already fired

  • Ryan Walters, Purdue
  • Neal Brown, West Virginia
  • Mack Brown, North Carolina
  • Mike MacIntyre, FIU
  • Mike Houston, East Carolina 
  • Will Hall, Southern Miss
  • Mike Bloomgren, Rice
  • Brian Bohannon, Kennesaw State
  • Stan Drayton, Temple
  • Mike Neu, Ball State
  • Kevin Wilson, Tulsa
  • Tom Herman, FAU
  • Biff Poggi, Charlotte
  • Jim McElwain, CMU (yeah, yeah he “retired” but come on)
  • Don Brown, UMass

Keeping an eye on these guys if they have bad years in 2025

  • Mike Locksley, Maryland
  • Dave Aranda, Baylor
  • Billy Napier, Florida
  • Ryan Day, Ohio State
  • Brent Venables, Oklahoma
  • Lincoln Riley, USC
  • Hugh Freeze, Auburn
  • Sherrone Moore, Michigan
  • Brian Kelly, LSU
  • Mike Norvell, Florida State
  • Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
  • Tony Elliott, Virginia
  • Brent Pry, Virginia Tech
  • Mike Norvell, Florida State
  • Brent Brennan, Arizona
  • Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
  • Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati
  • Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State
  • Mark Stoops, Kentucky
  • Sam Pittman, Arkansas

Hodgepodge Week 14 classifiers

In the CFP: Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Penn State

In a good spot, could make CFP even without win: SMU

Win and in, lose and out: Boise State, UNLV, Arizona State, Iowa State, Clemson

Rooting like hell for SMU to win and we’ll see how the committee views them Tuesday: Miami, Alabama, South Carolina, Ole Miss

Disastrous finish to the season: Texas A&M

Somehow won The Game for the fourth straight year: Michigan

Rushed the field because they won six games: Nebraska

Relieved they got bowl-eligible: Oklahoma, USC, Florida

Complete second-year disaster: Wisconsin

Big 12 spoiler but not bowl-eligible: Kansas

Coach got fired: North Carolina, Purdue, West Virginia

Coach left to be an offensive coordinator: UCF

Have clinched a bowl game but not going to the CFP: Colorado, BYU, Pittsburgh, Kansas State, LSU, Illinois, Missouri, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, Iowa, Louisville, Duke, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, TCU, South Carolina, North Carolina, Baylor, Washington, Rutgers, Boston College, Cal, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State

Below average: Virginia, Cincinnati, Auburn, Michigan State, Utah

No other way to say it, these teams stunk: Northwestern, Maryland, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Houston, Mississippi State, Florida State, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Stanford, UCLA

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