This is the sort of loss that makes you question everything. On one hand, I feel for Nick Myers. I really do. Three games ago, things were doing okay. Now, it's going to take a bit of a miracle to make it as an at-large.
Why do I say that? Today's game was a microcosm of the season, and post-2017 era, as a whole.
Like a cartoon dam ready to burst, there's always a hole that appears in the Buckeye team just when things are looking okay. Coming into the season, faceoffs looked like a lock to be the Buckeyes strongest phase. And somehow it's become one of the weakest. Today was abysmal. The unit was 12-28, and Inacio went 0-5. That's a preseason All-American candidate, the winningest FOGO in OSU history, flat out getting blanked.
That's not the staff's fault. You recruited a 5-star player, developed him, watched him thrive, brought him back for a 5th year against all odds, and now he can't compete. How do you fix that?
The most vital part of the Buckeye gameplan is dominating ball possession via faceoffs. Without that, the team is DOA. And magically, faceoff wins are like four-leaf clovers for OSU.
The rest of the trampling is 100% on the staff. The upperclassmen did a little scoring, but teams know the formula to stopping Ohio State. I put it in the preview. Stop Jack Myers, you stop the Buckeyes. With just two assists today, Rutgers bottled up the Buckeyes' best player. And the offense fell apart.
Ohio State scored 7 goals on 31 shots. The Buckeyes were -16 in shot differential. The shots that landed on net didn't go in, as Colin Kirst absolutely smothered the Buckeyes with 12 saves. That's recruiting. Both high school and transfer portal.
With 3 different offensive coordinators in 3 years, and terrible recruiting, Ohio State laid the foundation for what's currently plaguing the program. Landing poles, offensive players, and goalies has been brutally bad for Ohio State until the class of 2021. Even with rankings being a spotty judge of players, the Buckeyes shot themselves in the foot more than they found quality college stars.
So when you see an offense where no one can score, and nothing gets done despite seniors and super seniors starting at nearly every position, that's the underlying cause.
Rutgers lost the best offensive group in its history last off-season. Golden age players. And used the portal, plus a select few high school prospects, to completely reload. Their Jimmys and Joes are spectacularly better than Ohio State's in the offensive zone. And trust me when I tell you, Rutgers has none of the resources to offer that Ohio State does. Or the support.
That's on the staff. Getting paid 500k a year to get the doors blown off your squad by Rutgers isn't what the athletic department wants to see. Free stadium or no, you expect more out of your programs.
Yes, there are better players in the pipeline. Much better players. But we're not even seeing improvement from this squad from game to game. At what point is enough enough? It's getting embarrassing.
Friday's the annual shellacking by Penn State. April Fool's Day indeed.
Go Bucks.
