Four years ago Ohio State's season was at a crossroads.
The undefeated Buckeyes roared into Bloomington (affectionately known as Columbus West ever since college football was invented) that October following a 63-point performance against Nebraska, to pick up a W that has historically been handed over with little protest. They abruptly started their fullback - hey remember when Ohio State had a fullback? - at middle linebacker.
And then they allowed the Hoosiers to score seven touchdowns, which exceeded what Indiana scored on the Buckeyes during the entire 1960s. That 52-49 W came with plenty of protest, both at home and abroad. Something was definitely wrong. It was IU's season-high output. A road win felt like a loss.
One week later Ohio Stadium was pinked out for breast cancer awareness month with the mediocre Boilermakers in town. Purdue outgained Ohio State in virtually every category except for the final overtime score. Burgeoning legend Kenny Guiton led the Buckeyes to the tying touchdown and two-point conversion with just three seconds left as Braxton Miller was being evaluated in the hospital after leaving the field via ambulance.
The legend of Kenny G was born in October.
The home team held in the extra frame to preserve a narrow 29-22 win. A win felt like a loss, yet they would still finish the season 12-0 with momentum heading into 2013.
Yes, 2013. Three years ago Ohio State's season was at a crossroads.
The undefeated Buckeyes flew to Evanston that October for arguably the biggest game in Northwestern history. ESPN College Gameday was there. The Wildcats led by double-digits in the 2nd half before Carlos Hyde took over and led the visitors to a 40-30 victory over a team that would lose seven straight games.
The margin was padded by a backdoor cover touchdown from freshman Joey Bosa as time expired. Ohio State clinched a victory less due of game strategy and more because of National Signing Day.
The Buckeyes were stuck at #4 in the polls with other teams leapfrogging past and sliding behind them for two solid months of the season. Eventually the gaping holes in the defense were too much to overcome and they finished 2013 with two losses, the highest total of the Urban Meyer era.
But that month was especially spooky. As with the prior October, the Buckeyes either annihilated or barely squeaked by the competition. There was no middle ground and opponent quality barely mattered. Their roster would be rebuilt for 2014 with significant contributions from the sophomore class.
Yes, 2014. Two years ago Ohio State's season was at a crossroads.
A commanding 17-0 halftime lead at Beaver Stadium turned into a double-overtime win. When you look at the eventual national champions' season progression that date kind of jumps off the slate. The Buckeyes didn't face anyone in October that finished with a worse record than that Penn State team did. The players and coaches from that team have repeatedly insisted Penn State, not Virginia Tech, was the turning point of the season.
Ohio State clinched a victory less due of game strategy and more because of National Signing Day.
The dominating/struggling October dichotomy was now 3/3 under Meyer. Surely that streak would end in 2015 with an extremely tenured team, since everything in college football is static, predictable and easy to control.
Yes, 2015. One year ago Ohio State's season was at a crossroads.
It returned to Columbus West that October for the first time since 2012 and left town with a 31-27 victory that wasn't decided until the final play. It endured stretches of discomfort against Maryland and Penn State teams that you expected to lay down and die. It failed to find and embrace its identity - all year, not just during October - until it lost a month later.
Which brings us to this very moment. Your 7-1 Buckeyes, 44 freshmen among them, enter November having looked strikingly different by the end of October than they first did in September.
Ohio State wasn't impressive enough in a 21-point win over Indiana. It stumbled for a half in a win at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes fell apart at the worst possible moments in State College. Then they merely survived a Northwestern team that itself had just started to get hot.
Separation. It's on the schedule for November.
Its season is at a crossroads heading into November as is the custom, yet fans act like this October anxiety is a sudden, unexpected crisis when in reality it's a progression. Sometimes it emerges from October clicking and collects a bunch of trophies. Sometimes it falls apart in lousy weather or a white-out.
October is just enough time and tape for opponents to diagnose what a young team is trying to become. They make tough choices against Ohio State's largely raw talent, like what they will commit themselves to taking away versus what they'll concede in return. Kyle Jones has covered this extensively with emotional blinders on in the 11W Sober Content Section.
Indiana, Wisconsin, Penn State and Northwestern all used this strategy. Ohio State beat the Badgers with 2nd half adjustments. They lost to Penn State on account of growing pains and catastrophic special teams lapses. They won both the Indiana and Northwestern games in October as a direct result of beating them both badly on National Signing Day. That's not the worst fallback plan.
October has never been about cruise control. That's not how October or college football works - not this year; not any year. It's just enough time and tape for Ohio State's coaches to diagnose what their young team should and can become heading into the most important month of the season.
Now they can mature quickly and either emerge poised to secure greatness or fail to grow up and quietly circle the drain in the sad bathtub of squandered opportunities. October presents the same crisis every year. You're on the cusp of having tears, sweet or salty.
That crossroads that has showed up each season? It's hardwired into every schedule. And for some reason nobody ever seems to see it coming.
