Five Things: Ohio State Makes It Three Straight Losses to Michigan

For the first time in 26 years, Ohio State has lost three in a row to Michigan after the Buckeyes dropped a 30-24 decision yesterday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

The defeat moved head coach Ryan Day to 1-3 in The Game as his offensive line and quarterback were inconsistent, the defense saw Michigan score on five of six possessions during one stretch and all four non-kneel down possessions in the second half, and special teams turned in its standard uneven performance.

To their credit, playing without head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines played to win and made the plays when it mattered most as acting head coach Sherrone Moore was the more aggressive play caller and decision maker.

With the loss, Ohio State must hope for chaos to have an outside shot a College Football Playoff berth with the Orange Bowl as the likely postseason reality.

We'll have plenty of time to discuss the postseason as the Buckeyes miss the Big Ten title game for the third year in a row but for now here are Five Things from a tough loss in the Big House.

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL

As Day examines what must change for 2024 in order to achieve the program's stated goals of beating Michigan, winning the Big Ten and earning a CFP bid and beyond, it's clear a change in oversight of Ohio State's special teams is in order.

Yesterday wasn't even the worst we've seen but entering games knowing the third phase will fail to match the opponent has gotten old.

While Michigan executed a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals including a 50-yarder and two in the fourth quarter of what was a 6-point win, Ohio State connected on 1-of-2 three-point tries. The miss was a long one, five yards beyond Jayden Fielding's season-long, which made the decision to even try it that much more curious.

In the punting game, Michigan's Tommy Domen averaged 52 yards across three boots with one dropping at the OSU 2-yard line near the end of the first half. Ohio State had to drive 64 yards just to get in fringe field goal range thanks to his effort.

Ohio State punter Jesse Mirco also punted three times but for an average of 36.7 yards. His two shortest, 34 and 33 yards respectively, didn't end up immediately biting the Buckeyes though they helped Ohio State lose the field position battle as one reached the Michigan 35 and the other the Michigan 21.

Mirco's longest punt, an average 43-yarder, was reduced to 38 yards of field position as the Buckeyes were whistled for illegal motion. Michigan would kick a field goal at the end of the ensuing possession to take a 27-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Again, it wasn't Ohio State's worst special teams performance but in a huge game, it was reinforcement that if nothing else (and really there's so much more here than nothing), sometimes you simply need to make a change for the sake of making a change.

DEFENSE FADES LATE

Jim Knowles' retooled defense looked up to the task in a first half that ended with Ohio State on the wrong end of a 14-10 score. The Buckeyes held Michigan to six first downs, 1-of-7 on third down conversions and 34 total rushing yards on 1.9 per carry but endured some bad luck.

A Kyle McCord interception giving Michigan the ball at the OSU 7-yard line led to a Michigan touchdown for a 7-0 lead. The defense made the Wolverines run four plays to get the seven yards but not much it could do. In the second quarter the Bullets gave up a long drive but a 22-yard touchdown pass from J.J. McCarthy to Roman Wilson to make it 14-3 was robbery at worst, controversial at best, as Denzel Burke appeared to take possession of the ball in the end zone before Wilson completed the full act of a catch.

The strength of the team during the first 10 games, the Bullets allowed Michigan to score on all four second half possessions (minus a kneel down) via three field goals and a touchdown.

One crushing series came after Ohio State's offense seized momentum with a 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 17. Instead of capitalizing on the situation, the defense saw Michigan march 75 yards in just seven plays to fall behind 24-17 with 1:55 left in the third quarter. The drive saw McCarthy break contain for a 15-yard chain mover on 2nd-and-6 before two different throws to tight ends chewed up 10 and 18 yards each, exposing Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers in coverage.

Michigan's All-American guard Zak Zinter was carted off the field following AJ Barner's 18-yard catch but the tough scene only helped Michigan as Blake Corum took the next snap 22 yards to the end zone with a Sonny Styles missed tackle serving as the loan friction on his way to pay dirt.

After Ohio State cut the deficit to 27-24 with 8:05 left in regulation, the defense took the field and again gave up a scoring drive, this time a backbreaking 7-minute, 13-play, 56-yard effort resulting in a 37-yard field goal to make it 30-24 bad guys with just 65 seconds left on the clock.

The Wolverines converted 2-of-3 third down conversion attempts on the drive - a 6-yard completion to Cornelius Johnson on 3rd-and-2 on an impressive play call and a 4-yard Corum run on 3rd-and-1 - and ran it nine times for 42 yards despite full awareness runs were coming.

Zooming out, Michigan ran for 122 yards in the second half on 5.8 per carry after virtually nothing went right for it on the ground in the first half. Through the air, McCarthy completed 16-of-20 for 148 yards and a touchdown on the day.

Michigan has punted exactly once in the second half of its last three games versus Ohio State.

FARE THEE WELL

I knew yesterday would be a nailbiter and even as a natural pessimist, I had Ohio State winning which meant I'd also be watching a lot more Marvin Harrison Jr. this year.

Instead, we almost assuredly saw Harrison's last game as a Buckeye and while he wasn't spectacular, he hauled in five catches for 118 yards with a 14-yard touchdown grab that pulled Ohio State to within three at 27-24 midway through the third quarter.

I'm still trying to decide if there's more he could've done defensively on the early McCord interception that triggered Michigan's 7-0 lead. The throw was terrible - that's inarguable - but my understanding is receivers can't let corners cut in front of them on slants, period. It felt like Marvin needed to make more of an effort to break that pass up knowing catching it wasn't realistic.

In defeat, Harrison's 118-yard performance marked his 15th 100-yard receiving game, good for the most in school history.

Unless Ohio State backs into a long shot CFP bid, Harrison will finish the season with 67 catches for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns. Those 14 scores through the air are the second-most in a single-season in school history and his 30 career touchdown grabs are tied for third-most in OSU annals.

The only two-time 1,000-yard receiver in school history, Harrison figures to depart Columbus with the 4th and 5th-most receiving yards in single-seasons at OSU and he'll rank sixth in career receiving yards with 2,613.

He's so good it was easy to almost take it for granted because he made the sensational seem so routine. And he was always a quiet worker. No diva wide receiver bluster despite his elite skill set.

McCord

I don't have the energy to call him Honda McCord or Ford McCord or whatever but after an 18-of-30 showing for 271 yards with two touchdowns and two picks, it's clear Ohio State needs more from the quarterback position moving forward.

His poor throw/decision on the first interception just can't happen. And like we've seen in other games, too many of his completions require non-standard efforts from his receivers. Emeka Egbuka was charged with a drop on an early 3rd-and-4 - and he shoulda had it - but if we're playing the game of shoulda, McCord shoulda put that very high percentage throw on his numbers in stride, not low and behind him across the middle.

Speaking of Egbuka, McCord nearly got him killed later in the game by throwing too late, too soft and too high down the seam, allowing a safety to pop Egbuka into the turf.

His misfires to Cade Stover and Egbuka on 2nd and 3rd-and-7 forced Ohio State to settle for a field goal to make it 7-3 bad guys.

Finally, his interception on the final drive secured defeat. Yes, he was pressured and hit as he threw but that scenario isn't a new one. Twelve games in and McCord struggles with pocket presence, feeling pressure and decision making under duress and the best you can hope for on the mobility front is stepping up in the pocket. There's virtually zero running threat and little ability to scramble to buy time to find receivers downfield.

Intangibles and simply the "it" factor are lacking and it's unclear if they'll develop over more time. You know the pregame vid OSU football's X account runs every week where McCord hops into the center of the circle and proceeds to back up and launch a fadeaway? That's exactly the shot I think he'd settle for in a big situation on the court.

Yesterday's performance brought McCord's six-game road stats to a 61.7 completion rate and 240.2 pass yards per game with 10 touchdowns against six picks. At home, he completed 67.9% of this throws for 288.2 yards per game with 14 touchdowns against zero interceptions.

After three years in Day's system including one as the starter, it's notable that we'll go into 2024 with a majority of fans wishing someone else was under center and even Day could conceivably say it's an open competition among McCord, Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz though I doubt Kyle would be usurped.

NIGHT AND DAY

I don't agree with a large part of the fan base demanding to move on from Ryan Day at this moment but I understand the frustration. A third straight loss for Day to Michigan, not just with what was at stake on the field but also against the backdrop of Michigan's sign stealing scandal and the narrative reinforcement that Ohio State is a "soft" program is an epic gut punch.

That said, it wasn't just the loss but the way Ohio State lost yesterday that stoked the flames.

Sherrone Moore, an interim head coach with Harbaugh sidelined, pushed the envelope with his decision making and playcalling in an effort to dictate and win the game. Meanwhile, Day and company made some tentative plays and play calls.

I give Moore and Michigan a ton of credit for moves like inserting quarterback Alex Orji as a wildcat option on the first drive of the second half. Orji ripped off a 20-yard run against and unprepared Ohio State defense, helping the Wolverines to a field goal for a 17-10 lead.

Later, up 24-17, Moore dialed up a halfback pass and Donovan Edwards delivered in the form of a 34-yard pass to tight end Colston Loveland to the OSU 20. Michigan kicked a field goal a few plays later to make it 27-17 early in the final quarter.

Meanwhile, Day opted to punt on a 4th-and-1 at his own 46 early in the game and on Ohio State's final possession before halftime, he let the clock wind down on a 4th-and-2 from the Michigan 34 so he could attempt a 52-yard field goal. To do that, he let the clock run wind down instead of going for it and either scoring a touchdown or creating a shorter field goal try. Jayden Fielding of course missed the long field goal try.

It's easy to second guess those decisions since neither paid off but to me it's more about comparison than second-guessing. Michigan/Moore played to win. The Wolverines also went for it on 4th-and-short three times, converting all three.

Through four seasons at the helm, Day has won a ton of games with an elite overall winning percentage to keep Ohio State within the top five programs in the country. Within that, he's also now 1-3 versus Michigan, 1-4 as an underdog and 1-6 versus top five teams.