Skull Session: At the Crossroad, Ohio State Makes Its Stand

By Chase Brown on November 4, 2024 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Oh come let's sing Ohio's praise...

Have a good Monday.

 “WE WERE AT A CROSSROADS.” You could see it in his smile. The win meant a lot to Ryan Day. He had heard the noise. He had felt the pressure. He had known his team’s back was against the wall.

“We were at a crossroads,” Day said. “This was a big game for us. We didn’t really want to publicly say that. But we said that behind closed doors. This was a big game for us for a lot of reasons.”

And how did Ohio State win the big game? Overcoming what had been its Achilles heel(s). The Buckeyes ran the damn ball, dominated in the trenches, made stops (two inside the 3-yard line!) and were clutch in clutch moments. Because of that, in a less-than-perfect performance – where Howard’s pick-six and fumble at the 1-yard line come to mind — Ohio State beat a top-five opponent on the road in one of the most hostile environments in college football.

“To get a top-five win like this on the road in a tough environment, moving (Donovan Jackson) to left tackle – we felt like going into this game, it was gonna be a difficult environment,” he said. “We knew we had to win the rushing yards. The turnover battle was gonna be big. And then X plays. We had to find a way to get a stop, get the extra first down, or score. That’s what it’s gonna come down to (in these games). I think this is gonna build us moving forward. For guys to get this win is gonna go a long way. Guys came back on this team for a reason. It’s to go win the rivalry game, win the Big Ten championship and win the national championship.

“Along the way, I think there was a conversation about the expectations and all those types of things. I said to the team, ‘There are no great accomplishments that happen without going through adversity.’ It’s just the truth. You don’t just walk into a season and think you’re gonna reach your goals. It doesn’t work that way. That’s not how life works. When you get backed against the wall, you gotta respond. That is life. All of our goals are in front of us now. We’ve been through a lot.”

Ohio State has been through a lot. So has it’s head coach. When asked to share the emotions he experienced after the win – ones that had been building since the Oregon game but also since a number of other close losses to talented teams – Day needed a moment to gather himself.

“There’s a lot there to unpack,” Day said. “There’s a lot that goes with being the head coach at Ohio State. You can say to ignore everything that goes on, but your players read it, your coaches read it, your staff members read it, your families read it. You gotta stay strong in those moments. But that entire team, their families, they all believed. To accomplish what we did in this game – in a top-five victory – feels good right now. We still have a lot of football ahead of us. But right now, it feels good. I’m proud of our team. I’m proud of our coaching staff.”

I’m proud, too.

Day needed this win — he needed it bad. 

His team delivered.

That rocks.

 AYE! AYE! AYE! AYE! AYE! You know what else rocks? Locker room celebrations. Ohio State had an all-time one on Saturday.

“Coming out of that locker room right there, there’s a lot of guys in that room that are excited. Probably the most animated locker room I’ve been in in a long time,” Day said. “We are gonna enjoy this tonight – coaches, players, staff, everybody involved. This was a moment that we have to enjoy. There’s been a lot of work that was put in for this game.”

I love that.

I also love how the coaches, players and staff reacted when Jim Knowles entered the circle. They knew he was about to throw down and throw down, he did.

 “WE JUST HAD TO DROP OUR NUTS.” Ohio State’s offensive line. Ohio State’s offensive line! Man, oh, man. What a season-defining performance from Ohio State’s offensive line.

Following the loss of Josh Simmons, Ohio State managed 1.6 yards per carry across its next six quarters (two at Oregon, four vs. Nebraska). With that production threatening to tank the program’s Big Ten and national championship aspirations, Day, Chip Kelly and Justin Frye cooked up this five-man lineup in the trenches: All-Big Ten guard Donovan Jackson at left tackle, former starting center Carson Hinzman at guard and the usual suspects, Seth McLaughlin, Tegra Tshabola and Josh Fryar.

And believe it or not, those Buckeyes delivered against a top-ranked defense in college football, inside one of the most hostile environments in college football.

Ohio State collected 176 rushing yards and 4.4 yards per carry on the ground, its fourth-highest total of the season behind Marshall (280), Western Michigan (273) and Iowa (203). They also helped the Buckeyes convert 6-of-12 third-down conversions, including a perfect 4-for-4 mark when running the ball.

What led to such an improvement?

“We just had to drop our nuts,” Jackson said. (I’ve read that quote 1,000 times, and it still makes me cackle.)

Or, as Hinzman said, “We knew that short yards are our yards on the O-line. We practiced rigorously to get those crucial yards coming out. I think all that preparation prepared us for that. We knew exactly what we were gonna do out there.”

As Eleven Warriors assistant producer Josh Poloha summarized on Saturday, the offensive line saved its best for last. On the team’s final possession of the game, the slobs owned the line of scrimmage – and Penn State knew Ohio State wanted to run the ball! Because the offensive line generated enough push and kept the chains moving, the Buckeyes drained the final five minutes and 13 seconds off the clock and sealed a 20-13 win in State College.

Unbelievable.

Give the offensive line its flowers – for now. While Jackson, Hinzman, McLaughlin, Tshabola and Fryar deserve some shrubs, the unit cannot rest on its laurels, as stiff tests still lie ahead. Indiana’s defensive line has been stout this season. Michigan’s has, too, even if the Wolverines are awful elsewhere. Then there’s Oregon, who has Derrick Harmon, Jordan Burch and some other studs who are as familiar with Ohio State as Ohio State is with them.

 “A PREVIEW OF WHAT’S TO COME.” We cannot let the offensive line’s dominance on Ohio State’s final drive distract us from the fact that the Silver Bullets stuffed Penn State’s offense four times (!) at the goal line to keep the Buckeyes ahead 20-13 and take possession of the ball on the team’s 1-yard line.

That’s ridiculous. That’s so ridiculous, and I love it.

“We have to thrive in those moments,” JT Tuimoloau said. “If you shy away from those moments, then you’re not here to play Big Ten football. For us, we solidified who the Silver Bullets are and what we’re capable of. … I feel like when your back is against the wall, all you do is throw punches. Keep swinging. If you miss, you just gotta keep swinging. And I feel like we held our ground and (with our) back against the wall it’s always fun to play defense right there.”

Day said Ohio State’s goal-line stand provided proof of the defense’s toughness.

“It shows you that there’s a grit, there’s toughness, there’s a never give up, ‘Give me an inch and I’m gonna defend it’ type mentality,” he said.

Day also complimented Knowles for the gameplan he and his staff put together on Saturday. However, he said it’s the players who deserve the most credit for their execution on the field.

“You’ve got give Jim and the entire staff credit on defense for their preparation going into this game. Penn State does an excellent job of changing formations, motioning, different looks,” Day said. “But it comes down to the players. Coaches can put you in a situation, but the players gotta go do it. They did it. I’m proud of them.”

Tuimoloau said Day’s pride in them – and the pride each player has for themselves and their teammates – will power the defense from this point forward.

“I think it just shows who we are,” Tuimoloau said of the defense answering the bell against a top-three opponent. “It shows what the Silver Bullets can be and what we’re capable of. There’s a lot more left in the tank. I think this is just a preview of what’s to come.”

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