The Ohio State Buckeyes were rolling, looking like the No. 1 team in the nation. Buckeyes 23, Texas Longhorns 3 with 8:09 left in the third quarter. The offense was clicking, Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin were looking like the best duo in the country. The defense had the Texas wide-outs under control, Arch Manning was constantly under pressure.
The Buckeyes were on pace to dominate the Longhorns. However, that didn’t happen. Texas outscored the Buckeyes 21-0 in the fourth quarter, storming all the way back and winning the game. Where did it all go wrong? How did the Buckeyes start out so hot?
The Good
Pressure on Arch Manning: The Buckeyes were getting to quarterback Arch Manning for the majority of the game, until the late-game collapse. The Buckeyes pressured him on 35.6% of his dropbacks and were able to sack him twice. This pressure definitely helped stifle Manning early. Late in the game, however, he was able to evade the pressure and make some impressive throws.
Jeremiah Smith: Smith facilitated the Buckeye offense all game, putting up 164 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions. That is nearly 60% of all of OSU’s receiving yards in that game.
Fast Start: The Buckeyes came out firing, forcing turnovers on the first two Texas drives and putting up ten first quarter points. That was followed by ten more in the second quarter. Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin were clicking, tearing up the Texas secondary. Smith caught a touchdown to close out the first half.
First Half Aggression: The Buckeyes were playing with extreme confidence in the first half, attacking the Longhorns’ weak points. OSU was on pace for a blowout win. They showed that the staff had put together a gameplan that knew how to beat Texas and were doing exactly what they needed to. This all changed after halftime.
The Bad
Not Coaching to Win: Fans are frustrated with head coach Ryan Day’s passive play-calling in the second half. It was expected that the Buckeyes would continue to press on offense and take Texas out of the game. Instead of that, OSU laid down and played a passive second half. The offense slowed down and showed no urge to score, highlighted by their three-point second half.
Kicking: This has happened way too many times for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Placekicker Connor Hawkins had a 45-yard field goal to take a 26-17 lead on the Longhorns. Hawkins hooked the kick wide left and short. This field goal would have gotten OSU over the hump.
Secondary in the Second Half: The Longhorns’ star wide receivers Ryan Wingo and Cam Coleman tore up the OSU secondary late in the game. Arch Manning was able to constantly find an open man despite facing intense pressure. Texas was finding the gaps and Ohio State didn’t adapt.
Finishing Drives: Ohio State left a lot to be desired in the redzone. They mustered a measly 13 points out of their trips. Better execution would have put this game away long before Texas could surge back.
Retreat: The Buckeyes were hitting the Longhorns’ weak points all of the first half. After halftime, Texas made some adjustments and were fighting back. When they did this, OSU backed down and let them dominate the game.. The team needed to stand up and fight back, finding weak points like they did in the first half, however, they never did that. Instead, one of the most painful collapses in OSU football happened with the entire country watching.
Coach Day’s Thoughts
Starting off plain and simple, he summed up the game here:
“We really played well for three quarters and didn’t play well enough in the fourth quarter. That’s the bottom line.”
When asked if he considered calling a timeout or letting Texas score when they were at the 1-yard line with about 1:20 remaining:
“I considered it. But I felt like at that point we were just going to go play defense.”
When addressing the game, he simply said:
“This one hurts.”
Buckeye Nation certainly agrees on that one.
Moving Forward
The Buckeyes host the Kent State Golden Flashes next Saturday at noon. This is a great opportunity for OSU to get back on track before Big 10 Play starts back up. Be on the lookout for the game preview Friday!
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