I call BS.........this game was lost because of Ryan Day and his moronic play calling when the chips were down..........That bonehead had 1st and 10 at the Georgia 30 with 28 seconds left and TWO timeouts after Stroud's stellar QB run......and what's his first play call?....A run up the middle.............(and then says in the post game interview he wouldn't change that call).....so after 3 plays, the ball DID NOT move past the 30-yard line, which put Ruggles in a bad situation for a 50 yard try........he needs fired immediately........
Say whatever you want but Day lost the game himself after CJ’s stellar run to their 30. He had 2 timeouts left and those are the plays he called? He is a nutless wonder.
While I wouldn’t have used the words that you did. You are right in a sense that those last three calls were questionable. There is no reason why that we shouldn’t have been able to pick up more yards after that Stroud run with that amount of time and two timeouts. Even as little as five yards would have made the field goal way easier.
I agree 3. What the hell were those last three playcalls? Just totally killed the momentum of the drive..the problem is that day does it way too much. He did it multiple times last night, and the last time was at the worst possible moment. I've never seen a coach that can't get out of his own way as much as Day..reminds me of Marty Schottenheimer in Cleveland
"Its gonna be cold, its gonna be grey, and its going to last you the rest of your life!".
I didn't have a problem with the running play, it just didn't crack open like they hoped. The next play, IMHO, was just as questionable: CJ almost got sacked but managed to roll out and throw it away. Should have run it again, centered the ball for the kicker.
But, watching this game later, we'll probably see a lot of places where offense AND defense could have been better.
It was two good teams slugging it out. Shitty to lose, but we did not get embarassed.
I WILL say, though, that this would be really tough to take if Michigan had trounced TCU. To see Michigan lose to TCU as a 9 point favorite? With Desmond Howard having to be on camera afterwards? Sweet.
I can't wait to go to Ann Arbor in 11 months and beat the snot out of TTUN.
I question the running play. I know Day thought it was a good call, but why? I'd still like to know what made him think that. We had a little over 100 yards rushing for the game, the line was killer in pass pro but he tries for the "home run" against that defense in cover 0? Ballsy call if he does it, because everything is stacked against. He didn't. Day should have been setting Ruggles up for a makable kick. I feel bad for the Kid, he was money in his range. Day should have done more to get Ruggles inside his range and had he done so, we'd be looking forward to next Monday.
You would have lashed out at Day no matter what if you’re going to pick that first down play and say there was bad play calling (after #1 RB, #1 WR and #1 & #2 TEs went down and we still scored on the #1 defense at will). The only reason we were on the 30 in the first place is because of strouds legs. No one was open except one pass to Egbuka on that drive causing stroud to run more than once. Trying to gain a few more yards to get a little closer for the kick was absolutely the right call.
Another chapter in the crushing story of being an Ohio State fan. Proud of our team for yesterday, but how the fuck do we keep squandering legendary Buckeye QBs with bad defenses? Agree with the poster above; it hurts a lot more today.
I thought Hafley's D during Fields' first year was really good. That said, I'd rather be in the hunt each year for a Natty than be a fan of Michigan State, Penn State, or any of the other non-Top 10 schools.
Nothing is too difficult for the person that doesn't have to do it.
As poor as the D played in the 4th quarter, having a decent running game would have helped immensely. A one-dimensional team can't ever win a championship.
Nothing is too difficult for the person that doesn't have to do it.
Because he is a guy that can provide a spark. He's not a work horse at RB. Would love to see him come back for a 6th year and have a similar but bigger role, kind of the Urban Meyer H Back / slot guy.
It can, and it would have if we would have kept using that dimension. That run call gloriously screwed us over- we were passing at will all night. Just keep throwing the ball. Get into chip-shot range, or maybe even score a TD. The run with 19 seconds left made absolutely zero sense.
I thought it was obvious we needed 10 more yards for the FG. Hindsight is 20/20 but I was saying we need 10 yds when it was live. Take the pressure off the kicker at least. Definitely needed that. It was still a great game, we just didn’t win. Too many things could of made it out game to feel good about it. 18-3 4th quarter hurts again though. Damn 4th quarter blues. CJ Stroud is a stud though. He deserved to win, couldn’t of played better or been a better leader. Probably should of let him play some safety yesterday too. Would’ve won!
Right? For whatever reason, this is the first article I've read about the game since it ended. I didn't go to bed, or wake up, with a doom and gloom feeling about the game. Maybe Johnny needs the 8 months.
"We gotta go win this next game and make the State of Ohio proud!"-UFM
I forgive him. He clearly wears his heart on his sleeve. Us commenters can say whatever craziness goes through our lizard brains and nobody cares. Dude had a deadline. I’m proud of all our players - and our jilted sportswriters.
The offense played their tails off all night. I just will never understand Day and those final 25-30 seconds with two time outs and fresh set of downs and not filing up anything to cut the FG distance. Whole play book was still there with the time outs. He said he'd let it fly and in many ways did up to that point. In THAT situation with the pressures efc a 50 yarder is a huge ask. If the Stroud scramble had come with 5-10 seconds left I get it. But there was so many more possibilities
Stroud deserved to play for the title with that effort last night.
"I just will never understand Day and those final 25-30 seconds with two time outs and fresh set of downs and not filing up anything to cut the FG distance."
I said the same thing and got down voted 10 times.........lol......
I mean he tried to get something. I get everyone here is super results based and doesn't recognize when the defense actually makes a good play vs Ohio State's offense, but Day didn't make any major wrong call on those final 3 plays. A run on first down is perfectly fine. Then they threw a quick slant that had been burning UGA all night, but the DB made a good play on the slant. And the final play Embuka was open for a good 5-8 yards on a quick out but UGA brought the house, so Stroud had to immediately scramble. It was just good defense. And Ruggles just missed the kick
A run on first down with seconds left in the game is NOT perfectly fine, especially considering how the run had been going all night in comparison to the pass. Day called an amazing game to that point, but that point lost the game.
I said exactly the same yesterday and was downvoted a few times, even accused of not being a true fan for critiquing Day because he's not 'perfect'. lmao
You’re going to complain about offensive play calling after Ryan day hung 41 on the nations top defense , and the talking heads’ proclaimed best player in college football (who was made to look like a gasping unconditioned tackle) ? And he did it without #1 RB, #1 WR and #1 TE’s ? You just want to complain about day regardless .
The defense is not better or improved it’s just a different bad defense. When you put up 41 points and lose you have a horrible defense. You’re delusional to believe otherwise. Won’t win divisional, conference or national championships with that defense and the Buckeyes didn’t. Truth!
So does Michigan, TCU, & UGA all have horrible defenses too? Look at both semifinal games:
Michigan defense - 488 yards given up on 70 plays (6.97 ypp) & 37 points. That would be 127th in YPP & 128th in ppg
TCU defense - 528 yards given up on 75 plays (7.04 ypp) & 45 points. That would be 128th in YPP & dead last in ppg
UGA defense - 467 yards given up on 67 plays (6.97 ypp) & 41 points. That would be 127th in YPP & 129th in ppg
OSU defense - 533 yards given up on 60 plays (8.88 ypp) & 42 points. That would be dead last in YPP & 130th in ppg.
Every CFP defense was atrocious yesterday. If Ruggles makes that kick then everyone is talking about how Kirby Smart's defense got destroyed again by a top passing offense. But because Ruggles missed it suddenly it's OSU's defense that choked and sucked.
Why did chip not get a shot at running the ball? If you're gonna run it up the middle against that defense line, why would you have the smallest of the backs do it?
it doesn't have a ton to do with it, but it DID have an impact..can you imagine having JSN, Henderson, Stover, etc--not losing Harrison for the 4th quarter--we scored 3 points in the 4th with Harrison and 38 with him in it. Ask any OSU or GA coach if that made a difference...it did and that along with lame replay booth overturns cost OSU the game. and of course..the defense, which did at least adjusted to stopping the run in the 2nd half and also held GA to a very low 3rd down conversion rate. Stroud and OSU should be playing (beating the tar out of) TCU for the title, not GA.
This might be a little complicated for you, but you do realize that if those starters are in the game then maybe OSU gets a TD instead of a FG on a couple drives or moves the ball more before punting & suddenly now UGA can't make the comeback because the offense is staying on the field. If the Marvin play especially is correctly called for a personal foul, OSU could've ended the game right there with a TD to go up 42-24.
This might be a little complicated for you, but you do realize that if those starters are in the game then maybe OSU gets a TD instead of a FG on a couple drives or moves the ball more before punting & suddenly now UGA can't make the comeback because the offense is staying on the field. If the Marvin play especially is correctly called for a personal foul, OSU could've ended the game right there with a TD to go up 42-24.
The defense needs another year. We need to add some players better suited to run the Knowles defense. Our DBs were either injured or underperformed all year long. Knowles wasn’t fixing our disaster of a defense in less than a calendar year.
Oof Johnny. Maybe the 11w staff should have a policy against posting anything 24 hrs after a loss. Knowles has a long history of great defenses and we've missed on a lot of recruits including this year. You can't say this defense isn't way better than last year. I'd hold off on the doom till next year.
Lots of the writers here this year have been weirdly negative. Not even like an "objective" negative where they're point out legitimate issues in the team like poor secondary play or poor TE blocking on run plays, etc. But more like twitter and reddit levels of bitching where they're just being reactionary as shit and saying this coach sucks, that coach sucks, this player sucks, etc etc. If Cam Brown, Ronnie, Ransom make slightly better plays on some balls and get INTs instead of PBU the game changes and they aren't writing this bullshit. If the Marvin play is correctly called for a personal foul (targeting or not it was 100% a hit on a defenseless WR) they aren't writing this bullshit. If Ruggles makes the FG they aren't writing this bullshit. Not to mention that literally every CFP defense was atrocious yesterday. And most CFP defenses have been atrocious when facing top offenses. Of the 23 CFP games so far (46 teams), only 11 games have had one team held under 20 points. And those are typically teams with mediocre offenses that were very one dimensional. The only main exception is 2018 Alabama, who still had over 450 yards.
87 points, more than 1000 total yards, and especially 38 points given up in the 4th to both TTUN and the Dawgs in the two games that mattered most. After giving up ZERO points in the 3rd.
Knowles play calling was horrific in the 4th. WTH is he playing Man Free and Cover 2 defense on both TD drives for the Dawgs. 15 points on six plays?
He is on the hot seat now after this..
The OL was outstanding last night. I didn't hear Jalen Carter's name called much last night. And Stroud did everything he could. We should have won this game.
"Just remember one thing. I can do your job, but you can't do mine." - Woody Hayes to an OSU professor
What the fuck do you want him to play on defense then exactly? If he isn't allowed to play Cover 2, which whole design is too keep the offense in front of you, and isn't allowed to play man free because it gives up big plays, you're basically saying nothing he can do is right yet he's still a shit DC. News flash too all the mouth breathers here, UGA has good players too and every defense you call has holes in it. There's no magic defense he can call to suddenly stop UGA from moving the ball if their players just make better plays than OSU's make
You can't defend Knowles and keep a straight face. The Michigan debacle, and now this? The world knew Bennett needed a quick strike and was going deep and that floater to a wide open receiver was a failure. No safety help? Just like selling out to stop the run against Mich the whole game even after Corum was announced out?
Jim K lost me when he said 2 things this year ..we will give up a few big plays each game and I didn't watch last years Michigan game.
The DB literally fell down you moron. And he had a safety in the middle of the field. But that doesn't matter if the DB falls down. And that doesn't even response to the point. If he's not allowed to play any sort of man coverage and isn't allowed to play zone coverage then what the fuck do mouth breathers like you want him to do?
Knowles had the D in Zone Coverage the 3rd quarter. Keep them in front of you. Three possessions and no points. So why in the hell did he switch to Man Free and Cover 2 when they were up by 11 points?
"Just remember one thing. I can do your job, but you can't do mine." - Woody Hayes to an OSU professor
Cover 2 is zone coverage you moron. It's literallty what he was running a lot of in the 3rd quarter because it made the underneath windows tight while also keeping safeties back so balls over the top are difficult. But like every defense it has holes in it. Corner routes are open. And anything up the middle of the field are hard to get to, especially if the offense runs 3 vertical routes.
The "Million Dollar" DC says he is re-thinking how he calls games. I don't think it worked, 80+ points given in 2 games? Feel bad for the guys playing D!
So very, very proud of CJ and the OSU offense ! He along with the O line, and our receiver corp were outstanding. However, being there, and watching our defense or lack thereof erase all of the great gains made by our offense was so disappointing. To score 41 pts. against the best defense in the country, and still lose because our porous defense repeatedly surrendered double digit leads was embarrassing, especially, when I was surrounded by the obnoxious UGA faithful. What a disgusting group, and classless group they are !! Hoping the Horned Frogs will teach them some humility.
"And... that's it! No more football for eight months, when we get to see if the Buckeyes learned anything from a season of shooting themselves in the foot."
I highly, highly doubt it.........seen the same ol, same ol over and over..........
The struggles last night were from dbs again (hardest position on the field). #15 (transfer from Oklahoma State) started and played most of the year and is not an elite player by any measurement and just shows that we need more great recruiting in that area. Also, if you are into SEC bias, then this game just adds fuel to that fire as the hit on Harrison should not have been reversed. Targeting is more that just leading with the helmet (look up the rule). Any reversal should have at LEAST been unnecessary roughness and this one play clearly was a game changer. For you negative nellies out there, if players make plays, then the coaches get credit for making a great call. When the players don't execute, then some of you in here want the coaches head on a platter by firing. I guarantee you that ANY school in this country would love to have Day as their coach given the opportunity.
Johnny is on the money. This Knowles’ cute defense is garbage against upper echelon teams. By the end of the season the team knows the defense, so saying he needs more time is bullshit. It sucks that this guy torpedoed a championship team last night - and in the ttun game - because of his oversized ego. Knowles needs to be shown the door, and take his “I’m smarter than you” shtick with him.
Maurice Clarett is correct. The defense just quit in the fourth quarter again. The pass defense is horrid and JTT, Sawyer and Hall went MIA when they needed to step up. Is the defensive line poorly conditioned? The secondary stinks. The play of the secondary is on Knowles, Eliano and Walton. They need to get their asses out there and get some cornerbacks from the portal.
One more year of this shit show from the secondary should be cause for Knowles, Eliano and Walton need to be canned.
Iowa has a better defense despite vastly inferior talent. There’s no excuse for Ohio State not being able to hold a double digit lead with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The $2.1 million paid to Jim Knowles has been a waste.
Agreed and conditioning seems to be an issue. With that said, Georgia's star defense was gassed too but did blitz on over the plays in the last couple of minutes. I'm wondering how safe Marriott's job is at this point.
Anyone calling for Day's job is lacking football intelligence, and Knowles for that matter, although he should shoulder some of the blame. There are so many circumstances in this game where if an OSU player merely completed a football fundamental we win this game. So for YOU a football fundamental means blocking, running, passing, catching, tackling, and kicking, etc. Do not call yourself buckeye fans with this much ignorance being displayed. We are disowning you. I'd really like to know how many of you have played an official down of football. And no, throwing the ball around with your uncle Larry who is missing a leg from the knee down on Thanksgiving day DOESNT COUNT. I encourage YOU all to put Monday morning quarterback on your resumes. What a bunch of bums. Down vote me all you want keyboard warriors. Reply, sure, but it has to consist of literacy. Get your royal self out of our fan base. We do not want, nor need you.
Anyone with a brain, which eliminates a lot of commenters here, can see it's talent. There's no magical defense the DC can call if your front 7 is getting blown off the ball in the first half. Or when the front 4 can't get any pressure without blitzing. Or when in man coverage the DBs just get beat by the WRs. All of those issues pigeonhole the DC into calling risky man/zone blitzes that can give up a ton of big plays (Michigan game). Or forces them to just sit in drop 7 or drop 8 zone and let the QB just pick them apart because no defense can cover for 4+ seconds (most of the UGA game). UGA was having the same issues yesterday on defense too. When they dropped 7 in man or zone, they weren't getting much pressure at all. So, they had to start blitzing, which let Stroud carve them up through the air or on scrambles.
All of Spring ball, summer camp and 13 games later so how can a corner not back pedal, turn and run without falling on his own. There’s nothing more fundamental than that. I’m old and I can still do that 100 out of 100 times.
There are still issues on defense . . . I don't know what is needed to fix it, but 41 points ought to be enough to win any game!
I want to amend my earlier post to say that 41 is by no means magic number. I doubt that TCU is wanting to fire their DC for giving up 500+ yards and/or 45 points to ttun. I do think improvements on defense are still needed. Improvement is always needed accross the board! I like Knowles and think he continues to do this by adjusting scheme, play calling, and player acquisition (where feasible). '
The outcome of a game can rarely be attributed to any single event, and this seems quite true against UGA. Losing such a close, hard-fought game is always tough, but I'm proud of the effort this team showed in this game compared to what I felt was a disappointing effort at times earlier in the season, including but not limited to the Game.
The NFL is the place where ONLY wins matter and while it is certainly important at tOSU, college level sports are also about developing and guiding good young men and women. This will always have great importance to me and remains a huge reason I find college sports so appealing!
Literally all 4 defenses in the CFP were atrocious yesterday. Even going through all of the CFP history, the defenses generally have been horrible unless they're playing a mediocre offense that were not good passing offenses (2015 Sparty, 2016 OSU & UW, 2017 Clemson, 2018 ND, 2019 Oklahoma, 2020 ND, 2021 UM & UC). People expecting modern college defenses to be the 85 Bears when facing the elite college passing schemes now are complete morons
When Coach Prime took over at CO he supposedly called a team meeting and suggested that EVERYONE transfer because no one on the roster was good enough. Day should call a meeting and suggest that everyone in our secondary other than freshmen who might still develop transfer. Not a single person who played CB or safety for the Buckeyes this year showed fundamental ability at a competitive level. For instance, Ransom's Job #1 in the 4th quarter was to not let the receiver get behind him. Even that relatively simple task was too much for him. And Knowles needs to be told in simple language that if he does not have players capable of keeping opponents in front of them that he is to NEVER NEVER NEVER call a zero coverage - especially not in the fourth quarter of a game we lead when we can let GA take 4 minutes to score but we can not can not can not let them score in one play. (In the 4th q did Knowles tell Ransome to give a 10 yard cushion to Bowers on 4th and 6 or did Ransom come up with the strategy on his own?) The magnitude of ineptitude in Scarlet and Gray on the defensive side was staggering. This was not something that only surfaced on Nov 26. I said after the ND game that we seemed to have some coverage issues, and repeated that periodically. Until the end of the year few others were willing to say that the defensive emperors were wearing no clothes. This year-long problem ultimately falls on Day. Day isn't going anywhere, and shouldn't. But if defense in 2023 isn't better, that last thought may need to be re-examined.
Comments Show All Comments
Damnt. Hurts worse this morning. This sucks.
I call BS.........this game was lost because of Ryan Day and his moronic play calling when the chips were down..........That bonehead had 1st and 10 at the Georgia 30 with 28 seconds left and TWO timeouts after Stroud's stellar QB run......and what's his first play call?....A run up the middle.............(and then says in the post game interview he wouldn't change that call).....so after 3 plays, the ball DID NOT move past the 30-yard line, which put Ruggles in a bad situation for a 50 yard try........he needs fired immediately........
Saban on a cart eating cold pizza
Give me a break! Day coached very well and yes, we came up short and yes it sucks. Calling for Day’s head is idiotic.
Please remember UGA is number 1 for a reason and we’re without 4 starters who are playmakers on offense on that last drive.
JTNYC
Say whatever you want but Day lost the game himself after CJ’s stellar run to their 30. He had 2 timeouts left and those are the plays he called? He is a nutless wonder.
While I wouldn’t have used the words that you did. You are right in a sense that those last three calls were questionable. There is no reason why that we shouldn’t have been able to pick up more yards after that Stroud run with that amount of time and two timeouts. Even as little as five yards would have made the field goal way easier.
I agree 3. What the hell were those last three playcalls? Just totally killed the momentum of the drive..the problem is that day does it way too much. He did it multiple times last night, and the last time was at the worst possible moment. I've never seen a coach that can't get out of his own way as much as Day..reminds me of Marty Schottenheimer in Cleveland
"Its gonna be cold, its gonna be grey, and its going to last you the rest of your life!".
I didn't have a problem with the running play, it just didn't crack open like they hoped. The next play, IMHO, was just as questionable: CJ almost got sacked but managed to roll out and throw it away. Should have run it again, centered the ball for the kicker.
But, watching this game later, we'll probably see a lot of places where offense AND defense could have been better.
It was two good teams slugging it out. Shitty to lose, but we did not get embarassed.
I WILL say, though, that this would be really tough to take if Michigan had trounced TCU. To see Michigan lose to TCU as a 9 point favorite? With Desmond Howard having to be on camera afterwards? Sweet.
I can't wait to go to Ann Arbor in 11 months and beat the snot out of TTUN.
I question the running play. I know Day thought it was a good call, but why? I'd still like to know what made him think that. We had a little over 100 yards rushing for the game, the line was killer in pass pro but he tries for the "home run" against that defense in cover 0? Ballsy call if he does it, because everything is stacked against. He didn't. Day should have been setting Ruggles up for a makable kick. I feel bad for the Kid, he was money in his range. Day should have done more to get Ruggles inside his range and had he done so, we'd be looking forward to next Monday.
You would have lashed out at Day no matter what if you’re going to pick that first down play and say there was bad play calling (after #1 RB, #1 WR and #1 & #2 TEs went down and we still scored on the #1 defense at will). The only reason we were on the 30 in the first place is because of strouds legs. No one was open except one pass to Egbuka on that drive causing stroud to run more than once. Trying to gain a few more yards to get a little closer for the kick was absolutely the right call.
Another chapter in the crushing story of being an Ohio State fan. Proud of our team for yesterday, but how the fuck do we keep squandering legendary Buckeye QBs with bad defenses? Agree with the poster above; it hurts a lot more today.
We can't stop here; this is bat country...
THREE outstanding quarterbacks in a row, no prize.
I'm glad I got to see Stroud play to his full potential yesterday. I can't help but believe he was held back running by coaching and that's a shame.
OSUAlumInAZ
I thought Hafley's D during Fields' first year was really good. That said, I'd rather be in the hunt each year for a Natty than be a fan of Michigan State, Penn State, or any of the other non-Top 10 schools.
Nothing is too difficult for the person that doesn't have to do it.
Give us a defense and give us a Heisman too!
Because I couldn't go for three
As poor as the D played in the 4th quarter, having a decent running game would have helped immensely. A one-dimensional team can't ever win a championship.
Nothing is too difficult for the person that doesn't have to do it.
Idk why we just didn’t stick with Xavier most of the year. Dude provided the biggest spark and looked like easily the best back we had back there.
Because he is a guy that can provide a spark. He's not a work horse at RB. Would love to see him come back for a 6th year and have a similar but bigger role, kind of the Urban Meyer H Back / slot guy.
110 yds in the second half
It can, and it would have if we would have kept using that dimension. That run call gloriously screwed us over- we were passing at will all night. Just keep throwing the ball. Get into chip-shot range, or maybe even score a TD. The run with 19 seconds left made absolutely zero sense.
I thought it was obvious we needed 10 more yards for the FG. Hindsight is 20/20 but I was saying we need 10 yds when it was live. Take the pressure off the kicker at least. Definitely needed that. It was still a great game, we just didn’t win. Too many things could of made it out game to feel good about it. 18-3 4th quarter hurts again though. Damn 4th quarter blues. CJ Stroud is a stud though. He deserved to win, couldn’t of played better or been a better leader. Probably should of let him play some safety yesterday too. Would’ve won!
Because I couldn't go for three
Team played one of their best games. They just are who they are. Hopefully this translates into a good offseason. Every unit has something to work on.
Read my entire screen name....
Johnny you need a break.
I am curious if that is the first draft or the restrained draft of the opening paragraphs.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon proverb
Right? For whatever reason, this is the first article I've read about the game since it ended. I didn't go to bed, or wake up, with a doom and gloom feeling about the game. Maybe Johnny needs the 8 months.
"We gotta go win this next game and make the State of Ohio proud!"-UFM
I forgive him. He clearly wears his heart on his sleeve. Us commenters can say whatever craziness goes through our lizard brains and nobody cares. Dude had a deadline. I’m proud of all our players - and our jilted sportswriters.
Hmm
We* commenters
Thanks?
Hmm
Jilted? Sheeeeit. Most of them picked the Buckeyes to lose. They should be happy. /s
The offense played their tails off all night. I just will never understand Day and those final 25-30 seconds with two time outs and fresh set of downs and not filing up anything to cut the FG distance. Whole play book was still there with the time outs. He said he'd let it fly and in many ways did up to that point. In THAT situation with the pressures efc a 50 yarder is a huge ask. If the Stroud scramble had come with 5-10 seconds left I get it. But there was so many more possibilities
Stroud deserved to play for the title with that effort last night.
"I just will never understand Day and those final 25-30 seconds with two time outs and fresh set of downs and not filing up anything to cut the FG distance."
I said the same thing and got down voted 10 times.........lol......
Saban on a cart eating cold pizza
I mean he tried to get something. I get everyone here is super results based and doesn't recognize when the defense actually makes a good play vs Ohio State's offense, but Day didn't make any major wrong call on those final 3 plays. A run on first down is perfectly fine. Then they threw a quick slant that had been burning UGA all night, but the DB made a good play on the slant. And the final play Embuka was open for a good 5-8 yards on a quick out but UGA brought the house, so Stroud had to immediately scramble. It was just good defense. And Ruggles just missed the kick
A run on first down with seconds left in the game is NOT perfectly fine, especially considering how the run had been going all night in comparison to the pass. Day called an amazing game to that point, but that point lost the game.
I said exactly the same yesterday and was downvoted a few times, even accused of not being a true fan for critiquing Day because he's not 'perfect'. lmao
OSUAlumInAZ
You’re going to complain about offensive play calling after Ryan day hung 41 on the nations top defense , and the talking heads’ proclaimed best player in college football (who was made to look like a gasping unconditioned tackle) ? And he did it without #1 RB, #1 WR and #1 TE’s ? You just want to complain about day regardless .
The defense is not better or improved it’s just a different bad defense. When you put up 41 points and lose you have a horrible defense. You’re delusional to believe otherwise. Won’t win divisional, conference or national championships with that defense and the Buckeyes didn’t. Truth!
Try not to suck
UGA says hello.
You are entitled to you own opinion, not your own facts.
So does Michigan, TCU, & UGA all have horrible defenses too? Look at both semifinal games:
Michigan defense - 488 yards given up on 70 plays (6.97 ypp) & 37 points. That would be 127th in YPP & 128th in ppg
TCU defense - 528 yards given up on 75 plays (7.04 ypp) & 45 points. That would be 128th in YPP & dead last in ppg
UGA defense - 467 yards given up on 67 plays (6.97 ypp) & 41 points. That would be 127th in YPP & 129th in ppg
OSU defense - 533 yards given up on 60 plays (8.88 ypp) & 42 points. That would be dead last in YPP & 130th in ppg.
Every CFP defense was atrocious yesterday. If Ruggles makes that kick then everyone is talking about how Kirby Smart's defense got destroyed again by a top passing offense. But because Ruggles missed it suddenly it's OSU's defense that choked and sucked.
Yeah but they could have won if they threw one more pass instead of trying a run with less than a minute on the clock.
Yeah cause the next two pass plays really did so well
Why did chip not get a shot at running the ball? If you're gonna run it up the middle against that defense line, why would you have the smallest of the backs do it?
Lol - Go easy Johnny.
Get busy living.
As much as losing this game sucks, losing to Michigan sucks more.
Big B
I would rather lose to Georgia than SCUM any day. Kudos to CJ and the offense for never quitting.
Not when you had the #1 team in the nation on the ropes and lost it.
for those of you blaming this lose on having 4 starters out on offense ...what's that got to do with the D giving up 42 points and over 500 yards ???
RCD will regret the day he threw good money for a DC who provided the same results as the old DC.
Try not to suck
Nothing, unless you account for the probability that we score over fifty is nobody gets knocked out of the game.
it doesn't have a ton to do with it, but it DID have an impact..can you imagine having JSN, Henderson, Stover, etc--not losing Harrison for the 4th quarter--we scored 3 points in the 4th with Harrison and 38 with him in it. Ask any OSU or GA coach if that made a difference...it did and that along with lame replay booth overturns cost OSU the game. and of course..the defense, which did at least adjusted to stopping the run in the 2nd half and also held GA to a very low 3rd down conversion rate. Stroud and OSU should be playing (beating the tar out of) TCU for the title, not GA.
This might be a little complicated for you, but you do realize that if those starters are in the game then maybe OSU gets a TD instead of a FG on a couple drives or moves the ball more before punting & suddenly now UGA can't make the comeback because the offense is staying on the field. If the Marvin play especially is correctly called for a personal foul, OSU could've ended the game right there with a TD to go up 42-24.
This might be a little complicated for you, but you do realize that if those starters are in the game then maybe OSU gets a TD instead of a FG on a couple drives or moves the ball more before punting & suddenly now UGA can't make the comeback because the offense is staying on the field. If the Marvin play especially is correctly called for a personal foul, OSU could've ended the game right there with a TD to go up 42-24.
Georgia was missing starters too. Lame.
OSUAlumInAZ
Hell of an effort from this Buckeye team last night. Really proud of the way the team fought for the whole game!
There are still issues on defense . . . I don't know what is needed to fix it, but 41 points ought to be enough to win any game!
The defense needs another year. We need to add some players better suited to run the Knowles defense. Our DBs were either injured or underperformed all year long. Knowles wasn’t fixing our disaster of a defense in less than a calendar year.
People act like it’s acceptable because other teams do it too. FUCK THAT.
Oof Johnny. Maybe the 11w staff should have a policy against posting anything 24 hrs after a loss. Knowles has a long history of great defenses and we've missed on a lot of recruits including this year. You can't say this defense isn't way better than last year. I'd hold off on the doom till next year.
Lots of the writers here this year have been weirdly negative. Not even like an "objective" negative where they're point out legitimate issues in the team like poor secondary play or poor TE blocking on run plays, etc. But more like twitter and reddit levels of bitching where they're just being reactionary as shit and saying this coach sucks, that coach sucks, this player sucks, etc etc. If Cam Brown, Ronnie, Ransom make slightly better plays on some balls and get INTs instead of PBU the game changes and they aren't writing this bullshit. If the Marvin play is correctly called for a personal foul (targeting or not it was 100% a hit on a defenseless WR) they aren't writing this bullshit. If Ruggles makes the FG they aren't writing this bullshit. Not to mention that literally every CFP defense was atrocious yesterday. And most CFP defenses have been atrocious when facing top offenses. Of the 23 CFP games so far (46 teams), only 11 games have had one team held under 20 points. And those are typically teams with mediocre offenses that were very one dimensional. The only main exception is 2018 Alabama, who still had over 450 yards.
On this site there is no such thing as an "objective" negative. You are either part of the cult or you are a troll. No in between.
Big B
Comment removed for violating the site's commenting policy.
Round on the ends and "HI" in the middle. O-HI-O.
87 points, more than 1000 total yards, and especially 38 points given up in the 4th to both TTUN and the Dawgs in the two games that mattered most. After giving up ZERO points in the 3rd.
Knowles play calling was horrific in the 4th. WTH is he playing Man Free and Cover 2 defense on both TD drives for the Dawgs. 15 points on six plays?
He is on the hot seat now after this..
The OL was outstanding last night. I didn't hear Jalen Carter's name called much last night. And Stroud did everything he could. We should have won this game.
"Just remember one thing. I can do your job, but you can't do mine." - Woody Hayes to an OSU professor
What the fuck do you want him to play on defense then exactly? If he isn't allowed to play Cover 2, which whole design is too keep the offense in front of you, and isn't allowed to play man free because it gives up big plays, you're basically saying nothing he can do is right yet he's still a shit DC. News flash too all the mouth breathers here, UGA has good players too and every defense you call has holes in it. There's no magic defense he can call to suddenly stop UGA from moving the ball if their players just make better plays than OSU's make
You can't defend Knowles and keep a straight face. The Michigan debacle, and now this? The world knew Bennett needed a quick strike and was going deep and that floater to a wide open receiver was a failure. No safety help? Just like selling out to stop the run against Mich the whole game even after Corum was announced out?
Jim K lost me when he said 2 things this year ..we will give up a few big plays each game and I didn't watch last years Michigan game.
seriously?
buckeyeinla
That’s is arrogance.
The DB literally fell down you moron. And he had a safety in the middle of the field. But that doesn't matter if the DB falls down. And that doesn't even response to the point. If he's not allowed to play any sort of man coverage and isn't allowed to play zone coverage then what the fuck do mouth breathers like you want him to do?
Knowles had the D in Zone Coverage the 3rd quarter. Keep them in front of you. Three possessions and no points. So why in the hell did he switch to Man Free and Cover 2 when they were up by 11 points?
"Just remember one thing. I can do your job, but you can't do mine." - Woody Hayes to an OSU professor
Cover 2 is zone coverage you moron. It's literallty what he was running a lot of in the 3rd quarter because it made the underneath windows tight while also keeping safeties back so balls over the top are difficult. But like every defense it has holes in it. Corner routes are open. And anything up the middle of the field are hard to get to, especially if the offense runs 3 vertical routes.
F
OH-IO Goodbye Columbus.
The "Million Dollar" DC says he is re-thinking how he calls games. I don't think it worked, 80+ points given in 2 games? Feel bad for the guys playing D!
Troy85
Just to be fair, those two games were against two of the other teams in the playoffs. This isn't like those years we gave up 40 to Purdue or Iowa.
So very, very proud of CJ and the OSU offense ! He along with the O line, and our receiver corp were outstanding. However, being there, and watching our defense or lack thereof erase all of the great gains made by our offense was so disappointing. To score 41 pts. against the best defense in the country, and still lose because our porous defense repeatedly surrendered double digit leads was embarrassing, especially, when I was surrounded by the obnoxious UGA faithful. What a disgusting group, and classless group they are !! Hoping the Horned Frogs will teach them some humility.
"And... that's it! No more football for eight months, when we get to see if the Buckeyes learned anything from a season of shooting themselves in the foot."
I highly, highly doubt it.........seen the same ol, same ol over and over..........
Saban on a cart eating cold pizza
Hope Ryan Day has nightmares about that final drive. Two timeouts, plenty of time and he puckers up on the 30..just never will undertsand..
"Its gonna be cold, its gonna be grey, and its going to last you the rest of your life!".
Johnny well said.
That's right, that's right, we bad
The rhetoric that we "couldn't get a stop" should be balanced by the fact that we "couldn't get a make."
Two timeouts, 32 yard line, CJ Stroud with the ball...Jim Knowles didn't eff that up.
Matt
The struggles last night were from dbs again (hardest position on the field). #15 (transfer from Oklahoma State) started and played most of the year and is not an elite player by any measurement and just shows that we need more great recruiting in that area. Also, if you are into SEC bias, then this game just adds fuel to that fire as the hit on Harrison should not have been reversed. Targeting is more that just leading with the helmet (look up the rule). Any reversal should have at LEAST been unnecessary roughness and this one play clearly was a game changer. For you negative nellies out there, if players make plays, then the coaches get credit for making a great call. When the players don't execute, then some of you in here want the coaches head on a platter by firing. I guarantee you that ANY school in this country would love to have Day as their coach given the opportunity.
Dan
How many points did Michigan score on TCU? Should they fire their DC?
What about Michigan's DC?
How about if we make the FG? Should Georgia get rid of their guy?
This coaching staff needs to come together. We need a staff that delivers the knockout blow in big games.
That defense played its ass off in the 3Q...and was one video review away from another HUGE stop.
Matt
Yes, TTUN coaches should always be fired, no matter what.
Johnny is on the money. This Knowles’ cute defense is garbage against upper echelon teams. By the end of the season the team knows the defense, so saying he needs more time is bullshit. It sucks that this guy torpedoed a championship team last night - and in the ttun game - because of his oversized ego. Knowles needs to be shown the door, and take his “I’m smarter than you” shtick with him.
Maurice Clarett is correct. The defense just quit in the fourth quarter again. The pass defense is horrid and JTT, Sawyer and Hall went MIA when they needed to step up. Is the defensive line poorly conditioned? The secondary stinks. The play of the secondary is on Knowles, Eliano and Walton. They need to get their asses out there and get some cornerbacks from the portal.
One more year of this shit show from the secondary should be cause for Knowles, Eliano and Walton need to be canned.
Iowa has a better defense despite vastly inferior talent. There’s no excuse for Ohio State not being able to hold a double digit lead with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The $2.1 million paid to Jim Knowles has been a waste.
Agreed and conditioning seems to be an issue. With that said, Georgia's star defense was gassed too but did blitz on over the plays in the last couple of minutes. I'm wondering how safe Marriott's job is at this point.
OSUAlumInAZ
Anyone calling for Day's job is lacking football intelligence, and Knowles for that matter, although he should shoulder some of the blame. There are so many circumstances in this game where if an OSU player merely completed a football fundamental we win this game. So for YOU a football fundamental means blocking, running, passing, catching, tackling, and kicking, etc. Do not call yourself buckeye fans with this much ignorance being displayed. We are disowning you. I'd really like to know how many of you have played an official down of football. And no, throwing the ball around with your uncle Larry who is missing a leg from the knee down on Thanksgiving day DOESNT COUNT. I encourage YOU all to put Monday morning quarterback on your resumes. What a bunch of bums. Down vote me all you want keyboard warriors. Reply, sure, but it has to consist of literacy. Get your royal self out of our fan base. We do not want, nor need you.
Einhorn is Brutus?
They act like they have a say in firing...lol.
Bbc11
Ok, as bummed as I am that Lt. Dan meme really made me laugh pretty hard.
The Excellence of Execution, the Best there is, the Best there was, the Best there ever will be!
So whats the issue, talent or coaching? it seems like we have missed out on some players last few years...maybe the portal will yeild some results
Anyone with a brain, which eliminates a lot of commenters here, can see it's talent. There's no magical defense the DC can call if your front 7 is getting blown off the ball in the first half. Or when the front 4 can't get any pressure without blitzing. Or when in man coverage the DBs just get beat by the WRs. All of those issues pigeonhole the DC into calling risky man/zone blitzes that can give up a ton of big plays (Michigan game). Or forces them to just sit in drop 7 or drop 8 zone and let the QB just pick them apart because no defense can cover for 4+ seconds (most of the UGA game). UGA was having the same issues yesterday on defense too. When they dropped 7 in man or zone, they weren't getting much pressure at all. So, they had to start blitzing, which let Stroud carve them up through the air or on scrambles.
Can’t hit the portal. We have to be very careful not to destroy the “Culture.”
That dude with the wig has been immortalized and will never know it. lol
Round on the ends and "HI" in the middle. O-HI-O.
All of Spring ball, summer camp and 13 games later so how can a corner not back pedal, turn and run without falling on his own. There’s nothing more fundamental than that. I’m old and I can still do that 100 out of 100 times.
This is like the movie Groundhog Day. Same story.
osuflash
Bring back Hafley after he is fired from Boston College next season.
Buckeye4life
Hafley was a huge loss. I really liked that guy.
osuflash
Bingo
OSUAlumInAZ
I’d settle for Chris Ash.
Really wasn't. All he did was run a super basic zone coverage scheme that relied on elite talent
Nope. Not going to stop you. It needs to stated over and over until someone, somewhere, listens.
OSUAlumInAZ
Nope. Not going to stop you. It needs to stated over and over until someone, somewhere, listens.
OSUAlumInAZ
I want to amend my earlier post to say that 41 is by no means magic number. I doubt that TCU is wanting to fire their DC for giving up 500+ yards and/or 45 points to ttun. I do think improvements on defense are still needed. Improvement is always needed accross the board! I like Knowles and think he continues to do this by adjusting scheme, play calling, and player acquisition (where feasible). '
The outcome of a game can rarely be attributed to any single event, and this seems quite true against UGA. Losing such a close, hard-fought game is always tough, but I'm proud of the effort this team showed in this game compared to what I felt was a disappointing effort at times earlier in the season, including but not limited to the Game.
The NFL is the place where ONLY wins matter and while it is certainly important at tOSU, college level sports are also about developing and guiding good young men and women. This will always have great importance to me and remains a huge reason I find college sports so appealing!
Literally all 4 defenses in the CFP were atrocious yesterday. Even going through all of the CFP history, the defenses generally have been horrible unless they're playing a mediocre offense that were not good passing offenses (2015 Sparty, 2016 OSU & UW, 2017 Clemson, 2018 ND, 2019 Oklahoma, 2020 ND, 2021 UM & UC). People expecting modern college defenses to be the 85 Bears when facing the elite college passing schemes now are complete morons
When Coach Prime took over at CO he supposedly called a team meeting and suggested that EVERYONE transfer because no one on the roster was good enough. Day should call a meeting and suggest that everyone in our secondary other than freshmen who might still develop transfer. Not a single person who played CB or safety for the Buckeyes this year showed fundamental ability at a competitive level. For instance, Ransom's Job #1 in the 4th quarter was to not let the receiver get behind him. Even that relatively simple task was too much for him. And Knowles needs to be told in simple language that if he does not have players capable of keeping opponents in front of them that he is to NEVER NEVER NEVER call a zero coverage - especially not in the fourth quarter of a game we lead when we can let GA take 4 minutes to score but we can not can not can not let them score in one play. (In the 4th q did Knowles tell Ransome to give a 10 yard cushion to Bowers on 4th and 6 or did Ransom come up with the strategy on his own?) The magnitude of ineptitude in Scarlet and Gray on the defensive side was staggering. This was not something that only surfaced on Nov 26. I said after the ND game that we seemed to have some coverage issues, and repeated that periodically. Until the end of the year few others were willing to say that the defensive emperors were wearing no clothes. This year-long problem ultimately falls on Day. Day isn't going anywhere, and shouldn't. But if defense in 2023 isn't better, that last thought may need to be re-examined.