Random Thoughts: strictly Ohio St.

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

This special edition of Random Thoughts centers solely around Ohio State football.

A sign?

My wife said she knew it was going to be a long day when the ball blew off the tee just before the opening kickoff of the Ohio State/Michigan game. As it turns out, her premonition was correct.

Ryan Day

Predictably, the calls for Ryan Day to be fired came even before the final seconds ticked off the clock.

I ask of those calling for his immediate termination – what’s the plan? The Buckeyes are almost certainly going to the playoff, so who will coach the the team in the postseason? Does anyone think an interim coach on staff, such as Brian Hartline, a position coach, will wave a magic wand and salvage whatever is left of the season?

As far as long term, there seems to be this infatuation with OSU alum Mike Vrabel. The former Tennessee Titans head coach seems to be at the top of a lot of wish lists, but there’s a problem – he’s made it clear he’s not interested in coaching college football because of recruiting, NIL and the portal. Some say throw enough money at him and he’ll do it. Doubtful. He’ll mostly likely be coaching an NFL team next fall. That aside, why on earth would anyone want to hire a coach who doesn’t want to deal with a huge part of the job?

Another name that came up frequently is Urban Meyer. Folks, that ship has sailed. He’s not coming back and even if he did, I can’t see him thriving in the NIL and portal era.

Marcus Freeman? Intriguing, but something tells me Notre Dame is about to offer him a sizable extension.

Yes, there are other coaches, but Day isn’t going anywhere, at least until the playoff is over or the Buckeyes lose, whichever comes first. It could be a different story then. A national championship would almost certainly buy him more time in Columbus (assuming he’d want to stay) and even a title game appearance may do it. Otherwise, at this very moment it’s kind of hard to see him in Columbus next year.

My whole point is – if you’re going to fire him, you’d better have a plan in place. A realistic plan and you’d better be prepared for some bumps along the way.

A cautionary tale

I’m not saying there’s no one else out there who can coach Ohio State. But be careful what you wish for. The circumstances were different at Alabama – Nick Saban retired and the school hired Kalen DeBeor from Washington. Regardless, he was basically handed the keys to the Cadillac and look how that went in his first year.

Chances

It makes me sick to think about the chances the Buckeyes had to get the ball rolling in this game. To me, it felt like if they could just get that touchdown lead, things could snowball quickly. Empty possessions. Missed opportunities. It’s all part of what makes this loss hurt so badly for Ohio State fans.

Seeding

It’ll be interesting to see where the Buckeyes are seeded when the new College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday night. I’m guessing they could fall as far as No. 7 or 8. Of course, the most important ranking is the one that will come out next Sunday. There’s a lot of football to be played this weekend and those games will help shape who’s going where and who’s playing who.

Flag planting

Let me just say I despise the idea of flag planting. It’s disrespectful. Win with grace and lose with grace. As an Ohio State fan, I’d be horrified if any of the Buckeyes pulled a stunt like that. A Michigan player calling Ohio State classless because they didn’t like the whole flag planting thing is classless in itself. What did they think was going to happen?

It was disappointing that neither head coach took control of his team during that incident. Again, win with grace, lose with grace. I get it – it was an emotional moment for all involved. It was also an embarrassing moment in this storied rivalry.

It happened at three other games on Saturday and in my opinion, it was wrong in each of those cases. 

Flag planting II

An excerpt from The Athletic: “There is a simple solution to all of this. The NCAA can fine etams and suspend any players who attempt to denigrate the logo, emblem or property of an opposing team. Is it heavy handed and childish? Perhaps. But so are the actions that led us here.”

I completely agree.

Quarterbacking

Will Howard seems like a pretty good kid (he’s 23, not a kid, but you know what I mean) and his teammates seem to like him. But he picked the worst time to have his worst game. Two costly interceptions and a deer in the headlights look under pressure. A fifth year senior isn’t supposed to have those problems, even if it is his first year at a program like Ohio State. As it turns out, he’s a pretty average quarterback, one who was probably going to lose his starting job had he stayed at Kansas State.

Meanwhile, the quarterback he replaced, Kyle McCord, had a much better season stastically at Syracuse. I know – his yards and touchdowns came against ACC schools. So what? The talent surrounding him wasn’t nearly the same level as Ohio State’s talent. Admittedly, I wasn’t a McCord fan last year but I do wonder how he would have fared in Columbus this season and specifically, on Saturday.

Play calling

Yes, the offensive line is in tatters. It needs upgrades, pronto. Yes, Michigan’s strength was its defensive interior. I’ll never understand why anyone would repeatedly run into a brick wall. That’s exactly what the Buckeyes did on Saturday. I get it – they wanted to establish the run. I’m all for running the ball, but they had a huge advantage through the air. Why not take advantage? If there’s a true answer, I’m guessing field position had something to do with it (OSU was deep in their own territory on more than one occasion) and honestly, I question if they trusted Howard in those situations.

Question

I’m not saying this is going to happen. It could but I’d be surprised – what do fans think if Ohio State somehow wins the national title this season? A national championship, but no win over Michigan. How would that make you feel?

As always, if you have thoughts on comments on any of the above thoughts, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.