{"id":201122,"date":"2026-01-01T21:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T02:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=201122"},"modified":"2026-01-03T08:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T13:45:08","slug":"random-thoughts-ohio-state-buckeyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/01\/01\/random-thoughts-ohio-state-buckeyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Random Thoughts: Ohio State Buckeyes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Buckeye fans, it was a frustrating New Year\u2019s Eve. Ohio State was a notable favorite but the Buckeyes were in serious trouble in the first half. Flaws and\/or cracks that had been there most of the season were quickly exposed by Miami, which allowed the Hurricanes to build up a two touchdown lead, take a punch or two in the second half and knock OSU from the postseason with a 24-14 victory. Here are some thoughts about the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manhandled<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s really no other way to describe it. Miami simply manhandled Ohio State in the first half and on the game clinching drive in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes were literally being moved off the football offensively and defensively. Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. was a load. More often than not, he at least fell forward for positive yardage. The Hurricanes were much more physical than anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Adjustments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Buckeye fans, the first half was extremely frustrating. Everything went right for Miami and nothing went right for Ohio State. I still wonder why OSU didn\u2019t make better adjustments in the first half. Knowing that Miami was controlling the line of scrimmage, the ball should have been out of Sayin\u2019s hands much quicker. Three-step drop, gone. Drag routes, slants, etc. No five or seven step drops. The same with running plays. Instead of stretch or counter plays, north-south, between the tackles. They made the adjustments at halftime but in all reality, it was too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clincher<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may disagree and that\u2019s fine but in my mind, the game was probably over with the pick-6. I had a hard time seeing Ohio State scoring three times and holding the Hurricanes scoreless the rest of the way. Yes, the Buckeyes cut it to 17-14, finally got a much needed stop but couldn\u2019t get the equalizer or go-ahead score. They had a chance but couldn\u2019t make the most of it. I will admit, it would have been interesting if OSU was able to go up 21-17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julian Sayin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the game, many people were saying that Julian Sayin only looked good because he had the top two receivers in college football. Who wouldn\u2019t look good with those guys on the outside? But I get it. He didn\u2019t exactly look comfortable when Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith both missed the same game during the regular season. Here\u2019s what we learned about Sayin in the final two games. He doesn\u2019t like to be pressured in the pocket, but who does? He doesn\u2019t like to run, as evidenced on New Year\u2019s Eve. In the end, he\u2019s a good fit for Ohio State\u2019s system. Is he elite? I don\u2019t know. His overall stats might indicate he is, but some of that is the system and the fact he has great wide receivers. Is he very good? Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Tate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t Carnell Tate\u2019s finest game. I can think of more than one play where he didn\u2019t exactly put it all out there. Perhaps he had an eye on or concerns about his NFL draft status? None of us can say for sure but one has to wonder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right before halftime<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Buckeyes put together a nice drive right before halftime, but ran out of time. Even another 30 seconds could have been huge. Had the Buckeyes been able to score a touchdown before halftime, who knows what would have happened afterword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naysayers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Predictably, there were some calls to fire Ryan Day after the game. Not many actually, but a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To those people \u2013 so you want to fire a guy who won a national championship last year, went 12-0 during the regular season? Ok. Exactly who would you hire to take over? Give me one name, especially now that the coaching cycle is basically complete. Don\u2019t say Urban Meyer or Nick Saban \u2013 that\u2019s not realistic. So who is an actual candidate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think he will, but I do hope he hires an offensive coordinator. It didn\u2019t make sense to hire one when Brian Hartline got the South Florida job. You generally don\u2019t bring in someone new at that stage of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offensive line and kicker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, the offensive line has to be addressed in the transfer portal. Regardless of what abstract stats show, it was a weakness all season. That unit simply has to get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for kicker \u2013 people ask why OSU can\u2019t get a better kicker. Here\u2019s my theory: the Buckeyes aren\u2019t a huge field goal kicking team. If you were a top notch kicker coming out of high school or coming from the portal, would you choose a place that doesn\u2019t line up for a ton of field goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon further review<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the end of the season was disappointing, let\u2019s step back and look what the team accomplished. Think about all of the talent that graduated from the 2024 national championship team. For many programs, losses like that can be nearly crippling but it wasn\u2019t for Ohio State. The Buckeyes rolled through the regular season undefeated and enjoyed a victory over Michigan. The Big Ten Championship Game \u2013 in some ways it was almost anti-climatic. True, this team didn\u2019t win back-to-back national championships but when you take everything into consideration, it was a very good season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Byes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now there is zero advantage to having a bye in the College Football Playoff. Until Indiana, teams with a bye had gone 0-6. Seriously, at this point, why would any team want a bye?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have thoughts or comments, agree or disagree, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports For Buckeye fans, it was a frustrating New Year\u2019s Eve. Ohio State was a notable favorite but the Buckeyes were in serious trouble in the first half. Flaws and\/or cracks that had been there most of the season were quickly exposed by Miami, which allowed the Hurricanes to build up a two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 16:30:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201122"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201175,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201122\/revisions\/201175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}