Don’t worry Ohio State fans. The conference title games are tomorrow, which means the disastrous loss to Michigan will slowly start to numb.
Having said that, last Saturday’s shocking result is still on the top of many minds despite being several days removed from the carnage.
A popular talking point surrounds the thought that head coach Ryan Day was so obsessed with proving his team is “tough” that it single-handily cost the Buckeyes the game.
FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd spoke of this exact theory earlier this week on The Herd.
“Ohio State, Michigan. I don’t care what anybody says, that’s the worst loss for Ohio State in the history of that matchup,” Cowherd said. “They lost at home to a walk-on quarterback at Michigan, a team that can’t throw with the forward pass, that was missing two of their stars.
“And so Michigan, for the last four seasons, this game has always been about physicality. Whichever team has the most rushing yards has won this game 23 straight years, and the last four it’s been Michigan. So, Ohio State spent almost four hours trying to prove they could win that way, which is not what they are.”
Ohio State, despite boasting elite wide receiver talent and a much more dynamic offense on paper, appeared intent on proving their toughness – a gamble Cowherd argued backfired.
“They’re pretty, they’re more finesse,” Cowherd continued. “They have unbelievable wide receivers. So, Ryan day is super sensitive to this narrative that Ohio State, under Ryan day, is finesse and they’re soft and they lack toughness, and he does not like that at all, but get over it.
“When you’re a head coach, it’s about winning. You have to be able to block out the media and the noise and not worry about the aesthetics.
“Sometimes a defensive coordinator, he’s looking to pat a resume. He wants sacks. Offensive coordinator wants to be clever. A head coach is there to say it’s about winning the game. It is about using our best players to win the game.
“Ohio State’s got good running backs,” Cowherd added. “They have unbelievable wide receivers and a more than capable head coach. They went into that game to prove a point. Michigan just played Michigan football. We can’t pass. We’re going to be the more physical team.
“Ohio State’s a better team, but this was Ryan Day, who has shown he’s very sensitive. He clapped back at Lou Holtz. Remember that when Lou Holtz questioned their toughness and he was more worried about looking a certain way than just playing the game he should have played? This was Ryan Day responding to Lou Holtz after they beat Notre Dame last year when Holtz called the Buckeyes soft.
“Remember that? Lou Holtz is like 90, who cares? He’s a commentator. Now, who cares? You can’t worry about that stuff.
“I honestly watched that game and I’m like, ‘Oh, Ryan Day is trying to prove a point,’ and what happened to Ohio State? I still think they can get to the national championship. I think they would probably lose to Texas, but I think they can beat anybody, and maybe Texas.
“I’m not bailing on him. I’m not firing Ryan Day. Too good of a coach. They become Kentucky basketball. Kentucky basketball did everything right, except win in March, everything else. They were great at getting publicity, recruiting, the NIL, the transfer portal, developing players for the NBA.
“Kentucky did everything right under John Calipari, except win in March, and Ohio State does virtually everything right with Ryan Day, except beat Michigan and win bowl games.
“They do everything else well. NIL, their collective is huge. They use the transfer portal. They win a lot of games. Head coaches are not about proving points. Who cares what Lou Holtz says? I mean, it’s like, you know, it’d be one thing if you’re playing Lou Holtz the following week.
“But Michigan has limitations, by the way, this year. They won’t have them next year, they just signed the top quarterback out of high school football, and they’re loading up. This was the year to beat Michigan.”
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Michigan legend Charles Woodson echoed Cowherd’s sentiments, praising Michigan’s resilience and composure under head coach Sherrone Moore.
“Harbaugh saying years ago and Sherrone Moore backing it up, that Ohio State’s not tough enough. They are not tough enough, Ryan Day’s not tough enough, they’re not tough enough in the trenches, they’re not tough enough in the run game. Just messed with their heads so much, that they’re like, ‘We’ll prove how tough we are.’ And then they run right into the teeth of exactly our strength,” Woodson said.
“Not only that, I think Lou Holtz said it as well about his team and then Ohio State won a game against Notre Dame. Then Ryan Day said, ‘Oh we’re a tough team.’ You can’t prove it to us by talking about it, you’ve got to go do it.”
FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt also chimed in on the Ryan Day toughness theory.
“How did Michigan do this? How did they pull this off? This Wolverine team that has struggled for the better part of the year, all these new faces around their coaching staff, so many new faces on their team, and in particular, in the lineup, and more specifically, on offense. How did they pull this off?” Klatt wondered on his Joel Klatt Show podcast.
“Well, I think that the easiest way to say this is that, once again, the game was played on Michigan’s terms rather than on Ohio State’s terms.
“When I first started to do this rivalry and broadcast this rivalry, back in 2017, ’18, ’19, this game was always played on Ohio State’s terms,” Klatt continued. “Ohio State had the talent, and it was played on the perimeter, and Michigan could not catch up, and they would desperately try to win the match up against Ohio State.
“And they couldn’t because the game was played on Ohio State’s terms, and now you go into 2021, and since, and all four of these matchups, the last four years, have been played on Michigan’s terms.
“They want to get into a phone booth and get into a fist fight, and that’s exactly what has happened over these last four years. And the reason that this one is so shocking is because it was so clearly out of character and in terms of a mismatch for the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
Day and the Buckeyes need to make sure they have their heads completely cleared by the end of the weekend.
In the matter of days, Ohio State will find out their path in the playoffs. They need to be focused and completely pass what happened last Saturday at The Horseshoe.
While that’s easier said than done, the fact of the matter is Ohio State’s ultimate goal of winning the national championship is still very much in reach.
What are your thoughts on all of the “toughness” conversation that’s taken place?
Do you agree that Day’s obsession with proving the doubters wrong is what cost the Buckeyes the game???
