Final Ohio State thoughts from Michigan: Ryan Day’s problem, Kyle McCord’s future and more
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — We’re not done talking about Ohio State ’s 30-24 loss to Michigan on Saturday, the third in a row for the Buckeyes in The Game. Here are five more thoughts on what went wrong and what’s next:
We have to start with Ryan Day .
I wrote about it right after the game , but if Ohio State fans want to compare him to John Cooper, I have no problem with that. Ohio State fans have every right to be angry with Day about his decision-making in the loss.
But it’s important to note that he’s not on the hot seat. Gene Smith isn’t going to fire Day on his way out of office and leave the new athletic director with a new head coach to hire, as well. Day is 56-7 in five years. He was a field goal against Georgia from likely winning the national championship last season. He hasn’t lost to a Big Ten team other than Michigan yet. That’s an accomplishment.
I’m not trying to plead Day’s case here — those are just facts. He’s a good coach. But if he wants to be remembered as one of the greats, in the same conversation as the likes of Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel, he has to learn from Saturday’s loss. And I’m not talking about firing assistant coaches and hoping new faces can mask problems. No, Day has to look in the mirror.
Michigan is a great team that has a good chance to make it to the national championship game. But Ohio State had more skill position talent. And when you have more talent, as a coach you have to trust the talent to go win the game.
The punt on fourth-and-1 from the Ohio State 46-yard line is inexcusable. This isn’t Minnesota or Michigan State . The best coaches in the country know you have to put it all on the line in rivalry games to win them. It’s what Sherrone Moore did for Michigan and what Washington did Saturday night when it went for it on fourth-and-1 on its own 29-yard line in the fourth quarter against Washington State .
Then there was the decision to run 37 seconds off the clock before halftime. I’ve sat on this for two days now and still can’t make sense of this. Ohio State had all of the momentum. It had just scored a touchdown and got a stop on a Jack Sawyer and Michael Hall Jr. sack. But Day decided to settle for a long field goal attempt and go into halftime. Nobody would’ve faulted him if he went for it on fourth-and-2. You have to be aggressive in those moments.
If Day doesn’t trust his quarterback or offensive line in those moments, that’s a problem. If Ohio State can’t convert a fourth-and-short with the skill players it has, then it doesn’t belong in the College Football Playoff. The problem is we will never know if it could convert.
Day is a good coach, one who has shown he can come up with a great game plan, but his decision-making in big games has cost Ohio State in each of the past two seasons. He has to come back next time with a more aggressive mindset.
When we talk about Day looking himself in the mirror, one of the things he’s going to have to think about is whether he’s been making the right decisions with his assistant coaches.
Last year, despite all of the special teams mistakes in the final two games, Day decided to give special teams coordinator Parker Fleming a raise. That decision didn’t make Fleming a better coach. In fact, one could argue Ohio State’s special teams is the team’s biggest weakness this year, even if overshadowed by the issues on the offensive line.
Look at Saturday as an example. The wind in Ann Arbor was hit or miss, but punter Jesse Mirco averaged 36.7 yards on three punts, well under his 42.8 season average. That should’ve been enough reason for Day to go for it on fourth-and-1. Ohio State kickers have also now missed 50-plus-yard field goals with the season on the line two years in a row now.
But that’s not the biggest mistake. With 1:05 left in the game, trailing by six, Ohio State decided to return the kickoff instead of fair catch it. Instead of getting the ball at the 25-yard-line and saving time, Ohio State started its final drive on the 19-yard line and wasted five seconds.
Day has to reevaluate things within his program to take the next step. Special teams is one of those areas. It has to be better.
Now, to Kyle McCord .
He had some bad moments. The first-quarter interception wasn’t good, and he looked like he was struggling to make progressions early on. But I don’t think he was terrible in the game. McCord finished with 271 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 18-of-30 passes. The second interception was more on the offensive line than McCord.
The Game really was a summation of the entire season for McCord, though. The inconsistency from drive to drive made it hard to know what you were going to get. It puts the coaching staff in a position where it will need to evaluate just how much progress McCord made this season.
While I think some of the criticism of McCord isn’t fair, it’s understandable to be frustrated when you see Georgia’s first-year quarterback Carson Beck turn it on with 858 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception in a crucial three-game stretch against Missouri , Tennessee and Ole Miss . Alabama first-year starting quarterback Jalen Milroe is hitting his peak , as well.
McCord’s first interception was a mistake a quarterback starting in his 13th career game just can’t make. He should get better this offseason with more film study, coaching and experience, but Ohio State has set a high standard for quarterback player in recent years. We didn’t see that from McCord this year. Next season, he’s likely going to be without elite skill players like Marvin Harrison Jr. , Emeka Egbuka , Cade Stover and TreVeyon Henderson .
I think McCord has talent, but he’s going to need to take a big next step to help Ohio State get over the Michigan hump.
Here’s the reality of the situation: Ohio State was in a win-and-in situation at Michigan and didn’t get the job done, so the season is most likely over in terms of national championship aspirations. But for the sake of keeping some faith, there is a way that Ohio State can backdoor into the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row.
In my mind, Georgia and Michigan are in no matter what happens. The winner of the Pac-12 title between Washington and Oregon almost certainly gets in as well. So that leaves Ohio State, Florida State , Texas and Alabama fighting for the final spot.
In that case, Ohio State needs Louisville to beat Florida State, which is possible with quarterback Jordan Travis out with a leg injury. Georgia needs to beat Alabama, making the Crimson Tide a two-loss team. And Texas needs to lose to Oklahoma State .
This isn’t an impossible situation. I think Georgia wins, and I actually like Louisville’s chances against Florida State without Travis. I don’t think Oklahoma State is going to beat Texas. The Cowboys have had some high highs this year, including beating Oklahoma at home, but it’s not something I expect.
If all of that happens, one-loss Ohio State gets the final spot over a one-loss Florida State team. That’s a lot, though, right? Well, you know who to root for now.
But it’s more likely that Ohio State is heading to a New Year’s Six bowl for the second time in three years. The Buckeyes are likely looking at the Orange Bowl against the ACC representative, which will probably be Louisville.
Lastly, let’s talk about the transfer portal.
The portal opens on Dec. 4 and closes on Jan. 2. Ohio State needs to be active, much like it was a year ago.
It’s obvious that the Buckeyes need help up front. The staff needs to evaluate what it has at offensive tackle and whether Josh Fryar and Josh Simmons can get it done next season. But beyond the tackle situation, Ohio State is expected to lose both starting guards, as Donovan Jackson could go to the NFL Draft with Matthew Jones .
If that’s the case, Ohio State will have some real concerns up front if it doesn’t improve through the portal.
The Buckeyes will expect Tegra Tshabola to make the jump into a starter, and I continue to hear good things about Luke Montgomery , so he could move out to starting tackle next year, too. Still, there are questions to be answered, especially if the backups weren’t good enough to push the starters despite how poorly they were playing at times this season.
Defensive line will likely need a boost too. The Buckeyes have missed on elite edge rushers in recruiting, and though they have Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson back next year, they’ll need to add some depth.
Ohio State must make some changes, and I expect it to address needs in the portal.
(Top photo of Kyle McCord: Ezra Shaw / )
