The Ohio State Buckeyes weren't who we thought they were as their College Football Playoff hopes went up in smoke on New Year's Eve in a 24-14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Or maybe, they were exactly who we know they were when facing decent-to-elite defenses: ineffective and in-explosive. The Columbus Dispatch's Rob Oller claimed Ryan Day's offense on Wednesday, plus Brian Hartline's against the Texas Longhorns in Week 1 and against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship, went into "witness protection."
Great analogy for awful offensive performances, one of which singlehandedly ended the program's repeat bid.
"Many missed what turned out to be the most important piece of fine print: Ohio State’s offense entered the witness protection program against the three best teams it faced. Disappeared. Poof. Fourteen points against Texas, ranked No. 1 at the time. Ten points against No. 2 Indiana. Fourteen points against No. 10-seed Miami," Oller wrote.
"Make no mistake, none of those three defenses was a pushover. Indiana’s ranks fourth; Miami’s 10th; Texas comes in at 37th, not exceptional but still better than the shower liners that are Rutgers (125th), Purdue (119th), and UCLA (83rd) — teams OSU played in consecutive weeks before finishing the regular season against Michigan (22nd)."
"When playing defenses that punched back, the Buckeyes’ offense got exposed. Ohio State scored three touchdowns in its final two games. The O-line allowed five sacks against Miami and five against Indiana after allowing only six all season. That doesn’t cut it, no matter how you slice it."
Ryan Day should call Chip Kelly and lure him away from Northwestern
Chip Kelly is back in the college game, but he's play-calling for a Northwestern Wildcats squad that's a long shot to contend next season under David Braun. Kelly is not far removed from a title calling plays for Ohio State. He doesn't need to settle like this.
Especially not when there's a need for his services on the Buckeyes.
Day needs to give his former assistant a call and convince him to leave his cushy job in Chicago to return to the biggest stage in the sport.