It may feel like the sky is falling in Columbus after Ohio State's horrid 20-point collapse in the fourth quarter of a 24-23 Texas win in Week 2. In truth, the Buckeyes have a lot to be happy about, despite Arch Manning having his potential Heisman moment to help lead the Longhorns back from the jaws of defeat.
Optimism may be easier to have because of Manning's Heisman moment, actually.
When CFP selection committee members think back on (hopefully) Ohio State's worst loss of the season, it could be because of Manning's heroics.
Of course, he had plenty of help from running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown (combined 158 all-purpose yards, two rushing touchdowns), receivers Emmett Mosley and Ryan Wingo (nine catches and a touchdown), and even Emaree Winston, who grabbed enough YAC to convert a massive first down in the fourth quarter on a 4th-and-9 play and changed the entire trajectory of the game. Winston had three catches for 39 yards.
That's not even mentioning the defense clamping down in the second half and allowing three points.
Still, Manning shook off the boo-birds at DKR Stadium who were hating on his inability to do anything but check the ball down. He was a natural leader who didn't fold despite things getting tough. It was his moment to shine.
The national narrative coming out of the weekend is focusing on what Arch did right. Not what Ryan Day did wrong. That conversation would be lengthy. It's not being discussed much outside of Columbus, though.
Ohio State was the better team for most of the game
ESPN's FPI has the Buckeyes ranked No. 1 despite the loss. Ohio State is the only 1-1 team in the top 10 of ESPN's post-Week 2 FPI.
43 minutes of great football against the nation's new No. 1 team in every poll is how you get ranked No. 1 in "a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season."
Because the Buckeyes only lost by a single point against a Texas squad favored to win by more than that, they actually over-performed and were rewarded by the algorithm.
Moving forward, Ohio State is still expected to play at the highest level. Even against a gauntlet of a Big Ten slate.
Ohio State must treat the rest of the season as they would pre-2024
Perhaps the manner in which the Buckeyes lost could lock Day in for the rest of the year. Maybe it'll be a good thing that Ohio State lost this game when it's all said and done.
One loss no longer dooms a program to miss the Playoff. That worry subsided in 2014 with the introduction of the four-team CFP. With a 12-team CFP, even two losses are okay. The Buckeyes could even be the one team that gets grace for three losses after the 2026 buzzsaw is over, depending on where other teams finish.
Day needs to keep a pre-2024 mindset. Every game is win-or-go-home now as far as he's concerned. The year before Day arrived at the program as Urban Meyer's play-caller, Ohio State lost a game to Penn State and still made the CFP. Clemson dog-walked them when they got there, but the Buckeyes overcame a close mid-October loss to make the CFP without even winning the Big Ten.
This is an early September loss that Ohio State wasn't even favored in.
Things will be okay for the Scarlet and Gray. Manning's Heisman moment and all.
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