Ohio State fans know that the biggest goal for the Buckeyes this season is another National Championship trophy, and they are still very much in play for that as the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff. However, the Buckeyes had other goals this season, some they accomplished, and some they fell just short of.
One of those goals was to win the Big Ten Championship. The last time Ohio State was in the Big Ten Championship was back in 2020, which also happened to be the last time Ohio State had beaten Michigan. While the Buckeyes were finally able to take down the Wolverines again, they weren't able to finish the job for the conference championship.
Instead, it was the Indiana Hoosiers who came out on top in the Big Ten after a thrilling matchup that highlighted both teams' defenses. The game's biggest moments came in the final three minutes when Ohio State had the ball down by three.
After getting stopped on a 4th and 1 play earlier in the quarter, Ryan Day decided to kick the field goal and tie the game after the Buckeyes couldn't convert on 3rd and 1 inside their own 10-yard line. That decision didn't pay off, though, as kicker Jayden Fielding missed the kick and the Buckeyes were still down three.
Ultimately, Indiana did its job and milked the clock, as well as forced Ohio State to take their timeouts, and the Buckeyes got the ball back with about 20 seconds left and were never able to move the ball again.
Former Ohio State Buckeyes aer placing blame on the wrong player
When a kicker misses a kick in a big moment, as Fiedling did, of course, everyone is quick to place all the blame on him. While he does need to do his job, all of the blame does not rest solely on his shoulders. There was an entire rest of the game where plays could have been made that weren't, that could have changed the position a team was in.
If Ohio State does its job on offense a bit more and puts more points on the board, it doesn't come down to one kick. If Ryan Day doesn't call a pass play on 3rd and 1 inside the 10-yard line and runs the ball instead for the first down, maybe Ohio State would have scored a touchdown on that drive. There are many things to look at.
Apparently, some former Ohio State players forgot about that before they went to social media to bash Fielding over his missed kick.
27 yards…..
— Cardale Jones (@CJ1two) December 7, 2025
Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones gave his input by simply putting the field goal yardage in a tweet. Well, Jones, maybe you should go out there and kick and see how easy it is.
People should know, I Hate kickers
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) December 7, 2025
Former Buckeyes legend and NFL star Cris Carter reminds people that he doesn't like kickers. Well, sometimes kickers are the heroes when they make the big kick to win it all.
It can't all come down to the kicker and give him all the blame when he gets only part of the glory with a winning kick. Kickers are human too and make mistakes, and some Ohio State fans may say they would rather lose the Big Ten title in order to win the National Championship.