What in the world is going on? Leading up to kickoff, the expectation was that Ohio State would have no issues taking down Miami in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. However, two quarters in, Miami is dominating and making things look easy.
ESPN analyst picks Miami to shock Ohio State football in the CFP
The Buckeyes simply can't get into any kind of a rhythm on offense and the Miami defensive line is owning play in the trenches. The offensive line isn't getting the job done in giving Julian Sayin enough time to scan the field and make a play.
With the two teams entering the locker rooms for the halftime break, Ryan Day made it clear that he has not been happy with the play of his squad. However, his halftime quote was incredibly disappointing, as his vague response did not show the kind of urgency the Ohio State faithful were hoping for:
Ohio State football has looked incredibly sluggish vs. Miami in the CFP
“We just got to do a better job protecting,” Day said. “We certainly had the pick-six that certainly flipped the first half of this game, but we gotta get our rhythm going here. We gotta do a better job in protection, staying on track, converting on third down and go from there.”
The fact that Day mentioned protecting the quarterback twice sure was telling. Sayin was sacked three times in the first 30 minutes, which no one saw coming. Plain and simple, Ohio State's hosses up front were getting bullied. The Buckeyes had three weeks to prepare for Miami's pass-rush and this is how the group is looking?
It's just unacceptable. Yes, you can call out the play-calling now that Brian Hartline is no longer running the show, but it doesn't matter if Sayin has to run for his life. A totally different team needs to show up in the second half. If not, then the 2025 campaign will end in the worst way possible. OSU supporters are praying to the football Gods that doesn't end up being the case.