For the first two and a half quarters, the Ohio State Buckeyes were dominating the game against Texas. It was a game that seemed destined to go the Buckeyes' way after they got two early turnovers. They had a 20-3 lead at halftime and looked to be in complete control.
Then, Ryan Day happened. Instead of keeping his foot on the pedal, the Buckeyes turtled up on both offense and defense. Arthur Smith stopped pushing the ball down the field. He focused too much on trying to force it to Jeremiah Smith. Patricia was by far the worst offender, though.
Matt Patricia is a main reason for Ohio State's collapse
Ohio State let Arch Manning and the Longhorn offense get into a rhythm. Patricia refused to rush the quarterback with anything more than three or four linemen. He just dropped back into a zone and let Manning pick them apart. It was the worst possible thing he could have done.
Had the defense done what it did in the first half, the Buckeyes would have been dominated in this game from start to finish. They would have won this game and been the undisputed best team in the country. Patricia's refusal to mix up the defense is perhaps the biggest reason they lost this game.
Day is the guy who runs the team, and he could have interjected his influence more on both sides of the ball to make sure that things didn't go sideways. Instead, Ohio State allowed the Longhorns to have their biggest comeback since 2007. It is a black stain on Day's resume.
This is a loss that will likely carry with the Buckeyes for the rest of the season. Ohio State has a ridiculously tough schedule, and there could be more losses on the way. The fact that they weren't able to do what needed to be done when they had the game in hand is incredibly disappointing.
Ohio State still has massive problems at the kicker position
Connor Hawkins was supposed to be the guy who fixed Ohio State's kicking woes. He had kicked in big games, and he was supposed to be the one that they could count on. With a chance to seal the game, Hawkins missed a 45-yard field goal attempt that would ahve put the Buckeyes up two scores.
Instead, Hawkins showed that he's not any better than Jayden Fielding. That's a massive problem heading into the rest of the year. If they don't have a kicker they can count on, that puts even more pressure on the offense. Ohio State had every opportunity to win this game, and they crapped down their leg.
This is a loss that is going to sting for quite a while. Ohio State should win every game that they are up 20 points, no matter who they are playing. Day has some serious questions that he has to answer over the next week. This loss is one of the most embarrassing losses in his tenure.
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