Not Easy For OSU To Put Texas In Rear-View Mirror

Execute in the fourth quarter and get better. Not much of a T-shirt slogan, but the Buckeyes say that’s the key to not letting a fourth-quarter failure happen again.

Columbus, OH – Seen, heard, and if we learned anything new at Tuesday’s Ohio State football news conference 36 hours after the Texas tailspin.

Head coach Ryan Day, quarterback Julian Sayin and linebacker Payton Pierce did their duty, spending about 40 minutes answering questions. Nobody said a word about Kent State. Texas was still on everyone’s mind more than Georgia was ever on anyone’s mind.

Questions ran the gamut of offensive, defensive, and special teams shortcomings, but, in the end, all sought one answer. “How did you lose a 20-point lead?”

The answers over and over and over again to the 24-23 defeat in front of 105,000 burnt-orange and delirious Texas fans: Execution and get better.

The words execution and execute were used a combined 16 times. The word better – play better, get better, put players in better positions to succeed, execute better – was used 17 times.

Maybe you’re as weary of rehashing an inexplicable loss as much as the Ohio State defense was weary in the fourth quarter. But that’s all I got for you. And I will do my best to execute a faithful representation of what was said explicitly, implicitly and between the lines. And if I don’t do it well, then like the Buckeyes, I’ll try to get better for next week.

In assessing the fourth-quarter, slow-motion trainwreck, Day said all phases were at fault.  No one disagrees. The 2024 mantra of “leave no doubt” was nowhere to be seen. In summary: “We have to do a better job of identifying how we’re going to win these games in the fourth quarter as a group and do it.”

While talent, execution and play calling matter a ton, what is the personality of this team? Did they think they had the game won? Does it possess the DNA to fight through fourth-quarter mishaps? Can it leave no doubt when called upon to do so? They’ve got ample opportunities to prove if they have enough mental toughness.

The Buckeyes didn’t lack offensive aggression. Not counting the two desperation throws on the final possession, the Buckeyes’ second half consisted of 14 passes and 10 runs. That’s not sitting on a lead. Problem was, only four of those passes were completed. Perhaps the play calling was a bit too aggressive in search of the knockout punch.

“I would disagree with the fact that we weren’t pushing forward and trying to score touchdowns,” Day said.

No doubt this team is much different than last year, and learning how to play with a lead takes reps like anything else. The defense has eight new starters. The offense still struggles to run the ball with consistent authority, and, while the receiving corps may be deeper in talent, no one looks like the next Carnell Tate this early in the season.

Young guys will continue to play and play more. Freshman Jay Timmons is becoming a rock in the secondary. Linebacker Riley Pettyjohn made lots of plays Saturday, and Day said he will play more and more. Freshman defensive end Khary Wilder has a nose for the quarterback this defense needs. This week against Kent State and next week against Illinois are opportunities for young talents to earn more trust and more playing time. Maybe even someone like Chris Henry Jr.

“We have a reference point on where we are against a very good team, and I think as we look at it now, we have to put the right pieces together,” Day said. “It’s not going to be exactly the same as it was last year. They’re not new guys anymore, they’re Buckeyes. But we’ve got to utilize them in the right spots to go win the game in the fourth quarter. That’s the challenge that we have as coaches, and then the players owning that as well.”

So many other things were discussed.

Did Sayin ever appear in rhythm. Yes, said Day, in the first half. No, in the second half. And part of the reason was increased pass rush by Texas and a loss of momentum that stayed lost.

Much more was said, none of it much different than what you’ve already read if you made it this far. At the end of the day, as Day began a long explanation, this does come down to the coaches getting to know their players’ strengths and weaknesses better and, as cliché as it sounds, putting them in the best position to win.

But questions, as they will all season, persist.

“Are we attacking enough in the fourth quarter? Are we whatever that is?” Day said. “And then the players look and say, ‘Wait a minute, guys, if plays are plays, they’re all good plays.’ But we got to execute them at a higher level.

“And then are we coaching them well enough? These are all the things that you got to really ask yourself. And if we win that game, then we’re not probably having those conversations. So, as much as this hurts and is visual, we have to move forward with it. The plan is to be a better, stronger team as we head into conference play.”

Because opportunities to make that one key play in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice will come again and perhaps many times against their schedule. And when it does, will this team be ready?

And if the best play in the 60^th minute is let the other team score to give yourself a chance to score one more time and win, do you take that chance? And did you make the wrong decision this time when you tried to stop Texas with a goal-line stand?

“Well, it didn’t work, so the answer is yes,” Day said. “If we win the game, then it would have been the right decision. In the moment you got to make a hard decision. I decided to make that call.”

I’ll close with this. Teams learn more from losses, even ones as ugly as this one, than they do from wins. Day talked last year about 12-0 masking problem areas.

“This highlighted some things that we gotta get fixed,” he said.

So, the answers to the execution problems, especially when the game is on the line, will be taken more seriously by the players going forward. That might not prevent them from losing again. But it’s the only chance they have to win the many matchup games – regular season and playoffs – that are coming.

If not, the train won’t just not run on time, it will spin off the tracks again.