Gilbert: Buckeyes Strike Serious Tone For Desperate Times

Ohio State football is at its lowest point in 15 years and desperate for a victory. They must take out their frustrations on Northwestern or endure another long week.

Columbus, OH – Judging by the three coaches and two players who faced the media this week, the mood among the Buckeyes is serious.

Not somber or solemn. Not resigned to their fate. But serious.

Serious about fixing the problems and beating Northwestern on Saturday in a game that, to the chagrin of many, does not exactly say Big Noon, but is being played at noon anyway.

“We’re in the situation where we’re desperate for a win,” head Buckeye Ryan Day said Wednesday after practice.

If there is a player people want to hear from about this desperation, it’s Jeremiah Smith, the best player in the country and still in contention to win the Heisman Trophy. But old reliables Carson Hinzman and Christian Alliegro took ones for the team Wednesday.

Smith didn’t exactly have to speak for himself for his emotions to be understood. We know how he feels about two straight losses and a three-loss season, numbers more unacceptable than a dropped touchdown pass.

First, if you saw video of him displaying anger and frustration during Saturday’s loss to Oregon, you saw what he is made of. It’s the stuff Ryan Day and many teammates have said publicly for three years about how his desire to win drives him more than personal goals.

Ohio State needs the emotion and controlled aggression Smith displayed. He was not acting like a spoiled or petulant child, as some have said. His display was not about stats or Heisman Trophy moments.

Smith wants to win. Period. He is recognized as the hardest worker on the team. Maybe that’s difficult to believe in this new era of college football. Smith’s seven-figure NIL money is more than most.

Second, he spoke by not quitting on his teammates to protect his body and NFL Draft status as many assumed or suggested he would do because of the improbability that the Buckeyes will make the playoffs.

Hinzman sees Smith every day. He was his proxy Wednesday.

“He’s completely not like that at all,” Hinzman said. “I always tell people even if he wasn’t who JJ was, he’d still be a great player to have on your team just because of who he is.”

Hinzman said Smith is being the type of captain and leader the team needs, calling the past two losses unacceptable performances and pushing his teammates to be better.

“A lot of those guys in his position could easily be like, ‘No, I’m good,’” Hinzman said. “‘I’ll still be a first-round pick,’ probably a number one pick overall. However, JJ is different. And I think that’s the main point. I mean, that kid’s different.”

For the next three weeks, Ohio State has to be different than the past two weeks to the same degree that Smith is different.

“Sometimes it takes a loss,” said Hinzman, who was far more serious than his typically jovial self.

He lived through the Michigan loss two years ago and was integral to the turnaround that carried the Buckeyes to the national championship. But these two losses are worse. This team is not as talented. But they are capable of much more than 6-3.

“Unfortunately we’ve been through too many losses that it really has brought a lot of flaws to light,” Hinzman said. “A lot of the guys, including the leaders, including some of the young guys, have been like, ‘Man, we just want to finish good.’”

To win out, the Buckeyes must take advantage of their talent edge over Northwestern and Nebraska and find a way to outperform Michigan’s lackluster offense.

What must they overcome? Well, the list of flaws and hindrances are longer than they’ve been in ages.

Take your pick, or picks, from offensive line play, quarterback play, defensive breakdowns permitting explosive plays, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator, the head coach, 51 new players undermining program culture, and players too concerned about money.

Did I miss any?

Whatever the factors, the offense must show that Julian Sayin throwing touchdowns to Jeremiah Smith wasn’t just mortar covering the cracks in the offense. Maybe it was.

The pressure, as it always does in football, falls on freshman quarterback Luke Fahey. But the rest of the offense must fix its flaws and lead him. He’s not experienced enough to lead them, make up for their shortcomings, and win a game by himself. Not that any quarterback ever does it alone, but you get the point.

“He’s green, but he comes out and he competes,” Hinzman said of Fahey. “I want to get him that first one just so that he can go out and have that confidence underneath his belt. Because I wish you guys could see him at practice when he has a little bit of confidence underneath him … he’s glowing.

“For us to go out there and rally around him rather than forcing him to lead us is important.”

On defense, Matt Patricia’s crew must stop the big plays that were killers against USC and Oregon. And all they have to do is stop the machinations of Chip Kelly, the first-year offensive coordinator for Northwestern.

Kelly coached Day in college and ran the national championship offense for Ohio State two short seasons ago. His creativity and willingness to take chances gave him the idea to introduce some Wing-T concepts into the Northwestern offense.

The old run-heavy offense created by Delaware coaching legend Tubby Raymond likes to use misdirection, among other things, to confuse defenses and break long runs.

“When you talk about the schematics, what’s so significant about Chip and his career is just how he’s adapted with different personnel groupings,” Day said. “He’s always been a football junkie. And he’s always adapted to his personnel and been creative.”

The explosive plays Kelly is scheming are the ones the Buckeyes must stop to give the offense the opportunity to find and maintain a consistent rhythm that has been off-beat in the losses.

“When things like that happen, we can’t let it collateral, and cause another explosive,” Alliegro said. “We gotta get back on track and continue to play hard.”

Alliegro said mad described the team after the Oregon loss. Angry described the first two days of practice. And he agrees with Day that the team is desperate for a win.

“I would just say we need to win,” he said. “That’s the mentality. Really, whatever it takes to win is the mentality right now … and the priority.”