A defeat, at home no less, for the bitter rival.

Calls for the head coach to be fired or resigned. Another season without a Big Ten championship.

Questions about the toughness and character of the team.

Are we talking about the 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes? Nope.

It was two years ago when the same scenario played out for the Buckeyes after Michigan rallied to a 45-23 win at Ohio Stadium (thankfully there was no flag scuffle) and a seven-game loss to the Buckeyes .

After this shocking loss, the Buckeyes still made it into the College Football Playoff as a No. 4 seed, where they faced top-ranked Georgia.

There was no Hollywood ending as the Buckeyes, who led 21-7 in the first half and 38-24 in the fourth quarter, lost 42-41 after a 50-yard field goal with three seconds left had missed.

Georgia then defeated TCU 65-7 in the title game, a result that likely would have been similar had it been the Buckeyes instead of the Bulldogs.

While Ohio State has put the awkward ending to the Georgia game behind it, it is relevant to the current situation and provides a path forward to a 13-10 loss to the Wolverines on Nov. 30 in one of the most embarrassing games in program history to respond for a team that was 20 points ahead.

Almost all of the 2022 starters are gone, but the one constant is the man in charge – Ryan Day.

He’ll have to get his players together again because under the new playoff system, the Buckeyes (10-2) appear poised to host a first-round game on Dec. 20 or 21, possibly against Tennessee.

It doesn’t really matter who they play other than Michigan. But when it comes to the 11 other playoff teams, they can compete with any of them. Just ask most oddsmakers who have the second or third best odds to win the national championship.

If only Day could train to want to win a game instead of not losing it, as was the case with his stubborn approach against Michigan.

He and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly insisted on running between the tackles, despite losing two potential All-American candidates in center Seth McLaughlin and left tackle Josh Simmons to season-ending leg injuries a few weeks earlier.

The offensive line was in shambles, but Day and Kelly decided to attack Michigan’s only strength – the defensive line. It was a disastrous move. Ohio State gained 77 yards on 26 carries, a 3.0 average. Quinshon Judkins had 17 of those yards on one carry.

It wasn’t just the running game that was affected. Will Howard was under pressure and threw two interceptions, and incredibly, star freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith was targeted only twice in the second half, with one catch for three yards.

Not surprisingly, after the defeat there was reportedly a meeting between the players and the coaches where the team harshly criticized the staff’s strategies.

Day Foremost must regain the trust of the players or risk a quick exit from the playoffs. If he can regroup and give Ohio State its first national title since 2014, the pain of the Michigan debacle will be lessened but not forgotten.

Whatever happens in the coming weeks, Day appears to be safe. Athletic director Ross Bjork has already voiced his support, and based on most national recruiting rankings, which rank Ohio State third through fifth after Wednesday’s early signing day, there was no immediate damage to Day or the program’s reputation .

In fact, one of the signees was five-star quarterback Tavien St. Clair from Bellefontaine, Ohio, the first in-state scholarship QB to commit to the Buckeyes since Joe Burrow in 2015.

Additionally, Brady Edmunds of Huntington Beach, Calif., chose Ohio State over Michigan, Oregon and Penn State two days after the loss to Michigan.

Maybe when Day arrives he’ll realize that stubbornly running the ball into a wall isn’t going to work.