Ryan Day's spot is getting even hotter

If it still felt the same, then it was.

Four straight losses to Michigan after the unranked Wolverines pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the last 25 years – or perhaps ever – with a 13-10 victory in the Horseshoe.

If Ohio State coach Ryan Day thought his place was hot before the game, it simply turned into an inferno. Just about everything that could go wrong happened, including strange decisions by the offensive coaching staff. Why try to run the ball if it doesn’t work? Apparently UM has the Day number.

Ohio State insists on playing ball when there’s nothing there

For much of the first half, Ohio State stuck to the Midwest mantra: Stay inside when it gets cold outside.

Unfortunately for OSU, staying inside didn’t work at all against Michigan. I’m not sure why the Buckeyes kept trying to run up the middle against the Wolverines. Maybe they wanted to prove how tough they were in the trenches? But whatever the reason, it didn’t work. Ohio State gained just 36 yards on 14 attempts (2.6 yards per carry) before halftime, with most of the runs coming up the middle. The final score wasn’t much better: 77 yards on 26 carries.

It was a classic case of banging your head against the wall and hoping the door opens. In contrast, OSU started the final drive of the half at its own 25-yard line with 2:15 remaining and then threw nine of 10 plays, resulting in a 10-yard touchdown for Jeremiah Smith to make the score 10 :10 led.

But then the offensive went back to trying to break the stone, but without success. Why?

It’s true that 10 of the last 22 OSU-UM games have been won by the team with the most rushing yards, but it was clear early on that the Buckeyes had to throw to set up the run, not the other way around. Or even stop the run altogether.

Buckeyes kicker Jayden Fielding has a ‘bad day of golf’

It’s never a good thing when a field goal kicker’s shots resemble my golf game. You know, the ball flies too far to the right and left.

Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding had a rough day against Michigan. He missed a 38-yard field goal attempt right in the second quarter that would have put OSU up 7-6, and late in the third quarter he missed a 34-yarder that tied the game at 10 -10. The junior did manage a 29-yard kick in the first quarter to get the Buckeyes on the scoreboard, but the missed kicks were a miss.

The game is often decided by one or two crucial plays, and watching OSU let six potential points go out of bounds was the difference between winning and losing.

And Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada made the difference with his kicks of 54 and 21 yards.

Will Howard terrifies Buckeye Nation

More than a few hearts skipped a beat when Howard was left stranded after taking a hard hit with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. The fifth-year quarterback reportedly went into the medical tent with a head injury but emerged one play later.

I’ve argued all season that Day keeps Howard in games too long, which can backfire if the starting QB leaves the game due to injury. Backup quarterback Devin Brown has only attempted 19 passes this season, which isn’t exactly a reassuring feeling for fans.

Howard appeared shaky immediately upon returning to the field, missing his next three throws before steadying himself and completing six of his next seven throws.

On the other hand, the head injury cannot be attributed to the first of Howard’s two interceptions, which occurred before the injury. And only the second choice looked like Howard was confused.

The question with Howard has always been whether he’s good enough to win the biggest games. Most of his stats were excellent on Saturday, but impressive numbers never tell the whole story. It’s not about how good it is 90% of the time, but how bad it is 10% of the time.

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Ryan Day’s spot is getting even hotter

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