Ohio State's fourth-quarter failures won't matter against Kent State

4 short-attention spans

Buckeyes won’t blow this lead. … Katie ring your bell … Kent read, Kent write, Kent score. … Will run game get up and running?

Pregame buzz

Maybe rename this postgame buzz? Because what everyone continues to talk about

is the way Ohio State lost to Texas, by folding in the fourth quarter. Should the Buckeyes have let the Longhorns score late in the game? Yes. Should Ryan Day have kicked a first-quarter field goal rather than gone for it on fourth down? Yes. Should players be getting crucified on social media? No.

Scarlet & Gray Matter

One-liner

How does Ohio State find a way to win in the fourth quarter? By having already won in the first quarter.

Make or breakers

The Buckeyes can’t crush Kent State with one arm tied behind their backs, but Jeremiah Smith might just try. The Heisman Trophy candidate continues to wow college football, and despite having a very unlike JJ fourth quarter at Texas, the one-handed acrobatic catches should re-emerge against Kent State. Keep an eye on Julian Sayin’s performance against the Golden Flashes. The quarterback needs a bounce-back game after struggling against the Longhorns.

Robo’s rankings

Notre Dame (1 last week) … It’s Michigan State this week for ND. No problem.
Texas (3) … Why not jump the Horns to No. 1? Because for three quarters against Ohio State they looked unremarkable. Still, credit for staging one whale of a comeback.
Indiana (2) … After Western Kentucky, one more week before the Hoosiers play a real team. What’s that? Northwestern comes next? Make that two more weeks.
Georgia (unranked) … No one is talking about the Bulldogs being the real deal. So I will. They are.
Miami (unranked) … Darian Mensah to Malachi Toney vying for best QB-WR combo in the nation.

Robo’s rantings

I’ve banged this drum before, but no way should any student who wants season tickets be denied, and especially not seniors. But at Ohio State the law of supply and demand is given as the reason for hundreds of seniors getting shut out.

About 25,000 season ticket packages were made available to students, and demand exceeded supply.

Ohio State distributes student tickets proportionally based on demand within each class rank, meaning if only 10% of seniors apply, then inventory is proportioned so seniors get 10% of the available inventory. The school wants underclassmen to have as much access as seniors.

Student packages include full season and Big Ten, but single-game tickets are made available only to games where supply exceeds demands, like Kent State, said Kate Nushart, OSU assistant athletic director of ticketing.

“We are always looking at adjustments,” Nushart said, reacting to complaints from seniors who were denied tickets. “It’s never going to be perfect … but it is important to us that we have a student element at the games.”

But big donors clearly are more important, which is my idealistic beef. I get that the ticket office is doing the best it can, but students are the lifeblood of any campus. They are Ohio State. No senior who wants to buy season tickets should be denied.

Numbers for dummies

3 of 4 – Ohio State has lost three of its past four games for the first time since 2013-14. The Buckeyes went on to win the national championship in 2014. Hmm.

83 degrees – Expected temperature for Saturday’s kickoff, or about 20 degrees cooler than it was at Texas.

165.5 – Buckeyes’ rushing average per game, ranking 72nd nationally.

Across the Field

Kent State is not Western Michigan. And the Buckeyes are not the Wolverines. Meaning? No upset alert in the Horseshoe like there was in the Big House. The Golden Flashes lost 57-0 to South Carolina in their opener. Uh-oh. Famous Kent State alum: Arsenio Hall.

We SEC you (a weekly look at that other conference)

Lane Kiffin returns to Ole Miss this week wearing purple and gold. The Runnin’ Rebels would like nothing better than to have their turncoat coach leave Oxford black and blue. Over/under on the number of security personnel assigned to the Tigers’ coach? 10?

Dad joke

How many Buckeyes does it take to blow a 20-point fourth-quarter lead? All of them.

Just wondering

Ryan Day choosing to defend the goal line rather than purposely allow Texas to score with just over a minute to play, which would have given OSU enough time to win the game, felt like watching a baseball manager leave his starter in one batter too long because he had faith his guy getting the final out, then the pitcher gives up a home run. I appreciate the faith in his defense and loyalty to coordinator Matt Patricia, but watching the defense run out of gas during the second half should have told Day that a goal line stand was not in the cards. Sometimes you have to go with your head instead of your heart. Day went with his heart and it backfired. What will he do in a similar situation the next time?

Day delivery

What the coach said: “It goes without saying that we have to get other players involved other than Jeremiah on offense.”

What we heard: Julian Sayin’s security blanket needs to get put in the drawer upon occasion.

Inside the biz

Sports writers, similar to fans who have no rooting interest in either team, tend to have a soft spot in their hearts for underdogs, which means when Kent State lines up against Ohio State, many writers will be wishing the Flashes put a tiny scare into the Buckeyes. Maybe get on the scoreboard first. Maybe keep it close for two quarters before, well, you know.