In a slow, gritty, defensive battle, Ohio State fell to Indiana 13-10. Ohio State’s defense was nearly flawless and held Indiana to its lowest point output of the season. Ohio State’s offense… forgot to show up.
Here are five things to know about the Buckeyes’ 13-10 loss in the Big Ten Championship Game.
1. Quarterbacks
A glance at Julian Sayin’s numbers would say he had a good day. Relative to the standard that Sayin has set himself for the season, it was not one of his best performances.
Sayin finished 21-of-29 for
258 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Indiana did something that no other team has been able to do: make Sayin uncomfortable. Sayin was sacked five times, and pressured countless more times. The constant pressure led to hesitation. A majority of those sacks were “coverage sacks,” in that Sayin held the ball for far too long and the pass rush inevitably got to him.
Sayin, who has built a reputation of efficiency and quick decision-making, looked rushed and hesitant. Credit to Indiana’s defense.
2. Red Alert in the Red Zone
The centuries old adage that settling for field goals in the red zone against good teams is a recipe for failure holds true. Ohio State in the red zone against Indiana turned the ball over on downs, made a field goal, missed a field goal, and scored one touchdown.
Out of a maximum of 28 possible points from red zone trips, Ohio State came away with 10.
This is far from a new issue. Ohio State on third and fourth down in the red zone has been unsatisfactory all season. My opinion? Ohio State constantly overcomplicates things.
In the sequence at the end of the game, Ohio State elected to attempt a throw to Bennett Christian on third-and-1 inside the 10. The only way that is an acceptable third-and-1 play is if you planned to go for it on fourth down. But, of course, they elected to trot out Jayden Fielding to miss a 27 yard field goal.
Suggestions: First, if you are going to run a quarterback sneak, put in Lincoln Kienholz (or even Tavien St Clair). Sayin’s small frame and tendency to fall down immediately has now cost us multiple times.
Second, your best players wear No. 4 and No. 17. Keep them on the field and give them the ball in the red zone. At the very least, make the defense account for them.
3. Caden Curry + KMAC
Ohio State’s defense has showed up in every game this season, Saturday being no different. Indiana was held to 13 points — their lowest output of the season. Mendoza was sacked three times and was forced to throw the ball away under pressure quite a few times as well. There is no blame to be allocated to this defense.
Caden Curry played a phenomenal game. Curry had two sacks and three tackles for loss. He also batted down a pass. Curry, the Indiana native, was disruptive all night.
Up the middle Kayden McDonald was a force in the run game. McDonald tallied five tackles and seemingly disrupted every run that came his way.
Matt Patricia’s unit did their job. Holding a top 10 offense in the country to 13 points should be more than good enough to win football games
4. Back in the Shell
Whether it was Brian Hartline or Ryan Day calling plays, the offense chose to crawl back into its shell. Play calling was timid and conservative all game, but especially in two specific moments.
Day is always adamant about dominating the “middle eight” (the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half). Yet, when give the opportunity to grab points in back-to-back possession during the “middle eight,” Hartline and Day elected to play it slow, let the clock wind down, and walk into halftime. I do not see a compelling reason for why that was a good decision.
Then again, in the fourth quarter, after marching 80 yards down the field and with a chance to win the game, Ohio State crawled back in their shell. As I mentioned before, Ohio State chose to throw the ball to a tight end on third-and-1 inside Indiana’s red zone.
There were roughly three minutes left in the game, Ohio State had all 3 timeouts and the 2 minute warning still available. On fourth-and-1, if you trust your offense to get one yard, you can essentially end the game with a touchdown and give Indiana the ball back with a minute left.
Instead, Ohio State elected to kick, missed, and lost the game. With a Big Ten championship on the line, Day and Hartline trusted Jayden Fielding’s foot more than the rest of the offense to pick up one yard.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but I believe that was the wrong decision. Play to win.
5. College Football Playoff Implications
With the Buckeyes loss, Indiana earned the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs. Ohio State will still receive a first-round bye.
As the No. 2 seed, Ohio State will match up with the winner of Texas A&M vs. Miami. If the Buckeyes win that game, they will likely take on the winner of Georgia vs. Ole Miss, given that the Rebels don’t lose to No. 11 seed Tulane.
In these next three weeks, Day & Co. better spend hours and hours figuring out how to score touchdowns in the red zone if they have aspirations for back-to-back national titles.
