It was the biggest point-spread upset in CFP history, and it happened because Ohio State was incapable of blocking Miami’s elite defensive line. The Hurricanes finished with five sacks and returned an interception for a touchdown to make the difference.
The transfer portal opened Friday, and Ohio State will return a lot of talent next season, but the Cotton Bowl is still dominating the conversation in Columbus. Here are a few final thoughts from the Buckeyes’ disappointing loss:
1. Ohio State gave up 15 pressures, per TruMedia, the most it has allowed in a game since its 2024 loss to Michigan. While there’s a tendency to put a lot of blame on one player, everybody on the offensive line got beaten on Wednesday night.
Right tackle Phillip Daniels, who was matched up against Miami star Rueben Bain Jr. most of the game, led the group with five pressures allowed. Luke Montgomery gave up three pressures, and the rest of the starting offensive line had two each.
Ohio State made some adjustments in the second half. It moved Josh Padilla to right guard at halftime, and he gave up one pressure in the second half. When Austin Siereveld had to leave with a leg contusion, Ian Moore stepped in and played well, giving up just one pressure. If you’re an Ohio State fan looking for a reason to be optimistic, Moore and Padilla held up when called upon.
However, there are still plenty of changes that need to be addressed before Ohio State takes the field next season.
2. As somebody who watches Ohio State every week, I couldn’t understand the lack of adjustments in the first half.
After the game, Ryan Day said he felt like Ohio State could test Miami downfield, and it did. Jeremiah Smith finished with seven catches for 157 yards and one touchdown. He was nearly unguardable, but there were other plays open downfield that Julian Sayin either missed or didn’t have time to get to. Ohio State also needed to get to its quick game earlier, but it didn’t do that until right before halftime when it went up-tempo.
A plethora of things confused me in the first half, including the silent cadence. The Buckeyes entered the game planning to go silent to minimize the impact of the noise inside AT&T Stadium. It just didn’t work. If I could catch on to left guard Luke Montgomery tapping center Carson Hinzman before the snap from the press box, then Miami surely caught on to it too.
In fact, the first sack of the game was because of that. Right guard Gabe VanSickle, in his third play as a starter, got off the ball late and the defensive line jumped the snap perfectly. Miami had it timed all game. That’s an adjustment you’d expect teams to make if it’s not working.
3. Ohio State did make some good adjustments in the second half. Bringing in Padilla helped the offense, and Sayin looked more comfortable with what he was seeing against the Hurricanes. Ohio State tallied 178 of its 332 total yards in the second half and scored touchdowns on its first two drives.
Still, the decision to avoid any tempo in the second half is the biggest critique of Day and the Ohio State offense in that game. The Buckeyes went up-tempo at the end of the first half and put together a 67-yard drive before Jayden Fielding missed a 49-yard field goal. So Ohio State trailed 14-0 at halftime, and instead of trying to maximize its offensive chances to get back in the game, it took 6 minutes, 44 seconds on its first scoring drive and 4:33 on its second scoring drive.
Day spent the entire season saying that Ohio State would turn up the tempo when needed. He didn’t want to push the tempo to do so, which I still believe is smart during the regular season, but if there was a time to pick up the pace, it was in the second half when Ohio State needed to score three times to win. Otherwise, Day was banking on an offense that was shut out in the first half to be perfect. That’s just asking too much.
4. Sayin’s performance was a mixed bag. He completed 22 of 35 passes for 287 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It’s hard for me to blame him for the first interception. Day drew up a screen pass I liked that should’ve been a touchdown, or at least a first down.
The screen was the only throwing option for Sayin, but when Smith missed the block on Keionte Scott, it turned into the easiest pick-six Scott will ever have.
There are some plays that Sayin will want back on top of that interception. The play before the interception, he had Brandon Inniss open in the flat but looked back to the middle and missed Max Klare open for a touchdown. He took a sack on a play where the ball had to come out of his hands. I can be empathetic about missing Klare because it was a late read, but looking Inniss in the face and moving on are why he got sacked.
Sometimes quarterbacks need to get rid of the ball and live to play another down, rather than trying to do too much. He struggled against pressure throughout the day. He completed 5 of 10 passes against pressure for 30 yards and one interception, per TruMedia.
Beyond that, he missed a few big plays downfield, but I also think he made some extraordinary throws, and I don’t think Ohio State’s play calling helped him as much as it could. The conversation among many Ohio State fans is whether Sayin should scramble more. Of Day’s past four starting quarterbacks, Will Howard is the only one who was truly mobile. C.J. Stroud didn’t run unless in extreme circumstances, although it did help in the 2022 Peach Bowl. Ohio State could’ve helped him by drawing up some bootlegs and play-action rollouts for him, but it didn’t do that.
This is a crucial offseason for Sayin and Ohio State. It’s the first year since 2022 when Day will not have a quarterback battle, so he, quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler and the new offensive coordinator can spend a lot of time with Sayin to break down the coverages that confused him this season.
He completed 77 percent of his passes and should be a Heisman Trophy favorite entering next season, with plenty of potential to be an elite quarterback in college football. He’ll grow from Wednesday’s loss and likely be better for it.
5. While Ohio State does not have to go into the portal to find a quarterback, it needs to find a kicker.
Fielding missed a 49-yard field goal, and Miami’s kicker, Carter Davis, made a 49-yard field goal in the second half. Ohio State can’t go into next season without confidence in its kicker.
I’m not sure what the market looks like for transfers, but Illinois kicker David Olano will draw significant interest from teams. Ohio State needs to be involved.
Jackson Courville is still on the roster, but there’s a reason that he hasn’t kicked a field goal in a game. Every time Fielding has a bad game, Day and the staff allow Courville the chance to win the job, but he hasn’t grabbed it.
6. Ohio State already had a few players planning to enter the portal when it opened Friday. Tight end Jelani Thurman is entering, along with quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, cornerback Bryce West and defensive ends Logan George and Dominic Kirks. None is a significant surprise. Losing five-star linebacker/edge rusher C.J. Hicks is one that hurts. Hicks never found an important role, and with one year of eligibility left, he will be looking to find a place where he can make an immediate impact.
There may be more transfers, but I’d be surprised if the Buckeyes lose any projected starters or major impact players entering next season.
7. Ohio State announced the hiring of receivers coach Cortez Hankton on Thursday afternoon. He will fill the void left by Brian Hartline, who took the South Florida head coaching job.
Hankton is well known in football circles. He spent time as the wide receivers coach at Georgia and was most recently at LSU with Brian Kelly. He did not recruit Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas to LSU, but he did help develop them. Arguably, his best developmental job was Ladd McConkey at Georgia.
It will be a tall task to equal the production that Hartline had at Ohio State. Still, the Buckeyes should remain a destination for receivers as long as Day is at Ohio State and the offense is spreading the ball around.
8. Hankton, who was the co-offensive coordinator at LSU, is not expected to take over play calling, which puts Day in a predicament. With Hankton on staff, the Buckeyes are back to 10 full-time assistants who can recruit. That leaves Day with three options for his offensive coordinator role.
He can wait for somebody on staff to get a job offer, and if they leave, fill that spot with a coordinator who can recruit. He can go without hiring somebody and take over play calling himself. Or he can hire an outside offensive coordinator to call plays, but one who won’t go on the road to recruit.
I think the last option is the most likely, especially after seeing how the Cotton Bowl went with Day splitting play-calling duties with his head-coaching duties.
However, the idea of Day calling plays next season is still on the table, especially if he doesn’t hire an offensive coordinator whom he trusts. I don’t think there’s a play caller on staff otherwise.