Analysis: After Cotton Bowl loss, Ohio State football enters offseason with issues to fix

IRVING, Texas – For the second straight season, Ohio State won its first 11 games, only to fall to Michigan and then to a Southeastern Conference opponent in its bowl game.

But Friday night's 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl feels much different and much worse than the 42-41 loss to Georgia a year ago.

The Buckeyes played inspired against the defending champion Bulldogs. If the game-ending 50-yard field goal had been successful – or any of several other plays in that game been different – Ohio State probably would have won the national championship.

Painful as it was, that loss gave the Buckeyes momentum as they entered 2023, and with good reason.

Yes, they would lose C.J. Stroud, but they had two blue-chip quarterbacks competing to succeed him – Kyle McCord and Devin Brown. There was every reason to think the offense would keep lighting up scoreboards and that Jim Knowles' defense would build on its progress.

The latter happened. Ohio State's defense was excellent most of the season and suffocating Friday until it got worn down.

But the offense averaged only 30.5 points per game, almost 14 fewer points this year than last. McCord was good but not great and is now gone.

Friday night was supposed to be Brown's coming-out party, a chance to show the Buckeyes they were in good hands at quarterback for 2023. It didn't happen.

It might have been the worst-case scenario. Brown started jittery, as coach Ryan Day suspected he might. But Day hoped Brown would then settle in and show the promise he has in practice. Instead, he sprained his ankle in the first quarter and played only one more series.

More: Oller: Ohio State has a quarterback problem; do Buckeyes have one who can win titles?

Ohio State knows no more about Brown than it did before the game, and what little he showed didn't inspire confidence. Freshman Lincoln Kienholz was then thrust into the game and was overmatched. That's not surprising considering he didn't arrive until after spring ball and was primarily the scout-team quarterback in practice.

More: Here are 4 things we learned from the Ohio State Buckeyes' Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri

Now Ohio State enters the offseason with major questions at quarterback. Certainly, Brown can't be handed the job. The transfer portal is an option, but there is no player as talented as Justin Fields was five years ago.

“I don't have a great answer to that right now because this is not what we expected coming out of the game, where we don't have a game to look at and evaluate,” Day said of the quarterback situation. “We know what we see in practice, but it's certainly different when you play the game. I'm disappointed we don't have that.”

As for finding a quarterback in the transfer portal, Day said, “Fresh off the game, it's hard for me to process it all right now. But we've got to figure out what's best for the team moving forward, and that's in a lot of areas.”

That is true. Entering the season, quarterback and offensive line were the team's two biggest questions. The quarterback who started every game in the regular season is now at Syracuse.

The offensive line played well below Ohio State's standard all year. It was most glaring last night when it needed to take pressure off Brown and especially Kienholz. Instead, holes were usually impossible for TreVeyon Henderson to find, and the quarterbacks were under duress when they threw. No offense to Missouri, but its defense is hardly as imposing as Georgia's was last year.

Center Carson Hinzman, who struggled all year, was benched because of his performance in bowl practices. Matt Jones took over at center with Enokki Vimahi moving to Jones' right guard spot. It didn't help.

“When you have a young kid in there, you have to be able to run the ball and take some pressure off,” Day said. “We didn't do that well enough.”

The three points were the fewest by Ohio State since losing to Clemson 31-0 in the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2016. After that disaster, then-coach Urban Meyer hired two proven coaches to fix the offense – former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson and an NFL assistant named Ryan Day.

A coaching staff reckoning needs to be considered. Day has hired several inexperienced coaches in his five-year tenure. The results haven't been encouraging.

Special-teams coach Parker Fleming's unit has been a disaster all season. On the first punt Friday night, the Buckeyes got a delay-of-game penalty, one of several kicking-game blunders.

Brian Hartline is perhaps the best wide receivers coach in the country based on recruiting and development. That made him a hot commodity last year, and Day rewarded him by making him the offensive coordinator. But Day still calls the plays during games.

James Laurinaitis, who largely coached the linebackers as a graduate assistant, is expected to be promoted to full-time status. That will force a reshuffling of the staff.

Perhaps it's time for Day to hire his own version of Wilson and himself to bolster the staff with proven coaches. Ohio State need not be a training ground for inexperienced ones.

“I'm going to look at everything,” Day said of his staff.

Now Ohio State must brace for departures to the NFL among its star underclassmen. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. opted out of the Cotton Bowl, so his intentions are clear. Defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. declared for the draft Saturday.

But at least most of the rest seem inclined to stay.

"I think a lot of us are all on the same page about how we don't want to end our Ohio State careers like this, with two tough losses," said defensive end Jack Sawyer, who had three sacks Friday night. "We all love it here. We love Coach Day and love the staff.

"Sometimes, unfortunate things happen and you don't get the outcome you want, and I think it's going to be a big factor in our decisions."

If those players do return, the Buckeyes should be formidable next year. But only if the pressing issues get fixed.

“Everything's going to be looked at,” Day said. “If it's what helps Ohio State reach our goals and win these games, then we'll make those changes. I've got to really evaluate it the right way and do it the right way and do what's appropriate and do what's best for the program.”

He must do that at a pivotal time. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who hired Day, is retiring next year. The Buckeyes have lost three straight times to Michigan for the first time in three decades.

A win Friday and a good performance by Brown could have served as a springboard into 2024. Instead, the Buckeyes are at a crossroads.

“We wanted to finish this game and build some momentum into next year,” Day said. “It didn't happen.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Analysis: After dismal Cotton Bowl, Ohio State has major issues to fix