After disappointing ending, Ohio State football is at crossroads entering new year

Through 11 games, Ohio State was perfect, and all of the Buckeyes’ dreams were intact.

That seems like a long time ago.

So much has changed since the start of the Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 25. Ryan Day’s Buckeyes feel like they're at a crossroads. That 30-24 loss to the Wolverines denied OSU a chance at a Big Ten championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Nine days later, the Buckeyes lost their starting quarterback when Kyle McCord entered the NCAA transfer portal, bound for Syracuse. Then came the ugly 14-3 Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri in which quarterback Devin Brown lasted barely one quarter before his ankle sprain forced Ohio State to use overmatched freshman Lincoln Kienholz.

On Thursday, former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard committed to transfer to Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes a seasoned player in a room that desperately needs it.

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Meanwhile, Michigan is favored to win the national championship on Monday, which would further rankle a Buckeye Nation still angry about three consecutive losses to the Wolverines and their sign-stealing scandal. Imagine the angst if the Wolverines win their first national title since 1997.

Hoisting a championship trophy is what the Buckeyes expected to do. That they didn’t means the season is a disappointment, even if the vast majority of college football programs would be thrilled to have an 11-2 record.

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The Buckeyes faltered late, but the seeds for eventual failure were planted long before the first snap. The Buckeyes knew they would lose C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the NFL as first-round picks.

But a couple of other less-heralded departures proved significant. First, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson left after the 2022 season to become Tulsa’s head coach. Urban Meyer hired Wilson as offensive coordinator after the 2016 season along with Day. As Day’s star skyrocketed, Wilson was an underappreciated veteran presence on the offensive coaching staff.

Day ultimately called the plays, but Wilson had a major role. His departure left a void. Brian Hartline was promoted from wide receiver coach. Though Hartline has been phenomenally successful in that role, he hadn't called plays. Day said he intended to groom Hartline as a play-caller, but at the Cotton Bowl Hartline said that Day had retained that duty in 2023.

The second under-the-radar departure was center Luke Wypler. The Buckeyes knew they’d lose tackles Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones to the NFL, but they hoped Wypler would stay. He didn’t, though he wasn’t drafted until the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns.

There’s a big difference between losing two offensive lineman and losing three, and Wypler’s exit left a gaping hole in the middle of the line. Carson Hinzman filled that spot, but the redshirt freshman struggled and was benched for the Cotton Bowl.

Offensive line and quarterback were the two biggest questions entering the season. The hope was that McCord would emerge in his third year in the program as an elite successor to Stroud, or that redshirt freshman Brown would make a leap and seize the job. Neither happened.

The McCord/Brown battle commenced in the spring and was interrupted when Brown broke a pinkie a week before the spring game. It then resumed throughout training camp with neither taking control. A couple of mistake-filled practices by Brown caused Day to pick the steadier McCord.

But it was significant that Day didn’t declare McCord the definitive starter until after the second game. OSU’s struggles in the red zone eventually caused Day to insert Brown in that role. But an ankle injury on a goal-line carry against Penn State ended that experiment.

McCord proved to be solid, usually meeting Day’s goal of “making the routine play routinely.” He led the Buckeyes to a game-winning drive at Notre Dame. But his progress was modest compared to the growth that Stroud showed in his first year as starter.

The Buckeyes scored only 17 points against Notre Dame and 20 against Penn State. Ohio State averaged barely 30 points despite having the best receiver in college football, Marvin Harrison Jr. It didn’t help that key players such as running back TreVeyon Henderson, receiver Emeka Egbuka and tight end Cade Stover missed time because of injury.

Still, the offensive dropoff was stark. In every other year of Day’s tenure, the Buckeyes scored at least 40 points per game.

Special teams were another season-long issue. Historically, the kicking game has been a strength for the Buckeyes, in part because their superior athleticism usually shows up in that phase.

It didn’t this year. OSU’s kickers – Jayden Fielding and the recently transferred punter Jesse Mirco – were reliable. But the unit was prone to penalties and other mistakes.

That left the defense to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the burden. It mostly succeeded. The Buckeyes expected to learn from the growing pains from the first year of Jim Knowles’ defense, and they did. The defense played with cohesion and confidence. It didn’t allow an opponent to score more than 17 points until the Michigan game.

Ah, the Michigan game. The whole season felt like a prelude to that game in Ann Arbor, with stakes seldom higher in any previous game between the archrivals.

An early interception allowed Michigan to take the lead, and it was an uphill battle for Ohio State all day. The Buckeyes tied the game at 17 in the third quarter, but Michigan scored on all four of its second-half possessions.

Still, Ohio State had a chance to repeat its Notre Dame magic. Trailing 30-24, the Buckeyes drove to the Michigan 37-yard line. On the next play, left guard Donovan Jackson’s feet got tangled with Hinzman and he fell, causing McCord to be hit as he threw. His underthrown pass for Harrison was intercepted.

It would be the last play for McCord and Harrison as Buckeyes. Projected to be the first non-quarterback taken in the 2024 NFL draft, Harrison decided not to play in the Cotton Bowl. McCord was already off to Syracuse.

The Buckeyes hoped to use that game as an audition for Brown. The ankle injury foiled that plan. Ohio State’s offensive line was unable to provide running room for Henderson or protection for Kienholz.

The two biggest question marks for the season – quarterback and offensive line – remained that way at the end, dooming Ohio State’s championship hopes.

Those positional groups figure to be the most pivotal ones in 2024 as well. If this season ended at a crossroads, the '24 season likely will determine the direction of the program for the foreseeable future. A fourth straight loss to Michigan might be too much for Day to survive. The Buckeyes will have a new athletic director to replace the retired Gene Smith, who hired Day.

But there's also promise, too. The roster remains stacked with talent, and Michigan will lose the core of its team. Coach Jim Harbaugh's future is shaky because of the sign-stealing scandal. If Ohio State's deficiencies are fixed and the Buckeyes turn the tide in the rivalry, all will seem right in the Buckeyes' world again.

But it'll be a long road to get there.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: After disappointing ending, Ohio State at crossroads entering 2024