Buckeyes, Forever
Ohio State holds off a late charge from Notre Dame to complete a dominant playoff run
The Build
January 5, 2024: Jack Sawyer announces he is coming back for his senior season.
January 10, 2024: Denzel Burke announces he is coming back for his senior season.
January 11, 2024: Emeka Egbuka announces he is coming back for his senior season.
January 12, 2024: TreVeyon Henderson and JT Tuimoloau both announce they are coming back for their senior seasons.
In between these dates Jordan Hancock, Donavan Jackson, Tyliek Williams, Ty Hamilton, and Lathan Ransom also made the choice to come back and join their 2021 classmates to try to take down Michigan, win the Big Ten, and bring home a national championship.
Bolstering the returning starters were transfers, Quinshon Judkins, a bruising runner from Ole Miss, veteran quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State, and freshman safety phenom, Caleb Downs from Alabama. Each of these returnees and transfers led to Ohio State being named one of the favorites to win the first 12-team college football playoff.
Perhaps more important than all of these players was a decision from a certain wide receiver recruit from Miami that occurred during the December early signing day period: Jeremiah Smith.
The Recruit
Jeremiah Smith, the top ranked recruit in the country — a rarity for a wide receiver — committed to Ohio State early on and the Buckeyes held off a late push from Miami. The hype for Smith coming out of high school was crazy. It somehow increased during Ohio State’s spring and summer practices as glimpses from social media footage surfaced and beat reporters raved about Smith dominating a veteran secondary littered with NFL draft picks. The coaching staff did little to quell the anticipation, only further fueling the fire.
Booby Miles, when asked about the hype surrounding him, responded: “Now hype is something that's not for real. I'm all real.”1 Jeremiah Smith was all real. By the end of the season he was clearly the best player on a team loaded with NFL draft picks. Just a few highlights from his year.
Jeremiah Smith was the best receiver in the country in his freshman year at Ohio State and would likely be a top 5 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. He shattered Ohio State freshman receiving records — most of them held by NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter — and gets two more years to see how high on the pantheon of all-time great college receivers he can climb.
The Prologue
Ohio State started the year ranked #2 in the AP Poll, with many voters holding the opinion it would be the best team in the country. The Buckeyes spent the first five weeks of the season doing little to dissuade voters of that opinion, but also doing little to convince voters they should get bumped up to #1. The out of conference schedule was weak and Ohio State’s defense, despite giving up very few points, was leakier than expected. Marshall and Michigan State in particular had success moving the ball against the Buckeyes. Nevertheless, Ohio State largely took care of business in starting the season 5-0. The offense was methodical, but efficient. The defense, a little bendier than expected, but largely kept teams from the end zone. Overall, during the first third of the season, Ohio State looked good, but not like the spectacular death machine some anticipated. Many, myself included, expected Ohio State to look like the 2019 buzzsaw that snuffed the life out of their opponents before the games even really got going. Even so, there was little reason to doubt that Ohio State was building towards a championship run. Week 7 at Oregon was the perfect time to fully reveal just what this team was capable of.
Doubt Creeps In
3rd and 20 with five seconds left. Will Howard drops back to pass, needing to pick up about 10 yards to give Jayden Fielding a realistic shot at a game winning field goal attempt. Howard pauses in the pocket for a beat too long before scrambling and sliding down. Ohio State signals for timeout. Too late. Time ran out. Oregon fans storm the field. One of the most heralded rosters in Ohio State history doesn’t even get through October unscathed. Oregon 32 - Ohio State 31.
A game in which both teams moved the ball without much resistance. An Ohio State defense, specifically its secondary, that was supposed to be the best in the country was repeatedly torched by Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson. First round prospect Denzel Burke looked lost and was beat deep several times during the game. The pass rush, anchored by veterans Jack Sawyer and JTT, was nonexistent as Dillon Gabriel firmly placed his name in the Heisman trophy conversation.
Ohio State had a week off following the Oregon game. They spent those two weeks re-tooling the defense. Day, known for his offensive accumen, was reportedly heavily involved in defensive meetings during this time to re-shape the defense’s structure. Under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the Buckeyes had pinballed between a hyper aggressive unit in 2022 that was prone to getting hit over the head with big plays, to a more conservative unit in 2023 and the start of 2024 that would give up some drives, but ultimately kept teams out of the end zone. Day wanted the defense to get off the field more quickly to give his offense the ball more often and he wanted the pass rush to come back to life. Whatever happened during that bye week, it worked - at least on defense.
Ohio State returned from the bye week to face a Nebraska team that just lost by roughly 150 to Indiana. It should have been a good tune-up game in preparation for a trip to Penn State the following week. It should have been.
The Nebraska game was not Ohio State’s first goal line stand in 2024, but it is probably the first one anyone will remember and even then, it won’t be remembered immediately. Afterall, the goal stand did not end the game, or even come near the end of the game. It came midway through the 3rd quarter after a Will Howard interception that set Nebraska up 1st and goal from the 7. This stand kept Ohio State in front 14-9. The Buckeyes offense continued to sputter as left tackle Zen Michalski tried and failed (miserably) to fill in for the injured Josh Simmons. Michalski, he’s probably a nice guy, but he nearly single-handedly wrecked Ohio State’s season against Nebraska.
The Buckeyes would actually have to rally in the 4th quarter to come back from a 17-14 deficit, which they do to win 21-17. But after the Oregon loss and a win over Nebraska that felt like a loss, it seemed like Ohio State was simply not having a good time anymore. The Buckeyes were no longer fun to watch. The offense was stuck. The running game was not working like it should. The loss of Simmons seemed to be too much. Howard, for all his experience, struggled to hit the deep passes consistently, and the creativity in the passing game was lacking. In short, the pressure seemed to be getting to them. 2024 Ohio State seemed destined to come up short like so many of Ohio State’s “this is the year” teams. A trip to Happy Valley against a surging Penn State team seeking their first victory over Ohio State in eight years loomed large.
Optimism Returns
The Penn State fans are as loud as they have ever been. The Nittany Lions lead 10-0 after an early pick-six on a pass Howard telegraphed so badly that even the most novice football fan saw an interception coming.
The Buckeyes are in trouble. Instead of crumbling, Howard returns to the field and leads the offense right down the field for a touchdown. In fact, the defense will totally shut down Penn State for the rest of the half and Howard will lead three straight touchdown drives (unfortunately, he fumbles one of these touchdowns as he’s crossing the goal line and it turns into a Penn State touchback).
Igbinosun, notorious for leading college football in coverage penalties in 2024, makes the defensive play of the year (at least until a certain play against Texas) right at the end of the half. He intercepts what appears to be a Penn State touchdown that would have given Penn State a 17-14 lead at the half.
Ohio State and Penn State would continue to grind out the game as they tend to do, despite all logic dictating one or the other should be able to get some offense going. Finally, trailing 20-13, Penn State gets the ball moving and has the ball first and goal from the three. Penn State would gain two more yards over the next four plays. Turnover on downs. The legend of Ohio State’s goal line stands in 2024 would continue to grow (or start, depending on how closely you followed the them).
Unfortunately for Ohio State, the offense now has the ball, first and 10 from their own one-yard line and needing to kill just over five minutes. This is not a situation Ohio State has handled well in recent years. There is no reason to believe Ohio State will be able to bleed this clock dry. The offensive line is without their best tackle and short yardarge running has been an achilles heel. Ohio State’s defense will probably need to make one more stop.
Instead, Ohio State puts on the best “tough” drive they’ve had in years. They go 58 yards on 11 plays and drain the final 5:13 off the clock. This drive includes two third down conversions by Wil Howard on the ground. Judkins, Henderson, Howard, and a rebuilt offensive line answer the bell. The Buckeyes are back in business. This team can compete for a national championship. Clean up some of the mistakes on offense and this is a legitimate national title contender.
Ohio State demolishes Purdue and Northwestern by a combined score of 76-7 over the next two weeks. Up next: undefeated Indiana (?!?).
Indiana has a dream start as they force Ohio State to punt and then drive right down the field. 7-0 Hoosiers. Indiana has not beaten Ohio State since 1988. Is this the team to finally do it? The team led by the brash Curt Cignetti?
No.
Ohio State’s pass rush dominates the rest of the game and two huge special teams plays put the game out of reach as Ohio State beats Indiana 38-15. All of Ohio State’s goals are still in front of them: 1) beat Michigan; 2) win the Big Ten; 3) win the national championship.
Beating Michigan should be easy. The Wolverines have really struggled after the departure of most of the 2023 roster and Jim Harbaugh. The only question is whether Ohio State will cover the 20 point spread?
Pain
Ohio State lost its fourth straight to Michigan. How? Just how? The offense was intent on running the ball up the middle right at Michigan’s NFL defensive tackles despite just losing their best interior offensive lineman. Despite having the best receiving corps in the country and Michigan missing the only cornerback that could cover any of them.
The defense dominated Michigan’s inept offense. Oh, except for letting Kalel Mullings break a crucial tackle late in the fourth quarter that would have forced a Michigan punt and instead set them up to kick the game winning field goal.
Ryan Day has (or at least had, we’ll see about the 2025 game) a mental block when it comes to Michigan. He knows how important it is to win this game. Heck, he won the first matchup by 28 and had Michigan so scared of them in 2020, they opted out. And yet, despite having an overwhelming talent advantage, Ryan Day and The Ohio State Buckeyes absolutely choked against their rival in one of the most embarassing losses in the history of the rivalry. The jokes about Ryan Day and John Cooper were no longer jokes. More than just the “lunatic fringe” portion of the fan base were ready to move on from Rayn Day.
Do Ohio State fans care too much about the Michigan rivalry? Maybe. But that’s also their prerogative. Most college football fans grew up caring about beating your rival, winning your conference, and winning the bowl game(s) affiliated with your conference. The formalization of the national championship is a relatively new idea in the grand scheme of the history of the sport. A true national championship game has only existed since 1998 when the BCS was implemented. Beating Michigan has been priority #1 for Ohio State for a long time. It will continue to be priority #1 for a long time. Does its overall importance reduce over the coming years as the college football playoff starts to more closely resemble a professional playoff format? Maybe. But its importance was clearly not reduced this year.
Michigan planted their flag, Ohio State instigated a brawl, and an Ohio State legislator sought to ban flag plantings, only adding further humiliation to the situation. The Buckeyes were at their lowest point in a long time. What was supposed to be a dream season had turned into a nightmare. Ohio State lost to Michigan for the fourth straight season and were locked out of the Big Ten championship game. The seemingly inevitable rematch with Oregon at a neutral site was not to be. Was Ohio State going to make the playoff? Yes, of course, the resumes of the other top teams had erroded evem worse. Still, did Ohio State have the mental fortitude to pick themselves up after a crushing loss to their hated rival?
Champions
The answer to the previous question is a resounding yes. I’m not going to recap the playoffs in detail. You all watched. The offense found its aggression. The Buckeyes were up 21-0 on Tennessee before the end of the first quarter. The defensive line dominated. Ohio State would get their rematch against Oregon and would play the most dominant first half of football (considering opponent) I will probably ever witness. 34-0 lead in the first half. Oregon threatened to make it interesting for a moment, but the defense, in particular the defensive line and Cody Simon , balled out and slowed down Oregon’s offense. This was the team many envisioned at the start of the season.
After winning the first two games by 45, the championship seemed inevitable. Ohio State would need to switch their mindset. They were no longer the underdogs. They were the favorite.
The Texas game was nerve-wracking. No doubt about it. Ohio State shot itself in the foot over and over on offense and refused to put Texas away. The Longhorns took advantage and the game was tied at 14 entering the fourth quarter. After the Buckeyes took a 21-14 lead, it was time for a goal line stand for the ages. Texas drove right down the field and had the ball first and goal at the 1. Ohio State stuffed Texas on first down, blew up a toss play for a huge loss on second down, and forced an incompletion third down.
The fourth down play will live on in Ohio State lore forever.
Jack Sawyer sealed his legacy as an Ohio State legend with this play.
The Buckeyes finished the job on Monday, defeating Notre Dame 34-23. It got a little dicey late as Notre Dame pulled within 31-23 after trailing 31-7 midway through the third quarter as Ohio State refused to put the nail in the coffin.
Just when it seemed like the game might come fully off the rails as Ohio State faced a 3rd and 11 and the prospect of giving the ball back to a Notre Dame offense that had caught fire, Jeremiah Smith came to the rescue.
Did Ohio State accomplish everything they set out to do at the start of the year? Definitely not. The Michigan loss will confound scholars for centuries to come. The 2021 class will never get their gold pants. Will that eat at them and the fan base? Absolutely. Will winning the national championship from the first 12-team playoff after going through Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame make up for it? For most fans, including yours truly, most definitely.
I missed writing this year. I doubt I’ll get to do it much in the following years. Hopefully for special occasions, such as this, I’ll get the chance (or just choose to be more irresponsible about my bedtime). So, stay subscribed and you may get surprised with a post every now and again. Go Bucks!
At least this is what he said in the movie Friday Night Lights. It’s probably a real quote. Probably.