Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer identified the Buckeyes' issues in their loss in the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
Urban Meyer doesn't typically mince words, and he didn't on Monday.
On Meyer's podcast, The Triple Option, he was asked by Rob Stone about his opinion on Ryan Day, the play caller, and if it caused some challenges for the team. Meyer explained what it is like for the head coach when he isn't calling plays, as opposed to when he is calling plays. Then, he described what happened to the Buckeyes.
"Here's the issue, you got you (butt) kicked at the line of scrimmage the last two games," Meyer stated.
Well, simply put, yes, that's exactly what happened.
When the Buckeyes lined up against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship game, they were very evenly matched. The teams went back and forth, but the difference ended up being that the Buckeyes surrendered five sacks on the night. The result wasn't just lost yardage; it was the fact that quarterback Julian Sayin got spooked and went into a shell for most of the football game.
I identified it as a learning opportunity for Ohio State and something they needed to get better. The only problem is, the Buckeyes didn't improve.
The Buckeyes came out against the Miami Hurricanes as -9.5 point favorites with their eyes set on a trip to Scottsdale for the Fiesta Bowl. What they weren't ready for was an absolute street fight. The line of scrimmage was a total warzone, and the Buckeyes were not up for the fight.
Miami got after Sayin to the tune of six sacks on the day, and they held the Buckeyes under 100 yards rushing, no matter how you slice it. It was play after play where Ohio State was just getting out-toughed by the Hurricanes, and the result that followed wasn't a surprise to anyone who was watching the game.
The story leading into the game was Ryan Day taking over play calling for Brian Hartline as he was preparing to take his coaching talents to Tampa with USF. He was very clearly unprepared against Indiana, so a change had to be made.
Now, the lasting image of the Playoffs this year is Day taking over the play calling and the Buckeyes being unprepared to handle Miami's physicality and, more importantly, being unable to adjust midgame.
It was a total disaster upfront, and it underscored a lesson that is as old as the game of football itself: winning the line of scrimmage is the most important battle on the field. If you win the line of scrimmage, you likely win the football game.
The Buckeyes didn't do that and subsequently lost the football game.