The Ohio State Buckeyes' season comes to a close in Dallas, Texas, as they were completely outplayed and outphysicalled by the Miami Hurricanes en route to their season-ending loss.
On paper, this game was all Buckeyes. In between the white lines, this game was almost all Hurricanes.
The Ohio State Buckeyes' season comes to a close, again, on New Year's Eve, this time at the hands of the Miami Hurricanes.
Miami had the Buckeyes dialed up from the opening kickoff throughout the entirety of the first half. The biggest thing that was completely evident and something we talked about at length on BuckeyeRoundtable was the battle of the line of scrimmage.
Through the first 30 minutes, the Hurricanes won that battle convincingly on both sides of the football.
Both teams traded three-and-outs on their first possessions, and the first real action came from the Hurricanes. They began at their own 39 yard line with a really nice opportunity to try and put points on the board.
A mix of run and pass got them to the top of the redzone, and on a 3rd and 2 run from the 19 yardline, Riley Pettijohn punched the ball out of Mark Fletcher Jr.'s hands, and Caden Curry jumped on it for the first turnover of the game.
A collective sigh of relief was taken from Buckeye Nation as they believed that they were going to be able to shake the cobwebs.
The Buckeyes' next offensive possession started with a very nice completion to Jeremiah Smith, only to be followed by three straight plays and a punt. On a 3rd and 3, Sayin got man coverage and elected to take a shot to Carnell Tate, and the ball landed eight yards out of bounds. Buckeyes punt.
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The Hurricanes were up to the task on their next possession.
They got the ball on their own 13 yardline and proceeded to go on a 13-play, 87-yard drive that resulted in one of the prettiest and most well-executed touchdown plays you'll ever see. They lined up in an unbalanced formation to the right and basically gave Carson Beck the option to run it or throw it to Fletcher. He chose the latter, and Fletcher walked into the endzone untouched.
Ohio State wasted no time responding. On their very first play of the next drive, Sayin found a streaking Jeremiah Smith for a 59-yard completion on a ball that travelled 58 yards in the air. The Bucks were rolling.
Two plays later, Sayin and Smith went from the penthouse to the outhouse. They dialed up a bubble screen, and Smith completely missed his block, and it turned out to be critical. Miami defensive back Keionte Scott jumped the play, intercepted the pass, and went 72 yards to the endzone to extend Miami's lead.
The Buckeyes in the first half looked so uncomfortable and frankly, were lucky that it wasn't a four-score game.
They had a major chance to gain some momentum on their final drive of the half. They got the ball on their own 2 yardline, and Sayin found a little rhythm. He got Carnell Tate involved, found Jeremiah, hit timely checkdowns, and used Brandon Inniss as his release valve. They got the ball all the way to Miami's 31 yardline and sent Jayden Fielding out for a 49-yard attempt.
Unfortunately for Fielding, he yanked his attempt wide left and the Buckeyes came up empty.
Thankfully, Ohio State got the ball coming out of halftime, and they needed to make something happen.
The Buckeyes were able to get their run game going in the third quarter, which helped the offense move down the field. This led to more openings in the passing game for Sayin, who made a huge 35-yard completion to Smith during the drive. Five plays later, running back CJ Donaldson punched it in for six at the one-yard line.
The Hurricanes wouldn't go quietly. They answered with a very nice drive themselves that was saved by Malachi Toney fumbling the football after a huge Caleb Downs' hit that he scooped back up and almost converted the first down. They had to settle for a 49-yard field goal that was made, and the 'Canes were back up 17-7.
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The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Miami Hurricanes just completed an instant classic of a game. The 'Canes dominated in the first half and probably should have...
Ohio State's second drive of the half took 11 plays and spanned 75 yards. They pulled within three points of the Hurricanes on a 4th and 2 from the Miami 14 yarline. With no trust in their kicker, the Buckeyes chose to throw it to No. 4, and it proved to be the correct call. Smith caught a slant, dodged a tackle and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown.
Miami was feeling the heat. They got the ball back, and after a miraculous 3rd and long conversion by Carson Beck, they were forced to punt, setting the red-hot Buckeyes up with a chance to tie or take the lead. Ohio State cooled off just a little bit, but not all the way. After taking a sack, Sayin connected with Smith for a 3rd and 15 conversion, only to find themselves with another 3rd and 20. The Hurricanes dropped eight into coverage and forced Sayin to check it down, which eventually became the icing on the cake.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, Miami had the ball 2nd and 9 with Ohio State still possessing three timeouts. On the first play out of the break, they handed it off and a rugby scrum pushed the pile, setting up a 3rd and 3. Miami threw a slip screen for the first down, and that officially ended the Buckeyes.
Ohio State's promising season comes to a close on Wednesday night in Dallas at the hands of the Miami Hurricanes.