Ohio State has been named one of the biggest underachievers in college football in recent years. However, the team started strong in the College Football Playoff era, earning the first championship in the playoff format in 2014.
Since 2014, Ohio State has made the playoffs four times and won one game. Ryan Day took over the head coaching job in 2019. He has a 56-8 record in Columbus, but he’s struggled in big games, especially against archrival Michigan. Michigan has won three straight games against Ohio State.
Ohio State football has underachieved
Bill Connelly and Adam Rittenberg with ESPN wrote an article about the biggest underachievers in college football. They consider the Buckeyes a Blue Chip program that should have done more, as they’ve only managed to win one national title since 2014, and the program has plenty of resources at their disposal:
Since coach Urban Meyer arrived in 2012, the Buckeyes rank second nationally in winning percentage (.891), trailing only Alabama (.899) and ahead of both Clemson (.855) and Georgia (.822). But Alabama has won four national titles in that span and Clemson and Georgia both have two. Ohio State, meanwhile, captured only one championship during the stretch and owns only two since 1970. The team has won more games (514) since 1971 than any other program.
The Buckeyes come up short in big games
Ohio State can rack up wins in the regular season, but they can’t get the job done in big games. ESPN notes that the Buckeyes have had opportunities to win big games but have made crucial errors when it mattered most:
The Buckeyes’ inability to win it all is mystifying, given their sustained dominance. Since claiming the first CFP national championship, Ohio State has only one CFP win (2020 semifinal against Clemson). The Buckeyes largely outplayed Georgia in the 2022 semifinal — with a chance to face TCU in the title game — but fell short after a series of late miscues.
Ohio State has always recruited and developed top players, and showed off its NIL prowess this past offseason. Current coach Ryan Day has dramatically upgraded the quarterback position. But postseason success has been fleeting for Day, who also must end a losing streak to Michigan.
Is Ryan Day the problem?
Some of the blame is on Day, especially given the talented quarterback he had with CJ Stroud in 2022. There is no reason Michigan beat them in 2022, and there is a reason many in the Buckeyes fanbase annually call for his ouster.
However, it would be hard for the school to fire him. Two seasons ago, Day came within inches of reaching the national title game. Replacing a coach who can get the program back to the semifinals might not be so easy.
USC and LSU tried paying their way into the playoffs with Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly, but that hasn’t worked out so far.
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