Going to the national championship game has been the expectation for Ohio State since it put its roster together last offseason. It’s been touted as the most talented team in the country, one that had to win a national title for it to be a successful year. But this College Football Playoff run has become more special than expected after how the regular season went sideways, particularly in another loss to Michigan.
I spent some time talking to linebacker Sonny Styles in the locker room Friday night after the Buckeyes’ 28-14 win against Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Originally I wanted his take on what Jack Sawyer did, knowing that Styles is also from Pickerington, Ohio, albeit from a rival high school. Then we started talking about this Ohio State season and coach Ryan Day.
“A lot of people were coming for his head and saying a lot of different things, a lot about guys on this team,” Styles said. “We just got up swinging. We love each other and believe in each other.”
This moment between Ryan Day and Jack Sawyer 🤩 @OhioStateFB #B1GFootball x #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/NNfgQ9sHuV
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 11, 2025
After the 13-10 Michigan loss, the program was at the lowest point in the Day era. The players had a meeting in the team room to get things sorted out, while many people on the outside were calling for Day to be fired. The noise from the fans got so bad that athletic director Ross Bjork had to come out and reaffirm his confidence in Day, 24 hours after the loss, to The Columbus Dispatch.
Now, Ohio State will play for a national championship against Notre Dame on Jan. 20 despite having the toughest road of any Playoff team, beating two of the top three SEC teams plus undefeated Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
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Day is going to credit the players, but this is a testament to his resolve, as well.
For much of his career, Day has been described as a soft coach, which rubs off on his teams. He hears it, too. It got to a boiling point last year when he called out Lou Holtz for saying as much before Ohio State won at Notre Dame.
Now, this Playoff run has dispelled a lot of assumptions about the Buckeyes’ sixth-year coach.
That was a major question going into the first-round game against Tennessee. Everybody in the country wanted to know how Day would react to the worst loss of his career. Would he come out scared and tight? Or coach with confidence and fight back? The answer was the latter.
Ohio State won 42-17 against the Vols, then it blew out undefeated Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
When things got tough against Texas, with the score tied at 14 in the fourth quarter, Ohio State answered everything from the Longhorns. It went on a 13-play, 88-yard drive to take the lead and then turned back the Longhorns at the goal line and got an 83-yard Jack Sawyer strip-sack touchdown.
“Tough times don’t last; tough people do,” Sawyer said. “Our coach is one hell of a tough guy, the team is one hell of a tough group and we kept swinging.”
If people still have doubts about Day until he wins a national championship, that’s understandable. But if there’s one thing Day isn’t? He’s not soft. Ohio State isn’t soft, either.
Day rallied this group and has them one win away from a national championship — and one win away from the ultimate redemption story. It’s been pretty remarkable to witness up close.
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A few more final thoughts from the Cotton Bowl:
Simply put, Ohio State wouldn’t be in the national championship game without Jackson.
His return might go down as one of the most important senior decisions, right there with Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau.
Not only was Jackson playing like an All-American at left guard when the line was healthy, but also he’s turned into a dominant offensive tackle since having to shift positions.
Ohio State allowed two sacks Friday, its first two since the Nov. 16 win against Northwestern. They weren’t on Jackson. In fact, after moving to left tackle days before the Penn State game and struggling at times with Abdul Carter — arguably the best edge rusher in college football — Jackson has settled in. He hasn’t allowed a sack since that game, according to Pro Football Focus. In the Playoff, he’s looked like the best tackle in the bracket.
He allowed one pressure against Tennessee and zero against Oregon. Friday, at times matched up with freshman standout Colin Simmons, he gave up just one pressure.
That’s one pressure allowed in 99 pass-blocking snaps in the Playoff.
A lot of players are making themselves more NFL money on this run, but perhaps nobody has done more than Jackson. He is now showing NFL teams that he can play both tackle and guard at a high level.
Jeremiah Smith is a superstar and Will Howard has been the passionate leader, but I’d argue Jackson has emerged as the offense’s MVP — especially given the Buckeyes’ offensive line injuries and shuffling.
Ohio State will meet Notre Dame for its first national title since 2014. (Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
Ohio State has to run the ball better against Notre Dame
Texas has an elite defense. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski called a good game against Ohio State, choosing to bracket Smith and force Howard to find Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Gee Scott Jr. to move the ball.
That won’t be a major worry against Notre Dame, which has a stingy but different defense.
Texas played a zone-heavy scheme hoping to bait Howard into a few throws and prevent Smith from beating it. Notre Dame is a man-heavy team, playing the second-most man coverage in the country at 57.6 percent, per TruMedia. The passing game can be there if Ohio State can protect Howard.
Texas thrived on being able to take away the run and make Ohio State one-dimensional. It held Ohio State to just 81 rushing yards and 3.4 yards per carry. That was Ohio State’s third-lowest average per carry this season, limiting what the offense wanted to do because it lived behind the sticks.
That has to change against Notre Dame.
As good as Notre Dame is defensively — it ranks sixth in yards per play allowed — there have been times when it looks susceptible to the run. Penn State ran for 204 yards in the Orange Bowl after Notre Dame held Georgia to 62 yards and Indiana to 63. The Irish did give up 197 to USC, as well, and they are playing without injured defensive tackle Rylie Mills.
There will be ways for Ohio State to get the run game going, but it has to be efficient and take advantage of its speed. I’d expect the misdirection and motions to come back, especially against man coverage. It felt like Ohio State never truly got into that against Texas and the Longhorns were OK to just read gaps and shut them down.
It was good to see Ohio State score two rushing touchdowns with Quinshon Judkins in the red zone against a Texas defense that is so good with its back to the wall. Still, the run game with Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson has to get going in Atlanta, because Notre Dame’s plan is simple: stop the run, get after the quarterback and play man coverage on the outside.
One thing that might help is more quarterback power. Howard’s legs need to be used.
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(Top photo of Jack Sawyer, Ryan Day and Will Howard: David Buono / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
