Head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes received their first 11 video games of the 2023 faculty soccer season, but it surely was an irrelevant feat in Columbus after they misplaced to the Michigan Wolverines in Week 13. The loss ended Ohio State’s Faculty Soccer Playoff aspirations and marked its third consecutive loss to Michigan.
After what was arguably their most grueling loss to the Wolverines in current reminiscence, can Day & Co. recuperate in 2024?
On the newest version of “The No. 1 Faculty Soccer Present with RJ Younger,” host RJ Younger defined why he expects Day and the Buckeyes to bounce again subsequent season.
“The protection continues to be the protection, and the protection was actually nice at Ohio State final yr. It is simply we could not begin speaking about it in an actual approach as a result of we had been nonetheless making an attempt to determine why they could not run the ball and why it was simply Marvin Harrison Jr.-or-bust for them, figuring out what the extensive receiver room is like. And it is actually in regards to the offensive line, which I do not assume was that nice working the ball. I believe they’re going to be higher this yr; I do not know if they’re going to be nice,” Younger stated. “You add Caleb Downs to an already fairly stacked protection. You get guys coming again as a result of they have not received a Huge Ten Championship; they do not have a set of gold pants; they do not have a Nationwide Championship.
“You may have a technology of gamers at Ohio State proper now that’s enjoying for all of it, so in that approach, Ryan Day and his group are each enjoying for his or her futures … you wish to be that group that lastly beat Michigan. I am positive Ryan Day doesn’t need it on his résumé that he went out with losses to Michigan.”
After beating Michigan in eight consecutive matchups, Ohio State misplaced to its archival, 42-27, at The Huge Home in 2021. It then misplaced at house to Michigan in 2022, with the Wolverines pulling away within the fourth quarter to win 45-23. This previous season, Ohio State misplaced in The Huge Home as soon as extra, 30-24.
In final season’s version of The Recreation, Michigan devoured the sport clock within the fourth quarter with a 13-play, 7:00 minute drive, leaving Ohio State with no timeouts and simply 1:05 to place collectively a game-winning landing drive; Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord was intercepted on the fourth play of the following drive.
Michigan went on to win the Huge Ten Championship Recreation and crack the Faculty Soccer Playoff for a 3rd consecutive season after which win the Faculty Soccer Playoff Nationwide Championship. The Wolverines are actually steered by former offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who was promoted to move coach after Jim Harbaugh left Ann Arbor for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Then again, Ohio State went on to lose to Missouri within the Cotton Bowl, 14-3, ending 11-2 for a 3rd consecutive season. The Buckeyes have not received the Huge Ten since 2020 and are 1-3 towards the Wolverines below Day.
Ohio State’s offense averaged 269.1 passing yards (second within the Huge Ten), 138.8 speeding yards (eighth), 407.9 complete yards (first) and 30.5 factors (third) per recreation. Defensively, it surrendered simply 147.4 passing yards (first), 112.5 speeding yards (fifth), 259.9 complete yards (third) and 11.0 factors (second) per recreation.
Hit or Miss: Can Ryan Day recuperate from one other loss to Michigan?
Whereas the likes of Devin Brown, Air Noland and Alabama switch Julian Sayin are within the combine to begin, Kansas State switch Will Howard is predicted to be Ohio State’s quarterback when it opens the 2024 season towards Akron on Aug. 31. In what was his first season as Kansas State’s full-time signal-caller (2023), Howard totaled 2,643 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 140.1 passer ranking, whereas finishing 61.3% of his passes. He additionally ran for 351 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Operating again Quinshon Judkins — who transferred to Ohio State from Ole Miss, the place he averaged 1,362.5 speeding yards and 15.5 speeding touchdowns per season on 5.0 yards per carry in his freshman and sophomore seasons — will enhance Ohio State’s working recreation, forming a potent one-two punch with a wholesome TreVeyon Henderson. In the meantime, the lack of Harrison, a two-time All-American, to the NFL draft may very well be aided by the return of senior Emeka Egbuka and the arrival of five-star recruit Jeremiah Smith.
Ohio State hosts Michigan on Nov. 30 subsequent season on “Huge Midday Saturday.”
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