I will always be a Buckeye fan until the Good Lord calls me home. But to say I'm steamed right now would be an understatement. I am absolutely furious. Not just because we lost. I am furious because I saw a team that could've blown the doors off Miami if they had decided to show up in the first half.

Miami played better overall tonight and deserved to win. But it's absolutely irritating to no end knowing the Buckeyes were incredibly talented and didn't wake up and decide to play like it until it was too little too late.

But congratulations to the Hurricanes. They probably heard all the smack talk about how Ohio State was going to blow them out, and used it as fuel. The underdog sent the defending champion home early. They did their job. Good on them. But where did Ohio State fail? What were the Good, Bad and Ugly aspects to this game? Let's take a look.

Good: Second half rally

I'll give the Buckeyes credit here. I was almost ready to shut the TV off early if they had gone down 21-0. I'm a diehard Ohio State fan, but I refuse to put myself through that. My girlfriend and I are celebrating our one-year anniversary and we watched the ball drop at midnight. If things had gone even further south early, I would've changed the channel.

But they fought back. They kept Miami's pass rush at bay, got rolling on the ground with Bo Jackson, and Jeremiah Smith did Jeremiah Smith things. I was sensing momentum start to turn after Miami had a stranglehold on it and the game for the entire first half.

Bo had 55 yards on 11 carries and a score, and Jeremiah had 157 yards on seven catches, and a beautiful touchdown where he weaved right through not one, not two, but three Miami defenders on his way to paydirt. That's when I started to sense that the game might shift. When the Buckeyes get rolling like that offensively? They're extremely tough to stop. But unfortunately, I think they got things in gear too late.

But on the defensive side of the ball, I'm not sure the Silver Bullets ever consistently got it in gear.

Bad: The defense not living up to their potential

Maybe it's just me. But I would roll my eyes whenever someone called this year's Ohio State defense one of the greatest in college football history. Not because I didn't believe they were great. They were.

I rolled my eyes every time I heard that because I HATE prematurely crowning anyone the best at anything when the season has yet to be finished. One of the so-called greatest defenses in college football history will now be sitting at home watching the other four teams fight for the trophy that could've been theirs if they had done their job tonight. Simple as that.

Statistically, this Buckeye defense ranks right up there. But stats don't win National Championships. Clutch stops do.

It's similar to someone calling some of those Browns defenses midway through the 2010s before 0-16 some of the best in the NFL. Statistically they might've been right. But stats don't determine how great a defense will be when it matters most. The greatest defenses execute in the clutch, and shut things down when they need to the most. The numbers may not lie. But they don't always tell the whole story.

Miami was a combined 8-15 on third and fourth down (53%). That's not good enough. Far too often the Buckeyes were left on the field for too long. They let Carson Beck and the Miami offense extend drives, gave up 153 yards on the ground, and only got home for two sacks all night long. That's a recipe for disaster.

But the ugliest part of the game may have been the biggest reason Ohio State lost.

The Ugly: The Miami pass rush ate Sayin alive

I believe that Indiana found some sort of blueprint for how to attack the Buckeyes when it came to defensive pressure. They figured things out, made him uncomfortable and took him down. Repeatedly. All Miami did was the same thing, but they perfected it.

Ohio State's offensive line had weeks to prepare for either Miami or Texas A&M. They knew the Aggies and Hurricanes were going to pick on them. But that was the best they could come up with? I'm sorry, but that was pathetic.

The Hurricanes racked up five sacks, and kept the Buckeyes from really getting into rhythm offensively. People might think it's cliche when others say football games are won or lost in the trenches. But I take it seriously.

If Ohio State had even remotely figured out a way to buffer the pass rush or get the ball out quicker in the first half, things might've been different. But things went about as bad as they could've gone in this area of the game for the first 30 minutes. And even though Ohio State was an incredibly talented team, Miami is just too good for the Buckeyes to get away with that.

You can't play like crap for a full 30 minutes and then suddenly decide to show up for the second half. This game doesn't work that way. Especially in the College Football Playoff. This kind of stuff is punished with losses.

As Herb Brooks says in the movie Miracle, "You think you guys can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone!"

The Buckeyes could probably get by most teams on talent alone. But true National Championship contenders marry their talent to their work ethic and execution. They figure out how to do that, and do it consistently in the biggest games. Miami did that. Ohio State did not. Simple as that.

Ohio State now goes into a long offseason wondering what the heck went wrong. As for me? I'm going to make the most of the new year before the newest crop of Buckeyes emerge in the fall.

I need to decompress, celebrate the new year with Elizabeth, and come back refreshed. Have a Happy New Year everybody.

Even if this game didn't turn out like we wanted, I wish you all a great one. May your 2026 be filled with happiness, growth and success, as well as chances to hug your loved ones tight!

And as always, GO BUCKS!

Statistical Leaders

Julian Sayin: 22-35, 287 yards, TD, 2 INTs.

Bo Jackson: 11 carries, 55 yards, TD

Jeremiah Smith: 7 catches, 157 yards, TD

Source

ESPN

Picture Credit

Eleven Warriors