So Now What?

Welcome to the mourning after.

One day after Ohio State’s inexplicable 13-10 loss to a Michigan team that can only survive by scavenging and sucking the marrow from long-dead bones, the reality has set in with the kind of crater that usually brings mass casualties alongside it.

The good news is that the Buckeyes are headed to the playoffs. The bad news is we don’t know how many people actually care. And that list includes fans, coaches, and players.

They may each grow to care, but right now the tangle of rage and disappointment will take some time to undo. And with any undoing of a tangle, it may only lead to further frustrations.

The Ohio State victory bell did not get to ring on Saturday, but there were many other bells that can’t be unrung after yesterday.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has a mess to clean up today, and it’s going to take longer than just the day after to put everything back in its place. Even in the midst of emotions after the game, things have been said that can’t be unsaid the day after.

It is going to take a while for this Buckeye team to regroup. For the amount of preparation that went into Saturday’s game, the return on investment is not the kind that encourages further investment. For the players, at least they are investing in themselves and the way that they can still finish this season.

Quarterback Will Howard said after the game that the playoffs were a very low priority at the moment, but that was while he was still processing the disappointment. He then also acknowledged that this team still has more to give and he expects them to go on a run.

That’s the thought process that has to happen, but it needs to become real and not just words. There is a level of buy-in that needs to happen in short order. The Buckeyes took weeks to get over the loss to Oregon. If it takes weeks to get over the loss to Michigan, then go ahead and chalk them up for another disappointing outcome in Ohio Stadium three weeks from now.

The Horseshoe showed on Saturday that it can hold over 106,000 people, but the question now is how many Ohio State fans are interested in the thought of being back there later this month under current management. And against a better opponent.

Maybe Ohio State would prefer a 9-seed so they could play a playoff game in peace. And maybe the fans would prefer it as well so they wouldn’t have to shell out the money to watch it in person.

These are the considerations that are born from a fourth Michigan loss in a row.

But this loss to Michigan is going to stretch way beyond the end of this month. This was a game changer for Ohio State.

Oh, and signing day is this week as well.

The recruits on hand certainly got an eyeful of the thin line between control and chaos.

Everything that could go wrong on Saturday did go wrong. And now Ryan Day needs to get it all back under control. He is not going to be fired for losing to Michigan yesterday. It was his first bad loss in six years as Ohio State’s head coach.

John Cooper didn’t get fired for losing to Michigan. He got fired for losing control of the program. This is not currently a program out of control. It is, however, a program in the middle of the kind of emotional turmoil that leads to some very difficult conversations.

But eventually the emotions have to stop and the reality has to be dealt with in a way that makes sense. A decision made in anger is not a decision that has any place in this process. There are too many moving parts to get lost in emotion. Dust eventually settles, and then the process of preparation begins again.

There is still at least one more game to play. And there is still an entire roster to put together for next year.

What that roster looks like, however, depends on how this next game goes.

We will know soon enough who still wants to be at Ohio State and who doesn’t. That includes both players and coaches.

Saturday was an eye opener for a lot of people.

It may have also been a closing argument.

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