Bulletpoints: Big Ten Title
Thoughts on Ohio State's 13-10 loss to Indiana.
- Here's where I'm at after having a couple days to sit with this game: Indiana earned that win –and the top spot in the playoff that comes with it– so I'm not gonna take anything away from them. They played Ohio State to what was essentially a 50/50 game where whoever executed better in high-leverage spots and in crunch time would win. Jayden Fielding's missed field goal, plus Fernando Mendoza's throws on the TD to Elijah Sarratt, and the third-down conversion that essentially sealed the game with 2:26 left defined why the Hoosiers won. Indiana made more plays when they needed to, and that's why they won. I'm more upset about how Ohio State lost than that they lost in the first place- if that makes sense.
- Slowing games down and leaning on the defense to choke out opponents has been a major theme of Ohio State's season. It got them to 12-0 and within a couple of plays from winning the Big Ten Title. It's not like it's been the worst strategy to roll with. That said, I hope this loss makes Ryan Day and everyone else at Ohio State at least seriously evaluate whether that style can win them a national title against a slate of Texas A&M/Miami/Whoever else they might play in the playoff. It was fine enough to roll through Illinois and Michigan in the regular season, but Indiana showed it's not going to cut it against higher-level teams if they want to repeat.
