Five Things: Ohio State Fails To Match Miami's Physicality and Clutch Play in 24-14 CFP Quarterfinal Loss

By Chris Lauderback on January 1, 2026 at 10:10 am
Keionte Scott
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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Entering the CFP as the No. 2 seed with designs on becoming back-to-back champs, Ohio State's season ended with a thud as the 10-seed Miami Hurricanes owned the lines of scrimmage and made more big plays than the Buckeyes on the way to a 24-14 win in a CFP Quarterfinal matchup at the Cotton Bowl. 

Ryan Day's squad came out flat, got pushed around, and as such, was behind the actual and proverbial sticks all night, falling into a 14-0 hole early in the second quarter and never closing the gap to more than three from there. 

As is typical of any fan base and program, everyone will almost exclusively only look inward at what Ohio State didn't do right or could've done better. That's fair. That needs to happen. There's a lot to examine. But I think a great deal of credit also goes to Miami. Yeah they had some ups and downs on the way to the last spot in the CFP field but they appear to be peaking at the right time. They have some big time dudes at key positions and a very experienced quarterback. They have an identity and they imposed that identity on Ohio State last night. 

Ohio State didn't help its cause - that's inarguable - but man in my eyes, Miami won the trenches, made clutch plays and was the better team last night. 

With that, let's get to one last Five Things to round out the 2025 Ohio State football season. 

PHYSICALLY ILL-ADVISED

Having mustered a grand total of nine yards across its first two possessions, Ohio State's offense needed an answer after the Hurricanes marched 83 yards on 13 plays on the OSU defense to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. 

Trailing by seven points wasn't such a huge thing, it was more about how the game had gone to that point. As such, Day dialed up a deep shot on the possession's first play and Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith delivered in the form of a 59-yard completion to the Miami 16. A sack on the next snap pushed the Buckeyes into a 2nd-and-16 from the Hurricanes 22 and that's when disaster struck. 

Sayin was of course crushed on X and everywhere else - and rightfully so to some degree - after Keionte Scott read the play beautifully and took his interception 72 yards to the house but the play was a comedy of errors. Most notably, Smith didn't even get a finger on Scott let alone redirect or block him. The snap was also low and left which caused Sayin to briefly drop his eyes. As that happened, the fact left tackle Austin Siereveld was pulling right allowed the Miami defensive end to get into Sayin's vision and throwing lane, forcing him to take another half step back and further disrupt the play. Ideally, Sayin eats it or quickly throws it away but others were certainly complicit in the tragic sequence. 

Unbelievably, the play meant Ohio State trailed by 14 points in a game for the first time since 2022. More importantly, for this game, it put the Buckeyes in a hole that they ultimately couldn't dig out of. 

Back to Sayin, as great as he was in his first year as a starter and really first year of playing time at all, it's clear evolving as a passer under pressure is a necessary next step in his development. A dreadful offensive line gave him lots of practice over the last two games in particular and whether it was checking down too soon and missing the opportunity for a big play (e.g. not seeing Max Klare wide open down the seam for what would've been a sure TD last night) or holding the ball too long and taking a sack, he got happy feet and panicked at times when under duress. Overall, I feel Sayin was largely fantastic as a first-year starter but that doesn't mean opportunities don't exist. I expect he'll continue to develop and address those before next fall. You can't teach some of his greatest strengths but I think you can address some of his opportunities for improvement with coaching and experience.

THIRD DOWN BAD

Which team wins third down is often a clear indicator of who dominated in the trenches and last night the Hurricanes were the far superior team on the game's most critical plays. 

The Miami offense, deftly directed by veteran QB Carson Beck, converted 7-of-14 third down tries, including 5-of-6 on its three scoring drives, against an OSU defense ranked No. 7 in the country allowing a 29% conversion rate coming into the contest. 

Miami opened the scoring with a 13-play, 83-yard march that saw it convert a 3rd-and-2 via a 9-yard pass as OSU rushed just three guys and then a 3rd-and-1 thanks to a nifty call that saw Sonny Styles and Jaylen McClain get sucked up and flat-footed just enough on a fake QB dive for Beck to hit running back Mark Fletcher for a 9-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. 

On Miami's field goal drive to take a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter, the 'Canes converted a 3rd-and-5 via a 12-yard pass in Devin Sanchez's direction before a 3rd-and-9 was stopped by Caleb Downs who forced a fumble but bad luck saw the ball bounce right back into the arms of Malachi Toney, enabling the field goal on the ensuing snap. 

Finally, on Miami's game-sealing 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, Beck converted a 3rd-and-3 with a 5-yard pass on Arvell Reese in coverage and a well-executed 14-yard bubble screen on 3rd-and-4 from the OSU 20. The 'Canes would score two plays later to take a 24-14 lead with less than minute left in regulation.

Obviously, a punt to end the possession would've been ideal but even giving up a field goal there would've at least given the Ohio State offense a chance. Make no mistake, Matt Patricia's defense wasn't the chief reason OSU lost this game but when a stop was desperately needed, it failed to deliver. And that largely came as it sat back - with few pressures and wildly deep cushions in the secondary - and let Miami dictate. 

Meanwhile, the OSU offense converted only 3-of-10 third down tries including 1-of-5 on 3rd-and-Short (1-4 yards). Sayin was 4-of-7 passing for 34 yards and two first downs on third down. He was also sacked once and the run game carried it twice for one yard although that was 1-yard touchdown by Bo Jackson to cut Miami's lead to 14-7 midway through the third quarter. 

Ohio State's first third down conversion didn't come until it's sixth possession - an 8-yard pass from Sayin to Brandon Inniss - but that went for naught as Jayden Fielding missed a 49-yard field goal try four plays later to end the first half. 

The Buckeyes didn't deserve to advance in the CFP for numerous reasons and one of them was certainly their inability to consistently win on third down, especially on defense.  

O(MG) LINE

Even as Ohio State racked up 12 straight wins to start the season, there were concerns about its offensive line. But winning masks a lot of problems, or at least makes it easier to think those problems aren't as major as they might truly be, as does not really having more than one, maybe two, matchup games across those first 12 contests. 

Then came the B1G championship game and the offensive line issues were exposed in a big way. Indiana racked up five sacks and nine tackles for loss, generally harassed Sayin all night and drastically disrupted Ohio State's offensive rhythm, holding it to 10 points in a 3-point loss. 

Last night, the offensive line was again exposed giving up five sacks and seven TFLs for -46 yards along with three hurries. 

Left tackle Austin Siereveld wasn't healthy and had to be replaced during the game, right guard Gabe Van Sickle started at right guard in place of the injured Tegra Tshabola and was repeatedly beaten. Left guard Luke Montgomery certainly didn't have his best night nor did right tackle Phillip Daniels or center Carson Hinzman. You can find clips of each getting toasted 1-on-1 at least once last night. 

As bad as Ohio State's offensive line performed, don't be afraid to give Miami some credit too. Their front four headlined by Akheem Mesidor (5 stops, 2 sacks, 2 TFL) and Rueben Bain Jr. (3 stops, 1 sack, 1.5 TFL) is ferocious and the 'Canes have now posted 21 sacks and 31 TFL over their last four games after logging five sacks and seven TFL last night. The pressure also aided both Sayin interceptions. 

Back-to-back stinkers from the offensive line (10 total sacks and 16 TFLs) in matchup games should force Day and company to evaluate what needs to change up front. I won't pretend to be an OL expert but between the actual players, position coach Tyler Bowen and the conglomeration of support staff around him, it all wasn't good enough as the offensive line's performance is the biggest reason Ohio State ranked No. 41 in yards per carry entering last night's game and didn't win the Big Ten or a CFP game this season, scoring a total of 24 points across those two defeats. 

JEREMIAH DOES HIS PART

While I stand by my belief Smith's lack of any contact/block on Keionte Scott was a huge contributor to the crushing pick six, Jeremiah did more than his fair share in an effort to get Ohio State to the winner's circle. 

He finished with game-highs of seven catches (on eight targets) for 157 yards and a touchdown with all of his grabs moving the chains or scoring points. All of them gained at least 10 yards. 

He also had a chance for a nice gain on a reverse but two of his compadres on the edge opted not to block anyone. 

His biggest catches came as Ohio State clung to life, trailing 17-7 after Miami's Carter Davis drilled a 49-yard field goal with 3:01 left in the third quarter.

In desperate need to answer, OSU took possession at its own 25. From there, Smith hauled in a 22-yard back shoulder connection on 2nd-and-6 to move the sticks all the way to the Miami 22. His ill-fated reverse came on the next snap but three plays later, on 4th-and-2 from the 14, Smith ran a cross, caught a Sayin throw at the 5 and then beat three defenders to the end zone. The scoring strike gave Ohio State a chance, trailing just 17-14 with 13:28 left but that's as close as it would get before Miami turned the lights out. 

For the season, Smith finished with 87 catches for 1,243 yards (95.6 ypg) and 12 touchdowns. He went over 100 yards on six of those games including during Ohio State's back-to-back losses to end the season. 

Greatness. 

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

Last night sucked. The pick six (while threatening to score), another no-show from the offensive line in a matchup game and yet another missed field goal were the headliners but there was plenty of blame to go around. 

Day's team obviously wasn't ready to go from the jump despite his efforts to ensure the team arrived with an edge after a 25-day layoff. That's on him and the staff even as CFP teams that earned a bye are now 0-5. 

Matt Patricia's defense was the star unit of 2025 not just for Ohio State but also nationally, through conference championship weekend at least, but it couldn't get off the field on third down nor come up with a championship-level stop when OSU needed it most against the 'Canes. At first blush, that looked like a scheme (those cushions in the secondary (!)) and execution combo platter. 

There are other things I could list but as we contemplate an abrupt end to Ohio State's season, I caution against converting to the lunatic fringe. 

It's worth remembering that winning consecutive national championships is hard. You need more than elite talent and expert coaching to come together. You also need a healthy dose of luck, minimal distractions and health. It's not lost on me that only two programs (Alabama and Georgia have turned the trick in the last 20 years. One did it in the BCS era, meaning one playoff game and the other did it in the four-team CFP era, meaning two playoff games. 

I've also learned that national titles seem to come when their not quite expected such as 2002, 2014 and 2024 versus when they seem most likely such as 1998, 2006, 2015, probably 2019 and now maybe 2025 (betting favorite but cracks in the armor were badly exposed in B1G title game). 

Do I think Ryan Day had his best game last night or that his team was ready from jump street? Absolutely not. Do I think he's still the best man for the job? Absolutely. But he's got work to do. 

The transfer portal looms but that's a much larger discussion for another day. Other than that, the next most important task is to find an experienced offensive coordinator and then adopt some of that person's ideas as I think it's fair to suggest the attack has gotten a bit stale and could use some fresh concepts. That was already starting to be a thing before Day had to placate his wide receivers coach and ace recruiter with a promotion to OC which further eroded the overall game plan, play design and playcalling. In my view, the worst thing Day could do right now is settle and promote a name like Keenan Bailey to OC. I like Bailey and I want him at Ohio State but OSU needs an outside voice, potentially one with very little ties to Day to own the offense. (Edit: since this article posted, Matt Zenitz reports OSU is expected to hire Cortez Hankton as its wide receivers coach.)

Continuing on offense, Day needs to examine the coaching staff and structure as well as player personnel responsible for the line of scrimmage, as discussed earlier. Matchup games are won and lost in the trenches and Ohio State's OL took it on the chin in those losses to Indiana and Miami, ending the season with a whimper. 

Hanging on to Patricia is also a must-do. He seems happy in Columbus and said nothing alarming after the game but you know he'll be propositioned by a ton of college and pro teams over the next few weeks for not just DC roles but head coaching gigs too. 

Don't forget, a lot of things went right this season, a lot of talent comes back, a lot of talent is coming in and the program is still one of the nation's truly elite. 

Thanks, as always, for reading another season of Five Things. I appreciate you all for being a huge part of the 11W ecosystem.  

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