By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer and wire reports
COLUMBUS (AP) — With a potential first-round draft pick at quarterback and a group of elite skill players around him, the window seemed wide open for an Ohio State run to the national title.
The Buckeyes dropped to No. 5 in the major college football polls after losing to Michigan on Saturday – but head coach Ryan Day says they could still compete in the CFP – if they make it.
((—SOT: NWSS001 – Day—))
Michigan up to No. 2 after top-ranked Georgia; No. 3 TCU, No. 4 USC (K-State & Utah)
But after having its season stymied by Michigan again, and the prospect of losing C.J. Stroud to the NFL draft, the Buckeyes have to be wondering how they move on and what’s next?
They still have a chance of backing into the College Football Playoff, and finding redemption. That will require some help from other teams and consideration of the Buckeyes’ body of work, not just its 45-23 loss to the No. 3 Wolverines on Saturday.
Otherwise Ohio State is headed for a Rose Bowl appearance and another painful 365 days of trying to figure out how this happened.
“I don’t know what’s next right now, but that’s life at Ohio State,” coach Ryan Day said. “I certainly know what this game means to everybody, so when you lose, it all comes back to me. I’m the head coach and that’s what hurts the most.”
In his fourth year at the helm, Day is facing the reality of the way things go at the top of college football’s food chain. If you can’t win the most important game on your schedule, there will be questions about whether you are the right man for the job.
A coach with a mountain of accomplishments and a more than $9 million annual salary, is the one being judged for his failures and getting compared to former Buckeyes coach John Cooper.
Cooper is a Hall of Famer, but for Ohio State fans he is mostly remembered for this: 2-10-1 against Michigan.
Day is 45-5 overall at Ohio State but 1-2 against “that team up north.”
Stroud sounded like a man who might be moving on if things don’t break the Buckeyes way in the next two weeks.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I’m feeling right now,” the third-year quarterback said. “It all just kind of happened so fast. I don’t know if this is my last time playing in the ‘Shoe, but I enjoyed every minute of it.”
J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, Donovan Edwards ran for two long fourth-quarter TDs and No. 3 Michigan pulled away for a 45-23 rout of No. 2 Ohio State to keep its national title hopes firmly on track.
McCarthy exploited holes in the Buckeyes secondary and helped Michigan capture two straight wins over Ohio State for the first time in over two decades and walk away from Ohio Stadium with a victory for the first time since 2000.
Day was asked if the loss was even worse than last year’s 42-27 setback at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“Hard to say right now. This is not the outcome we all envisioned,” he said.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was brought in from Oklahoma State to improve the Ohio State defense after it was embarrassed by Michigan last year.
“You just got to take responsibilities,” Knowles said. “Obviously, the players were hurting. Much more than me. I’m crushed. But they’re young men who put their heart and soul into it. They’re the ones that I have to be able to look in the eye and talk about all those things — scheme, technique, fundamentals. Everything that goes into it has to fall on my shoulders.”