The message at halftime was simple “30 more minutes. We just need 30 more minutes.”
Ohio State nearly finished those final 30 minutes of Saturday’s Peach Bowl with a win. Instead, a plethora of injuries and poor execution overshadowed a brilliant game from quarterback CJ Stroud.
Ohio State lost 42-41 to Georgia after Noah Ruggles’ 50-yard field goal was no good.
It was a frustrating loss for everyone involved, but one that encapsulates the 2022 Ohio State season. This team was very good and had loads of talent, but injuries and poor execution plagued it at the worst moments.
“Obviously, we came up short,” wide receiver Julian Fleming said. “There were small plays here or there. Stuff that just kind of adds up at the end of the game.”
All Stroud could do was watch as Ruggles’ kick was off the mark.
He carried Ohio State for 60 minutes. Stroud completed 23 of 34 passes for 348 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers.
And when the Buckeyes needed to lean on him the most he was ready. Down one point with less than a minute left, he got Ohio State to the Georgia 30-yard line.
“The last drive, man, I saw how much time we had with timeouts, and I knew we could do it,” Stroud said. “I tried my hardest to get us down here. (I’ve) got to maybe split somebody else, make another move, just try to get a little more, but I tried my hardest. I think I left my heart out on that field. Of course, it’s something that’s heavy on the heart.”
It looked like Ohio State was about to win. It lost 2 yards in the next three plays to necessitate a deep field goal.
Dallan Hayden lost 2 yards on a first-down rush and the next two passes from Stroud fell incomplete.
Day said he wouldn’t change the first-down run call.
Ohio State’s loss didn’t come down solely to the Ruggles’ kick, though.
The departure of tight end Cade Stover in the first quarter hurt.
Then Marvin Harrison Jr. went down after being hit in the back of the end zone.
Ohio State had to play the final 18 minutes without its top receiver and top tight end. That was bad enough for the Buckeyes, who were also without starting running back TreVeyon Henderson and had a limited Miyan Williams and backup tight end Gee Scott Jr.
“I don’t think it’s as hard as people make it out to be. Cade is a phenomenal leader on this team and tight end. Marv is a phenomenal receiver, but we have guys who can step up,” wide receiver Emeka Egbuka said. “It hurts to lose them, it does, but we have full trust in everybody on our roster.”
Still, there’s no doubt those absences played a factor in scoring three points in the fourth quarter after scoring 38 in the first three quarters.
When you look back at a crucial fourth-and-1 play in the second quarter, Ohio State had a run negated by Stroud that would have been a first down if Mitch Rossi wasn’t called for illegal motion. He came in motion and moved forward without being set. If Stover is there, does that play work to perfection? Instead, Ohio State punted and Georgia scored six plays later to take a three-point lead.
“We lost Cade early in the game, which really sent us into a little tailspin in a couple of groupings,” Day said. “To say that losing Marv didn’t have an impact on the game, it absolutely did.”
But there were other mistakes for Ohio State. The 76-yard touchdown from quarterback Stetson Bennett to receiver Arian Smith was one of them.
Safety Lathan Ransom fell in coverage, and it looked like he got turned around and fell trying to recover.
Instead of forcing Georgia to use some time and work its way down the field, the Bulldogs scored in 1 minute and 52 seconds. The defense never recovered.
Knowles said those breakdowns and the 18 fourth-quarter points will bother him this offseason.
“Every play we didn’t make has to be analyzed by me and (I’ve) got to think not just the call but who is in what position,” defensive coordinator Joe Knowles said. “It’s not the players’ fault, it’s me, and I have to get them in the best position.”
But it was also a lack of execution. Georgia is the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. Bennett and that offense were bound to make plays. But Ohio State couldn’t counter them in the final few minutes.
That’s been the case for the last three games. Ohio State beat Maryland but gave up 318 passing yards. The Buckeyes gave up 530 total yards in the loss to Michigan and 533 to Georgia.
As frustrating as the 2022 season was, Ohio State passed one test. The biggest criticism of Ohio State was that people thought it wasn’t physically ready for a team like Georgia. Saturday showed the Buckeyes.
The offense line protected Stroud well for most of the game before Harrison went out and Georgia was able to put pressure on Stroud late in the game. The defensive line held Georgia to just 5.2 yards per carry. A 52-yard run by Kenny McIntosh was an outlier that came off a misdirection play.
For 45 minutes, Ohio State was the better team. But in the final 15 minutes, everything turned around. A frustrating season came to an equally-frustrating end Saturday, bringing on a lot of “what-ifs.”
Instead of dwelling on what could have been, Ohio State is choosing to move forward.
“I think it will be a big motivator,” Chambers said. “It hurts putting in all the work to come up short. Hopefully, we can rally. We will have the younger guys.
(Photo of Ohio State’s Noah Ruggles missing a field goal attempt in the final seconds: David J. Griffin / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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