This is normally where I would be writing a postgame story about the #6 Buckeyes’ 55-24 implosion against unranked Iowa. It would include some information about the game and quotes from OSU players and coaches that might help illuminate what just happened.
As the game ended, and overjoyed Iowa fans streamed out of the stands to my left and dejected Buckeyes trudged off the field to my right, that was still the plan.
Unfortunately, this type of coverage requires some input from the team. Last week, in the wake of the Buckeyes’ 39-38 win over Penn State, a parade of smiling players and coaches met with the media to talk about the game. It’s easy to do when the news is good.
Tonight, it wasn’t so easy, and the parade was much shorter. Urban Meyer came out, repeatedly said he needed to go back and watch the film to figure out what happened, and headed out. Our Facebook Live stream of the entire thing lasted a total of 3:33.
Center Billy Price, as steady and unshakable a leader as this program has had in years, came out next. Then DE Tyquan Lewis, who was clearly shaken by the loss, but who provided thoughtful responses to some very tough questions.
And then that was it. No J.T. Barrett, who had a nightmare of a day with four interceptions. But even more glaringly, no offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. No defensive coordinator Greg Schiano.
Barrett is understandable. After four years in the center of the spotlight, he may seem like a grizzled NFL veteran, but he’s 22 years old. Barrett came out after the Oklahoma game and faced the grilling he must have known was coming.
For him to not come out tonight was either a coaches’ decision or the result of him being in a very bad place. Anyone with an ounce of humanity should understand either one.
For Wilson and Schiano… ESPECIALLY Schiano… there’s nothing to understand. They’re not 22. Both have served as the head coach of major conference programs in the past, and both almost certainly aspire to do so again. This is what you do. This is your job.
Wilson’s offense didn’t exactly cover itself in glory at Kinnick Stadium. It put up 24 points and 371 yards, at an average of 5.8 per play. None of those numbers is great, but they’re not a total tire fire either.
It would have been nice to know why freshman RB sensation J.K. Dobbins vanished from the run game yet again this week. He averaged 9.4 yards per rush in the first half, but only got five carries. He only got the ball once in the second half.
A week earlier, Dobbins didn’t play at all during the second quarter after putting up 50 yards on four carries in the first. Why? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But while Wilson’s offense sputtered some, Schiano’s defense spent the entire day stepping on rake after rake: 55 points, 487 yards, and just a hair shy of 7.0 yards per play. This, against an offense with a reputation for being outdated, and populated almost entirely with players the OSU coaching staff wouldn’t have considered recruiting.
On play after play, 4-and-5-star Buckeye linebackers flailed helplessly as 3-star Iowa tight ends raced past them. Highly-touted Buckeye defensive backs got repeatedly toasted by largely-overlooked Hawkeyes. On one touchdown, an OSU defensive end was seemingly trying to cover an Iowa tight end. Was that really the plan? Tonight, an angry fanbase got no answers.
With a personnel advantage as big as OSU’s, the only explanations for the three-hour controlled implosion that happened Saturday are scheme or attitude. Both of those fall on coaches.
We don’t know whose decision it was to have Wilson and Schiano slink out of Kinnick Stadium without talking. It’s possible that the directive came from Urban Meyer, but that would be an odd choice for a coach who preaches about the importance of accountability. Saturday night, his big-money assistants had none.
Schiano is not 22, he’s 51 years old. He’s also the highest-paid OSU assistant, earning $700,000 this season. It’s not exactly a secret that he will very likely be looking for a head coaching job this offseason, after he completes the customary two-year term under Urban Meyer.
If I was the athletic director at Tennessee or Florida or Ole Miss or any other school likely to be in the market this offseason, the on-field performance from Schiano’s unit might give me a bit of pause. But the postgame disappearing act would be a big red flag.
What kind of program are you signing up for if you’re handing control over to a guy who heads for the bus when the going gets tough?
Schiano and Wilson will likely be back out to talk to reporters this week. One or both usually speaks on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. Presumably, we’ll get some answers then.
But tonight in Iowa City, when the Buckeye team mostly no-showed the game, their leaders largely did afterward as well.
As the chorus of “I Want To Go Back To Ohio State” says, “We’ll win the game or know the reason why.” Thanks to Wilson and Schiano, neither was true tonight.