Ohio State embraced new leader, but Cotton Bowl cratered when he went down: Nathan Baird’s observations

ARLINGTON, Texas — Three observations from Ohio State football’s 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.

1. Ryan Day said last week his entire team rallied around Devin Brown in the month between Kyle McCord’s transfer portal entry and Friday’s kickoff.

When Brown limped to the locker room early in the second quarter — clearly too hobbled by a high ankle sprain to keep playing — the gut-punch resonated throughout the roster.

It also essentially paralyzed the game plan and rendered the offense one-dimensional.

“When you have a plan, and everything kind of goes by the wayside, it’s hard to respond to that,” senior receiver Xavier Johnson said.

Brown felt the call to step up and lead earlier this month. McCord’s high-profile transfer headlined 14 such departures since the end of the regular season. While many were role players with limited futures in the program, that exodus contributed to an unsteady time in the raw weeks after a third straight loss to Michigan.

Someone had to be the glue holding the team together. Brown believed, correctly, that it should be him. Had he eventually settled down and found a rhythm Friday, perhaps he would have also led them into the offseason with a victory.

Instead, he could only watch while true freshman Lincoln Kienholz got the extended audition Brown had sought since last January. His teammates knew how much the moment meant to Brown, and how he came back from injury twice in the past year to earn it.

“It was flattening a little bit just to see him,” punter Jesse Mirco said. “Obviously he went out there and kept trying for us for a little bit, but you can’t put yourself in a position to make it worse. It’s sad to see. Obviously was a good opportunity for him, but he’ll be back.”

Could Ohio State have beaten Missouri with McCord under center and the same offensive line issues. We’ll never know. But in retrospect it is fair to say McCord’s transfer led to the loss, since it left OSU with no sufficient option when Brown could not play.

Brown could recover from this injury in a matter of weeks. His charisma and leadership qualities will carry even more value in the next couple of months. An already tough offseason only got tougher with Friday’s ugly loss.

2. Ohio State now awaits NFL Draft decisions which could decide whether or not it has the best defensive line in the nation next season.

Jack Sawyer’s second-half surge built to a career-defining performance with three sacks of Missouri quarterback Brady Cook. J.T. Tuimoloau added another as the Buckeyes took Cook down six times. They imposed their will on an offensive line which contended for the Joe Moore Award as the best unit in the country.

Tyleik Williams, Ty Hamilton and Mike Hall Jr. all proved their worth this season. All, though, sit on the precipice of even bigger things. If that entire five-man group returns – with Kenyatta Jackson, Cayden Curry, Hero Kanu and other younger players adding layers of quality depth – that is the nucleus of a championship defense.

Of course, as shown all season and again Friday night, that only works if the offense comes along.

3. The special teams operation had plenty of chances to change the narrative of disorganization and poor communication this season. It capitalized on none of them.

Mirco punted well Friday, averaging 48.2 yards with a long of 61. (He also had plenty of opportunities with eight attempts.)

Problem is, the fundamental operations of the unit still kept faltering. A delay of game penalty on the punt unit punctuated the game-opening three-and-out. Jayden Ballard fair caught a punt at his own 4, putting Brown’s back against the wall early. A holding penalty on another fair catch set OSU back to its own 15.

Special teams coordinator Parker Fleming became a convenient punching bag this season. Ultimately, though, Day made the call to promote a quality control coach, which tilted the offense-defense balance of the staff. A replacement seems like a foregone conclusion. What matters more is whether Day’s hiring practices change philosophically.