COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A new week is here and for many Ohio State football fans it will be hard to forget what happened Saturday in Austin.
The Buckeyes held a commanding 23-3 lead but allowed 21 fourth-quarter points to lose a close battle with the Longhorns.
During his weekly media availability Tuesday, OSU coach Ryan Day shared his thoughts on the loss.
“It’s maddening,” he said. “And, you know, we’re excited to get back on the field and get going because, the last couple of days haven’t been fun around here. We’ve had some really good conversations with the guys. I think they’re going to be in a good mindset moving forward. We understand we have a lot of football ahead of us.”
Day said he sees a lot of benefits to playing top teams early in the season.
“It gives you a lot of information that playing a lesser opponent wouldn’t give you.” he said.
The Buckeyes had a decision to make on the final drive of the game for Texas; some people wanted the Longhorns to score quickly, leaving one minute on the clock and one timeout for the OSU offense to attempt a game-winning field goal. Junior linebacker Payton Pierce did not like that idea.
“That’s just not the way I guess our defense is wired and should be wired, I think,” he said about the idea of letting Texas score. “Just put the ball down and, you know, it’s at the 2-yard line. We got to make four stops. And that was that was the plan.”
Now, Ohio State’s focus is on the new week, hosting Kent State at home on Saturday.
The Buckeyes and Golden Flashes kick at 12 p.m. on FOX 28.