‘Truth telling’ loss to Michigan continues to fuel Ohio State

ATLANTA – After Ohio State’s fourth straight loss to Michigan, the players had a meeting with coach Ryan Day where they “really hashed some things out,” quarterback Will Howard said Saturday, a turning point in their season that helped propel the team to Monday’s national championship game against Notre Dame.

“It was really a telling time,” Howard said at College Football Playoff media day. “The facts were presented. People were challenged. Everyone, myself included, had to take a little look in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better? How can we fix this?’ What we were clinging to was that we still have this opportunity in front of us to correct all these mistakes and play for a national championship, and here we are right where we wanted to be, but we really just thought on ourselves.”

The Buckeyes were favored by 21 points against Michigan, the widest point spread for the rivalry since 1978, according to ESPN Research. Since then, they’ve won three straight playoffs — against Tennessee, Big Ten champion Oregon and SEC runner-up Texas.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said the team has shown its resilience over the past few weeks, but had a choice to make.

“They talked through it,” Kelly said. “I think they understood what was presented, what’s in front of us. I think that’s a big point. When you look at the game against Michigan, it could be one of two things: It can be your tombstone, or it can be a stepping stone, and Ryan and our players turned it into a stepping stone.”

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said the 13-10 loss to Michigan made the team closer. After the season’s first loss to Oregon, Knowles said, “There were a lot of fingers being pointed at the defense. And the second one, it was kind of the other way.”

“I made a point to say to our guys, ‘Remember how it felt the first time? You have to go out of your way to pick up your brothers,'” Knowles said. “In a way, they did, and it really melted us together.”

The Buckeyes are playing in their sixth national championship game (national championship games began with the start of the BCS in the 1998 season), but have not won one since the 2014 season. Ohio State is 2-3 in national championship games. The Buckeyes are trying to win their first national title under Day, who faced heavy backlash and questions about his job security after the loss to Michigan.

“Every year you learn and you grow,” he said, “trying to be self-aware enough to surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth, hoping to get better, and that’s really all you can do.

“When you go through big moments, you really grab onto the people that are around you, and it’s the same when you go through tough moments,” Day said. “That’s why you build relationships.”

Ohio State holds a 6-2 lead in the all-time series and has won six in a row. Notre Dame’s last win over Ohio State came in 1936. Knowles said Day never allowed any of the criticism to affect his work or affect the staff.

“It’s not something we talk about because we’re just trying to put our heads down and work,” Knowles said. “But at the end of the day, brothers in arms, you’re happy that he’s being seen for the quality of the person and coach that he is because he’s doing a great job and he cares about the players and he’s in tune with what’s going on with staff The only thing you can do to help is win, so I’m glad we did.”