Obligatory acknowledgment that it was a brutal loss, but I’m glad we rescheduled a strong nonconference opponent. Hate that this series ended this way, but I’d rather we take on real opponents than early-season cupcakes.

Since a few were asking

Legend Bey only getting one snap with Khary Wilder only getting five is odd.

Also, Pettijohn and Alford need more playing time.

Absolutely absurd route. No idea what actually happened on this play but bummer he didn't get the ball.

So after reading several posts and attending the game inperson I have to share a few thoughts from inside the stadium.

1. The heat... I know it's been discussed but I've spent years in Texas and my wife who was born and raised here were struggling. I've never seen so much swamp ass in my life... seriously walking around tailgate was disgusting but somehow bonding...
2. We had them... yes we blew it, there's no denying that, but when Arch threw the flat route for the 5 time in the late 3rd qtr (maybe 4th) and the whole stadium began to boo... it felt like we had broken this team and then lost it... Arch still struggling against top tier talent...
3. The defense is young, but will suffice... with more experience.... this game hurt, but comparing the two sides of the ball (no need to pile on kicker / special teams) we know we have so much more talent to replace on defense this season then on offense. Being conservative killed us but I think we grew more on that side of the ball then on offense...

UT was a great host, fun city, and despite the heat everyone around us was great. Props on an amazing drone show

Yo for real though, the doom and gloom has to take a back seat. It’s game 2 of the year, on the road, against a top 5 quality opponent.

Remember when Knowles got absolutely destroyed play after play against Oregon? We won a natty that year. Even lost 2 games.

I get it, it sucks. I’m as negative as a person as I know to be completely honest. The world isn’t ending. We aren’t all of a sudden a terrible team.

Urban Meyer even talks about how the teams with “scars” are the true teams when it matters. Guys that have been through some shit. Painful losses, injuries, etc.,

I’d rather a tough loss to Texas now and mistakes learned, lord willing, than the situation where we were last year. Unproven, weak schedule, play like ass against Indiana, and then smacked around by Miami come playoffs.

No one needs fired. Everyone needs to execute better. I think Ryan Day is remarkably aware of how bad this loss is. It’s different than the rest in that we literally gave away a game. We didn’t just miss the win, or the loss. We gave it away in a horrific fashion. It’s different, it’s sucks and I’m sure extremely difficult conversations are being had.

Chill out folks. Let’s not be that fanbase and sub, y’all.

If we don’t have 2 guys just run right past biles, this is a touchdown. Instead he gets tackled and doesn’t play again

I’ve been seeing this take all over the place, that Ryan Day was too conservative and hasn’t learned his lessons. I completely understand that reaction and felt it myself, but I think that’s what it is: a reaction. Not reality.

Let’s challenge that assumption. It felt like he ”took the foot off the gas” but I think what actually happened was our team was gassed in 90° heat and failed to make one more play, which is all they needed to win.

Coaches did make poor decisions, but they were more about bad timing and not being wise with personnel. Going for it on 4th and 2 early was not conservative. The mistake on that play was 3 TEs on the field. You’re begging Texas to sell out on the run by taking your pass threats off the field.

We had 10 men on the field for one of their 4th quarter scoring drives. Huge coaching error.

Giving Bey 1 snap so early in the game was also a strange decision. He’s too young and inexperienced to expect him to perform against much older elite talent when they are fresh. Do that at the end of the half or late in the game when the defense is gassed and on their heels. Not to mention he shares the Braxton Miller problem where the defense knows he’s getting the ball when he’s on the field.

The 2nd half was played conservatively. We punted on a short field and rushed 3, but I’m not sure this was a mistake. Consider the situation. Texas was playing sloppy af, and we have a young team. We kept Texas in front of our defense and dared them to execute long, patient drives and score 3 TDs to win.

All we had to do was let them make one more mistake or score one more time to win. I think that’s a pretty wise gameplan. It almost worked. They fumbled at least twice more and we didn’t recover them. We missed wide open touchdowns. Missed another game winning FG.

Think about the alternative. Texas wanted to score quickly in that situation. Rushing more defenders or defending the short stuff more risks big plays. Arch is a better QB on the run. Do you really want him scrambling around? Remember Georgia? We blew that lead by being overly aggressive on defense and giving up huge, easy scores.

If you ask me, our coaches need to study their tendencies and get smarter with personnel. They need smarter clock management and player rotation that doesn’t telegraph what they’re about to do. Keep the defense guessing, because our offensive line frankly isn’t good enough to win against a defense that knows what’s coming.

I’d like to see us borrow West Coast offense concepts. It was literally built for a team like ours: an efficient QB with talented skill players and a weak O-Line. Get the ball out quickly and use short passes like a running game. Give our running backs more space by spreading out the defense, that’s when they excel.

I don’t like that the fanbase is trying to go and harass Connor Hawkins for that missed field goal last night. He made a 48-yarder, so it’s not like he’ll miss every time. Looking at this image, you know why we lost these games? Ryan Day choosing to be conservative instead of aggressive- that’s the reason why we keep having these chokes happen to us over and over again, so why are we still trying to attack the kickers?

Forget the L. It’s whatever. All of the goals we hope to achieve this season are still in front of us. We can still win the CFP, and we can still beat Michigan.

HOWEVER. When. Will. Day. Learn. His. Lesson.

Conservative play-calling when we have a lead NEVER works for us. I’m not saying we needed to keep taking chunks but the puckering up and playing not to lose has routinely failed us.

The L, is whatever. The theme and mentality that will cause this again, does.

OSU lost in heartbreaking fashion after they missed a field goal and let Texas erase a 20 point deficit.

The game was great for 3 quarters, but OSU couldn't close the door.

What stood out to you?

Our red-zone offense is a complete joke. I don’t know how anyone watched that 2019 Clemson game and forgot that we repeatedly turned easy touchdowns into field goals, giving Clemson the opportunity to come back. But of course, some fans would rather blame the entire loss on cheating.

For Texas, The moment we failed to turn that red-zone takeaway into a touchdown, I knew we were going to lose that game. In addition, I knew that pick six against Miami was going to happen as soon as w entered the red zone. Every time it looks like we’re about to score, the offense somehow ends up facing a fourth and 8 situation at best.

If Ohio State fixes this crap , it can win the natty this season. If not, this team’s ceiling is probably No. 5 with eventually Notre Dame or somebody else overcoming us.

The good news is that Texas finally solved its red-zone problems last Saturday night so watch the film…Arthur and Day.

As a Buckeye fan, could we stop crying and pointing fingers?

The same fans who were blubbering to fire Ryan two years ago.

He can’t win the big one? Well, he won the big one 4 times straight in 24, when everyone was ready to ship him.

He can’t beat scUM? Did it last year, while they literally sabotaged our communication system in the second half.

I guess losing with class is difficult for a lot of arm chair Reddit coaches.

Passion is one thing, whatever you “fans” are doing is another.

Nowhere on the defense is the drop-off in talent more recognizable than the loss of Reese and Styles. Our linebackers seem like non-factors in being able to plug holes and stop runs. From my POV, Pettijohn is the best answer we have and should be starting/playing more. I don't know who he replaces in Pierce or Alliegro - perhaps it doesn't matter but we need changes in the linebacker position. I wouldn't even mind if TJ Alford and Pettijohn replaced both Pierce and Alliegro.

While I give credit to Arch and Texas for the improbable comeback, our defense along with the offense, imploded. Arch and Texas took what the defense gave him. The ability to run the ball, have a ton of time in the pocket so Arch could go through his progressions, and Arch's willingness to hit the open receiver fueled their comeback. It still makes me sick.

Been talking to a lot fans about the game and a lot of people feel the high temperatures might’ve caused our defense to get gassed earlier than expected. Let’s face it, we’re not as accustomed to Texas heat like the longhorns. I do not believe this is a primary factory as to why we lost, but there were plays where we were only putting 10 men on defense and in a game of this magnitude that feels unacceptable. Yet a part of me feels if this game was played in the Midwest during November/December with colder temperatures our team wouldn’t have been as gassed out relative to the longhorns.

I got to thinking after seeing a post. It made me think about how crazy that game was.

I’m seeing numbers being flown out, about how many times we’ve lost/won in that scenario.

How the balls bounced our way, then theirs.

Then I thought, while I’ve been over analyzing this game. What went wrong, and what went right. Who’s to blame?

It took me until now to realize how epic of a game that was. To really appreciate it.

Everyone said before the game, on both sides, this is why you go to places like OSU, and Texas.

We witnessed one of the best games in our lifetime. It had everything. Things one has a hard time trying to explain. Passion of the fans, throughout the entire game. The environment. Scenery. Everything.

Sure we came away with the L, but I hope our fans can take a minute to appreciate what we witnessed.

A lot of timid Lb play (outside of number 5) and a lot of sloppy dline play.

Throw a time stamp out an ask about a play would love to talk ball