JD PicKell: Why 2021 was a failure for Ohio State, ways to bounce back
Ohio State finished 11-2 and stayed within the Top 10 of the AP Poll for the vast majority of the season. They opened at No. 4, reached as high as No. 2 and finished No. 6 in the nation. Capping it off with a 48-45 over Utah in the Rose Bowl would typically equal an incredibly successful season for the Buckeyes. On3’s JD PicKell says not so fast.
On his most recent episode of ‘The Hard Count‘, PicKell checked the pulse of Ohio State after last season and entering this one. He says it wasn’t just a bad season for them. He went as far to say that it was unquestionably a failure.
“(They) just came off an 11 win season, won the Rose Bowl, and were this close, really a game away on rivalry Saturday, to the College Football Playoff. For just about anybody else in the country, that is a phenomenal year. You’re giving your coach an extension. You’re probably throwing a parade. Life is good,” said PicKell. “Not the case in Columbus. Very much not the case. Actually, to take it a step further, the people at Ohio State would consider last year a failure.”
Their 42-27 loss at Michigan to end the regular season is what really sent the Buckeye’s off track altogether. It wasn’t just a defeat in one of the sport’s biggest rivalries. It also cost them a spot in the Big Ten title game and, in turn, the College Football Playoff. PicKell believes that checking none of those boxes in 2021 is what defines last season as a disaster.
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“At Ohio State, they say, ‘We didn’t win the Big Ten, we didn’t make the College Football Playoff, and, most importantly, we didn’t beat Michigan,'” PicKell said. “All three of those things are not okay.”
With CJ Stroud, Jaxon Smith Njigba, and TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State returns key pieces from a team that led the nation in points per game. The defining factor will be whether or not their defense can improve. The Buckeyes gave up 22.8 points per game, which finished just 38th in the NCAA. If Ryan Day’s team can be equally consistent on both sides of the football, there’s no reason they don’t believe that they won’t earn one of the four spot in Los Angeles at the end of this upcoming season.
“They have their eyes set on a College Football Playoff appearance, even more so a national championship. They’re on a revenge tour. That sound funny to say for a program that just won the Rose Bowl a season ago but Ohio State’s out for blood this year. They are hungry.”