Greg McElroy reveals what losing to Michigan again would mean for Ohio State
Going into the 2024 season, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the Michigan Wolverines circled on the schedule as they look to break a three-game losing streak in the rivalry. It’s a game that analyst Greg McElroy knows is going to be huge.
In a recent episode of Always College Football, McElroy revealed what losing to Michigan again would mean for Ohio State and looked at how the Buckeyes and head coach Ryan Day tried to address issues on the team.
“Ohio State, I need to remind everybody, 15-1 against Michigan from 2005 to 2020,” Greg McElroy said. “The last time Ohio State lost three in a row was back in 1995 to 1997. We understand that, right now, they’re on a three-game losing streak. If Ohio State loses this game again, it means a few things.”
This offseason, Ohio State underwent some major changes to the roster. That, notably, included a change at quarterback through the portal while the Buckeyes’ best player, Marvin Harrison Jr, moved onto the NFL.
“One, Will Howard is kind of comparable potentially to Kyle McCord. People said, ‘He can go. He’s replaceable. Let’s go get another guy.’ They got Will Howard. Well, some people are wondering would he even have been the starter at Kansas State had he stayed…It means that maybe he wasn’t able to elevate the Buckeyes to the same level as some of the guys before him,” McElroy said.
“It probably also means they probably weren’t able to adequately replace Marvin Harrison. Harrison was a guy that was unbelievable. I mean, amazing. Emeka Egbuka is back. I love a couple of their freshmen…I can’t imagine Ohio State not having an elite receiver core. Just being honest. Of all the reasons they lose to Michigan, receiver probably won’t be one of them.”
If there is a potential issue for Ohio State, McElroy thinks it might be the offensive line. This, again, is a unit that Day worked to address in the portal.
“One thing that could be, though, is the offensive line could remain a bit of a liability. They do bring back some starters. They’ve got three guys back that have played. You add Seth McLaughlin from Alabama who I think is a talented piece there in the middle. Had some snap inaccuracies last year but some of those were circumstantial. I think that was a good piece to add. The tackles, though, for Ohio State, I’m a see-it-to-believe-it person.”
Since getting to Ohio State, Ryan Day has a record of 56-8. However, he’s only 1-3 against Michigan. Because of that, it does seem like some of his offseason moves were directly inspired by finding a way to beat the Wolverines. That included hiring Chip Kelly.
“The other thing about this game, okay, Michigan has dominated the line of scrimmage in each of the last three years. Ryan Day went out and hired Chip Kelly to be his offensive coordinator… one, Chip Kelly has a proven track record as an offensive mind…well, he might have hired him exclusively for this game. You know why? Because for 22 consecutive years, from 2001 to 2023, 22 consecutive meetings between Ohio State and Michigan the team that out-rushed the opposition, won the game. Here’s the good news for Ohio State fans, Chip Kelly, his offenses at Oregon led the Pac-12 in rushing [in] eight consecutive years. Every year he was there, they led the Pac-12 in rushing. Then, his four UCLA offenses, placed first or second in the Pac-12 every year,” McElroy said.
“If there’s one thing Chip Kelly is gonna do, it’s run the football. It’s gonna be hard to run against Michigan. It’s gonna be really hard to run it against Michigan, for sure, but I know that’s gonna be a high priority with the addition of Quinshon Judkins, with the addition of Chip Kelly as the offensive coordinator.”
On the defensive side of the ball, McElroy then pointed out the team’s struggles giving up big plays against Michigan. It’s another issue on the list for Day and the Buckeyes to clean up.
“Finally, the reason Michigan probably won the game if they win it this year, they probably created some big plays. Last year, the Buckeyes allowed nine plays in that game of 15-plus yards and five plays of 20-plus yards. Both were the worst of the season. They just can’t have that happen. In particular, they were almost all in the second half. So, you’ve got to play better in the second half.”
Ultimately, Day has found plenty of success at Ohio State. However, the biggest game of the year has become a major issue. With that, the discourse and pressure surrounding this game are going to be immense moving forward.
“But, my goodness,” McElroy said. “If Ryan Day loses this game, the reaction and the vitriol will be as strong as any other game that we’ve covered on this platform and maybe any other that I’ve covered since I’ve been in this business for the last 11 years.”
Both teams will have some time before they play, with Ohio State hosting The Game on November 30th to end the regular season.