The Ohio State Buckeyes were embarrassed at home against the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. Their 13-10 loss was more than just a notable failure in The Game's history. The Buckeyes, favored to win by three touchdowns against the 6-5 Wolverines, dropped its fourth straight game under head coach Ryan Day. 

Each of the games has gone about the same. The Buckeyes are sloppy on one side of the ball and lose the run game battle. Michigan, with a walk-on quarterback who made one notable throw all afternoon, was still able to dominate the trenches and dictate the game.

Despite hiring offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and bringing in quarterback Will Howard to steady an offense that continued to fall short throughout 2023, the Buckeyes' attack was boring, conservative, and nonsensical with playcalling. It didn't help that Howard missed several throws that either ended drives or resulted in a turnover.

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The coaching staff, most notably Day, deserves the most blame for his continued failure in The Game. Howard, in a tearful apology to the team and fan base, had a lot to say. His message was earnest, raw, and commendable. 

"Everything inside me wants to — there's nothing inside of me that wanted to come off that field," he said. "I was trying to get up. It hurts, man. It hurts.

We got to execute better. The bottom line is we lost. And it hurts, man. I can't say it enough. I'm sorry to Buckeye Nation. Listen, we still got things ahead of us. We can still run the table and win a national championship. I think that's what we have to focus on. That has to keep us going.

This one hurts like hell, man. I feel for those guys that came back, and I feel for Coach Day — everything they poured into this. At the end of the day, we still got stuff in front of us. We'll regroup and go from there tomorrow."

Howard, who completed 19-of-33 attempts for only 175 yards, one touchdown, and two terrible interceptions, was unable to sustain an offense that went against a secondary without its best player, Will Johnson.

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While no one should fault Howard for trying to move forward after the game, his mindset is quite telling about Ryan Day's attitude and message about The Game. For the fans, alumni of the program, and supporters, tomorrow doesn't matter. Rivalry game outcomes last forever, and the trust is completely broken between Day and those closest to the program.

Howard should not be expected to understand that. While he's valiantly fought to earn his helmet stickers and the respect of the fan base in his lone season in town, his comments show he's an outsider who doesn't fully get it. His return to the field after a brutal shot to the head only one play later shows his toughness, inner fight, and desire to win.

But his message is reflective of a coach who has continued to shrink in big games with cowardly playcalling, situational failures, and never backing his barking with on-field actions against high-caliber foes.

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Why did Ohio State call a completely different offense this week than they had all season? Why did they get away from running to the left after finding success? What happened to the two-minute offense before halftime that spread Michigan out and attacked their weak spots?

Day's failures will be something we cover ad nauseam until the College Football Playoff is here. His most telling issue, though, is not establishing a swagger that defines the Buckeyes, and that attitude is to never back down or change when it comes to Michigan. All too often over the last four years, Michigan has been setting the tone and seeing it through from start to finish.

Unfortunately, Howard became a victim of Day's lack of personality and fire. His comments simply confirmed what the fan base had suspected.