Does Ohio State football have a culture problem?

The Ohio State Buckeyes squeaked out a narrow victory over unranked Nebraska at home 21-17 on Saturday afternoon. Now, the Buckeyes must turn their attention to Happy Valley, which will be the setting when they take on Penn State next weekend. However, after the events of Saturday's game, it begs the question, has there been a culture shift at Ohio State?

Yes, Ohio State is currently one of the five best teams (#4) in the country and its only loss is against No. 1 Oregon, but the Buckeyes have had a relatively weak schedule thus far and struggled against a team that has a true freshman at quarterback (Dylan Raiola). Morever, fans at the "Shoe" even conveyed their displeasure by having thrown objects toward the field.

The Buckeyes won, so why would fans need to throw cheese among other things? Sure, the game wasn't pretty by any means. Ohio State needed an interception from defensive back Jordan Hancock on Nebraska's final drive late in the fourth quarter in hopes to win the game. Furthermore, new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and his offense barely maximized his star rushers in Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, as they combined for just 45 yards. As for quarterback Will Howard, he tossed for 221 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw an interception as well.

Overall, Ohio State didn't look like a team that just came off a bye week. Ohio State came into the game as four-touchdown favorites against a Cornhuskers team trying to claw its way back into the national spotlight.

Day, who is now 44-0 against unranked teams in his career, is definitely under immense pressure heading into the Penn State game. The 45-year old hasn't been able to win the big games in recent years (hasn't beaten Michigan since 2019) and with a loaded and expensive roster he has now, the expectations are sky-high.

Fans and analysts brought up an interesting thought after yesterday's game. Is it fair to say that perhaps Ohio State has lost that "swagger"?

The Buckeyes's haven't won a national title since the 2014-2015 season, which is ironic since the players on that championship team were in attendance yesterday. Players such as as Devin Smith and Cardale Jones were in attendance along with former head coach Urban Meyer. The 2014 Buckeye's were fun to watch and resilent to say the least (first and second string QBs got injured).

Yes, its been a decade since Ohio State has brought home a title to Columbus. However, the Buckeyes are still globally recognized as one of the premier programs in College football. But ten years is a long time, especially for a program of this magnitude and prestige. Ohio State has been in the College Football Playoff five times, with the last appearance having came in 2022. But, the Buckeyes's haven't competed in a championship game since they lost to Alabama in January 2021,respectively.

As far as the lifeless energy at home games and throwing objects toward the field (totally uncalled for), perhaps Buckeye nation is growing impatient that their team isn't performing up to the standard with such a stacked roster and NFL caliber quarterbacks having played for them (Justin Fields and C.J Stroud).

Day, who is 1-3 in the College Football Playoff, will potentially have his job on the line at State College next week, as fans are growing tired of his time at the helm and the inability to win the "big" games. So yes, there has been a change of culture in Columbus, but winning the "big" games can surely fix that and that falls on Day.

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