In all four of Ohio State’s most recent postseason losses — among others — there has been one common denominator: missed field goals.
The Buckeyes played a banger of a game against Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl, but CJ Stroud’s 348 passing yards and four touchdowns was all for naught when Noah Ruggles’ 50-yard field goal attempt came nowhere close with three seconds remaining in a 42-41 loss.
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Ohio State’s 14-3 loss against Missouri in the 2023 Cotton Bowl was a disaster from the start, with the Buckeyes missing half of their team to injuries, opt outs and transfer portal entrants. Even still, a missed 48-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding could have given OSU a 6-0 lead in the third quarter and perhaps shifted momentum.
The Buckeyes dropped a tight 13-10 contest to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game this season, but Ohio State likely would have at least gotten the game to overtime had Fielding connected on what should have been an easy 27-yard field goal with less than three minutes remaining.
Finally, in Ohio State’s most recent loss to Miami in the Cotton Bowl, Fielding missed a 49-yard field goal prior to halftime. The Buckeyes were ultimately shut out in the first half, and trailed by exactly three points after an early fourth quarter touchdown rather than being in a tie game, potentially changing the approach for both teams down the stretch.
These misses in the kicking game don’t even include last year’s loss to Michigan, where Fielding missed not one but two sub-40-yard field goals in a three-point loss at home. Fielding also missed a kick in the 2023 matchup against the Wolverines to end the second quarter that would have completely changed the complexion of that second half.
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Poor special teams play hasn’t been the sole reason for any of these losses — at least outside of Michigan in 2024 — and certainly not all of these losses have been equal, but it tells a bigger story of a unit that has been entirely neglected by Ryan Day all throughout his tenure in Columbus.
Especially in the postseason, where talent is equated and the margins are thin, Ohio State has been playing with one hand behind its back on special teams. Virtually every phase of the unit has been a problem, but the kicking has been particularly heinous.
Fielding has caught a lot of the flack for these most recent struggles, and while he has been terrible, it really isn’t his fault. Fielding was clearly never good enough to kick at this level, and he showed that time and time again. It is on the coaching staff for continuing to trot him out there in key situations, refusing to make a change or attempt to improve at the position.
What makes things more maddening is that Ohio State had another option on campus this year.
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The Buckeyes brought in Jackson Courville from Ball State prior to this season, who went 2-for-2 from 50-plus yards in 2024 and has never in his career missed a kick under 30 yards. Ohio State as a program, meanwhile, has not had a player make a 50-yarder since Blake Haubeil in 2019.
Day never gave Courville a chance to take over, with his only contributions being four extra points kicked against Grambling. Now, Courville is back in the transfer portal, and with Fielding (thankfully) exhausting eligibility, the Buckeyes are without a kicker for 2026.
Is it an unrealistic expectation for a program like Ohio State to have an elite kicker when they bring in so much elite talent elsewhere? Is this just a “you can’t have it all” type of situation?
Well, if you look at the results of the other teams in the College Football Playoff, it seems like you can actually upgrade your kicking situation rather easily, and it can actively win you football games.
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Carter Davis, a transfer portal addition for Miami out of FAU, hit a crucial 49-yard field goal against Ohio State.
Oregon’s Atticus Sappington, who the Ducks went out and landed in the transfer portal from Oregon State, hit kicks of 39, 43 and 50 yards against Texas Tech.
Lucas Carneiro, whom Ole Miss went out and got from Western Kentucky, played a massive role in the Rebels’ upset of Georgia, with long makes of 55 and 56 yards in addition to a game-winning 47-yard field goal.
Indiana didn’t need much from kicker Nico Radicic against Alabama, but the former top-five kicker in the 2023 recruiting class has missed only one field goal attempt in each of the last two seasons and is a career 14-of-16 from 30-plus yards and 6-of-7 from 40-plus.
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All of these programs have valued the kicking game, and are now being greatly rewarded for it.
Ryan Day’s teams have suffered numerous losses and had seasons ended as a result of poor kicking and other special teams shortcomings, and for whatever reason the Ohio State head coach has never seemed to care or have any interest in taking the unit seriously.
Special teams under Day has been a train wreck. The kickers haven’t made important field goals, the punters are unable to flip the field, and the return game has been completely non-existent outside of a few blips. When your offense and defense are stacked with talent and are doing everything in their power to win you games, it is incredibly foolish to allow the third unit on the field to negatively impact the game.
Again, when the margins are so thin against talent-equated teams in the postseason, issues on special teams that may seem small during the regular season become the deciding factor when the chips are down.
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This season, had Ohio State fielded a real kicker against Indiana and went on to win that game late in the fourth quarter or in overtime, the Buckeyes would have instead gotten to play an awful Alabama team in the College Football Playoff rather than a hungry Miami with a dominant defensive line.
This has to change heading into 2026, beginning with a top-of-the-line kicker. There are already a handful of big names entering the portal, including Illionis’ David Olano and UCLA’s Mateen Bhagani, among others.
There is zero reason the Buckeyes cannot afford to go out and get one of the best kickers in the country, whoever that may be. It is crazy this has gone on for as long as it has, but it is time for Ryan Day to start caring about special teams and stop letting it derail otherwise promising campaigns.
