Maybe it was rust. Maybe it was complacency. Maybe it was the distraction of Brian Hartline getting a head coaching job. Maybe it was simply not being good enough up front, on both sides of the ball. Whatever the reason, Ohio State’s season came to a bitter, stunning end on the floor of AT&T Stadium just a few ticks before the calendar changed to 2026. There is enough blame to go around for the Buckeyes, though most of it will — and should — be heaped upon the offensive line. Years of recruiting misses up front finally came home to roost as the Buckeyes had zero answers for Miami’s all-world pass rush tandem of Rueben Bain Jr and Akheem Mesidor. They treated Ohio State’s line like rag dolls,...
