Ohio State’s final scoring chance came with 2:51 left, set up in ideal field-goal range. HC Ryan Day sent PK Jayden Fielding out for a 27-yard attempt that should have tied the game at 13-13. The outcome was a wide left, leaving the Buckeyes with no points and Indiana with a chance to finish the job. But the aftermath of that miss created a far bigger storyline around the kicker’s future.

“When you don’t do your job and you’re coming up short, then get that fixed as well. It’s the same thing with him,” Ryan Day said in his conference speech on December 7. “There’s a reason why I put him in there. We are not putting guys into games that we don’t believe in so once you’ve been to any game, we believe that you have to do a job. What is your job to make sure that gets done. So just like everybody else, he got to take a hard look at it. Make sure that everything he’s doing is on point.”

These comments were not phrased as routine coach evaluations. They sounded like a direct review of Jayden Fielding’s standing entering the postseason.

Before Indianapolis, Jayden Fielding provided Ohio State a consistent scoring option. He entered the Big Ten Championship 15-for-17 on field-goal attempts and was perfect on 73 extra points. His earlier misses, including ones against Michigan, never created real controversy because the Buckeyes kept winning. His season profile was that of a dependable specialist who rarely put the team in crisis situations. That reliability is what magnifies Saturday night’s outcome. A kicker with his season resume isn’t expected to miss a short attempt in a championship setting. 

But the game turned earlier than the missed field goal. Late in the third quarter, Ohio State faced 4th-and-1 deep in Indiana territory. QB Julian Sayin appeared to convert a quarterback sneak, but replay overturned it. The Buckeyes, down 13-10, walked away empty instead of kicking a tying field goal. On the previous snap, a 3rd-and-1 pass toward WR Jeremiah Smith stalled the drive. Indiana’s defense anticipated OSU’s short-yardage approach, and the Buckeyes failed to adjust. And those stalled plays created the pattern that defined the fourth quarter.

On 3rd-and-1 with the season’s No. 1 ranking hanging in the balance, Ohio State again opted to throw. The pass fell incomplete, bringing out the field-goal unit. Jayden Fielding’s miss finalized a drive that had no clear identity and no short-yardage direction. Ryan Day carried the burden of those choices. A conservative field-goal attempt combined with unproductive third-down calls created a scenario where one mistake became fatal. And criticism erupted quickly from within the college football world.

Michigan supporter and media figure Dave Portnoy immediately targeted both Ryan Day’s decision and Fielding’s execution. Posting a photo of a stunned Ohio State fan, he wrote that kicking on 4th-and-1 was a weak decision and called the miss “an absolute choke job.” His reaction spread widely because it reflected what many rivals already felt. Ohio State cracked under pressure. All of which leads directly into the broader breakdown that shaped the entire second half.

Ohio State’s second-half struggles exposed by Indiana

Ohio State moved the ball efficiently early but repeatedly failed in crucial situations. The Buckeyes converted just 4-of-12 third downs and struggled in the red zone. Julian Sayin finished 21-of-29 for 258 yards and a touchdown, while Bo Jackson ran for 83 yards and Jeremiah Smith had 144 receiving yards, but drives consistently stalled once OSU crossed Indiana’s 30-yard line. The offense lacked an identity in high-pressure moments, leaving the team vulnerable to HC Curt Cignetti’s adjustments.

Indiana’s defense, which had allowed only 203 yards per game entering the matchup, forced errors and capitalized on halftime adjustments. Fernando Mendoza’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt midway through the third quarter gave Indiana the lead, and the Buckeyes failed to score again. His 33-yard third-down connection to Charlie Becker late in the game sealed the upset, ending Ohio State’s 30-game dominance over the Hoosiers and giving Indiana its first Big Ten title since 1967.

Ryan Day acknowledged the fallout and the lessons to be learned. 

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“A lot of hard conversations here over the next couple of weeks,” he said. “For sure, this is not going to sit well with anybody. It’s going to sting… We can use it as an opportunity to get better and grow from.” 

Despite the loss, Ohio State remains on track for the College Football Playoff with a likely No. 2 seed and a first-round bye, though the defeat and Jayden Fielding’s miss will shape internal evaluations heading into the postseason