Ohio State’s 24-14 Cotton Bowl loss to Miami was the continuation of a disturbing pattern. Jayden Fielding trotted out for a 49-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds of the first half to give Ohio State some momentum, but he pushed it wide left. It was déjà vu all over again. Just two weeks earlier, Fielding had missed a game-tying 27-yarder in the Big Ten Championship against Indiana. Ryan Day knew something had to change, and he didn’t wait long to make his move.​

Less than 48 hours after the Cotton Bowl defeat, Ryan Day and his staff extended an offer to Jacobo Echeverria, the nation’s top available 2026 high school kicker out of Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania. “After a great conversation with @theGunnerDaniel and Coach Keys, I’m BLESSED to receive my 7th D1 offer from THE @OhioStateFB,” Echeverria posted on social media, clearly excited about the opportunity. 

Ohio State was sending a clear message that the kicking woes that plagued their 2025 season would not be tolerated moving forward. Echeverria’s senior year numbers speak for themselves. He has got 17-of-18 on field goals (94.4%), a long of 41 yards, and 54-of-56 on extra points. Echeverria already holds offers from UCLA, Cornell, and several other programs. But getting the Ohio State offer puts him squarely in the national spotlight.​

The kicking situation at Ohio State has become one of those “elephant in the room” issues that everyone sees, but nobody wants to fully acknowledge. Fielding’s struggles aren’t a result of overall incompetence. He’s actually been Ohio State’s leading scorer for the past two seasons and has converted 100 consecutive extra points dating back to 2023.

But when the lights are brightest and the stakes are highest, something goes wrong. Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones has been vocal on social media, calling out both Fielding and Ryan Day for the kicking issues.

Jones said that Day needs to invest more in the position because kickers can be heroes in the biggest moments. Or they can be the downfall when it matters most. The criticism stung, but it wasn’t wrong. Ohio State’s playoff dreams in 2025 ended in part because they couldn’t rely on field goals when the offense stalled.​

On paper, Jayden Fielding’s career numbers look solid. Over four years with the program, he has converted 45 of 57 field goal attempts (78.9%) and a remarkable 178 of 179 extra points. In 2025, he went 16-of-20 on field goal attempts with makes from 47, 44, and 43 yards against quality opponents. But those two misses, the 27-yarder against Indiana that would’ve tied the Big Ten Championship and the 49-yarder against Miami, will define his Ohio State career more than any of the makes. 

It’s brutal. But that’s the reality of being a kicker. You’re only as good as your last kick in a big moment. And Fielding’s last two opportunities came up empty when the Buckeyes needed him most.​ Echeverria’s addition would be a fresh start for Ohio State. Going 17-of-18 on field goals as a high school senior in Pennsylvania shows accuracy and mental toughness. He might be the answer to making sure 2026 doesn’t end with another devastating miss.​

Day’s offense went ice cold when it mattered most

The kicking issues were just one symptom of a much deeper problem. Ohio State’s offense completely disappeared when the stakes were highest. Just one game after managing only 10 points in the Big Ten Championship loss to Indiana, the Buckeyes followed it up with a meager 14 points against Miami in the Cotton Bowl. 

Ryan Day didn’t sugarcoat it after the 24-14 defeat. He admitted his team took way too long to find any rhythm. “I felt like it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game,” Day said in his postgame press conference.

“I thought we did coming out of the second half. You put yourself at risk of having to be darn near perfect in the second half to win the game. At the end of the day, we didn’t get it done, and that starts with me.” The 25-day layoff between games clearly hurt. Miami had played a first-round game against Texas A&M and came out aggressively. But Ohio State looked sluggish and out of sync for most of the first half.​

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Julian Sayin finished 22-of-35 for 287 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. It included a devastating 72-yard pick-six by Miami’s Keionte Scott that turned a potential Ohio State scoring drive into a 14-0 deficit. Sayin was also sacked five times behind an offensive line that couldn’t handle Miami’s edge rushers. And the run game was completely bottled up until the second half, when it was already too late. 

The Buckeyes are now staring down an offseason full of tough questions about personnel, play-calling, and whether Day can ever get this program over the hump when championships are actually on the line.​