Ohio State can survive a lot, but special teams keeps dragging the conversation back to the same place.
That was true in last December’s Big Ten Championship game against Indiana, when a 27-yard field goal that should have tied things at 13-13 with just under three minutes left instead stayed off the board. The Hoosiers got the ball back, bled the clock down to 0:18, and the Buckeyes headed home with their first loss of the season after failing to do anything with those final seconds.
No one can say what would have happened if that kick had gone through. Indiana might have answered.
Ohio State might have still lost later against Miami. But the reality is simple: a routine special teams play turned costly.
That memory is back in focus this week as Ohio State heads to Bloomington for a rematch with the Hoosiers, and the same kicking concerns are still hanging around.
Jayden Fielding is gone from the kicking job, but the issue hasn’t disappeared. Connor Hawkins, the Baylor transfer brought in to steady one of the Buckeyes’ biggest weak spots, was supposed to be part of the fix. So far, he hasn’t fully delivered on that promise.
Hawkins made 81.8 percent of his field goals in the 2025 season, missing four kicks and all of them from 40 yards or farther. He also hit 3 of 4 tries from 50 yards and beyond, and he had already shown he could handle pressure, including game-winning attempts as time ran out.
This season has looked different. Hawkins is down to 75 percent on field goals, with misses against Texas from 45 yards and against Iowa from 40 yards. He has not missed from under 40 yards, but after what he did last year from long range, the drop-off stands out.
The miss against Texas stung in its own way because Ohio State lost that game 24-23, and a made field goal would have changed the shape of it.
Ryan Day did make a real effort to address the problem. After several seasons without a dedicated special teams coordinator and instead leaning on assistants and quality control staff, he brought in Robby Discher from Illinois in February.
The move was meant to give the unit more structure and accountability. So far, it still has not produced the kind of clean, dependable results Ohio State wanted.
And that’s the larger frustration. It’s not about demanding perfection - even Jeremiah Smith has dropped the very rare pass.
It’s about a pattern. Year after year, critical kicks and sloppy special teams mistakes keep surfacing for a program that expects to live in the national championship picture.
Ohio State also enters this game with little margin for error. One loss is already on the books, which means the Buckeyes can afford at most one more. Indiana is unbeaten, but the Hoosiers have had to grind through Northwestern and Nebraska, and field goals mattered in both of those wins.
Hawkins has made big kicks before, so there’s reason to believe he can do it again. Whether this is a temporary spell or just a run of bad execution, the Buckeyes need it corrected fast.
Because if Ohio State is going to get through this stretch and keep its playoff hopes intact, special teams can’t keep handing away points.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Turned Up The Heat On Two Committed 2027 Targets
A Maryland weekend at Ohio State turned into more than just another recruiting stop, as the Buckeyes used the visit to push harder with a pair of committed 2027 prospects. Linebacker James Conrad and running back Kingston Allen both left Columbus with scholarship offers from Ohio State, adding two more names to a class that has already started to draw national attention well before the cycle gets serious.
Conrad, who is committed to Buffalo, picked up his first Power 4 offer from the Buckeyes, while Allen, a Wisconsin pledge, added Ohio State to a growing list of programs chasing him. Both are highly regarded players with strong high school rsums, and the Buckeyes are now firmly in the mix even before either one has reached the point where most recruiting battles really take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Suddenly Faces A Tougher Indiana Test Than Expected
Indiana has quietly put itself in a better position than many expected heading into its Big Ten meeting with Ohio State. The Hoosiers are mostly healthy, with tight end Andrew Barker the only long-term injured starter, and theyve also gotten a lift from the returns of defensive end Daniel Ndukwe and A.J. Harris. Those reinforcements have helped stabilize a defense that looks a lot sturdier than it did earlier in the season.
Ohio State, meanwhile, is carrying a longer injury list into the matchup, with issues along the offensive line and among several receivers and defenders. For a Buckeyes team that usually expects to dictate terms, that matters because it can complicate both protection and depth in a game where every healthy body counts. Indiana may still be the underdog, but it suddenly has the kind of availability edge that can make a November road test far less comfortable than projected. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Faces A Bigger Test Than Fans Might Think
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti knows exactly what is waiting for his team when it lines up against No. 4 Ohio State, and he spent part of the buildup acknowledging just how difficult the assignment is. With Ryan Day on the sideline and Jeremiah Smith driving the offense, the Buckeyes bring the kind of firepower and consistency that has made them one of the most reliable powers in the College Football Playoff era, and Indiana is treating the matchup like the kind of test that can expose almost any weakness.
Ohio State also appears to be getting healthier at the right time, with several starters expected back after sitting out the previous game, while Indiana recently regained defensive back A.J. Harris. That sets up a game with more than enough talent on both sides to make things interesting, but the larger question is whether Indiana can withstand the Buckeyes long enough to turn it into the kind of contest Cignetti believes it needs to be. [Read more 🡒]