For the Ohio State Buckeyes, the annual showdown with the Michigan Wolverines is the single most important game of the season every single year. The Buckeyes have now last back-to-back games in that rivalry for the first time in over a decade, but it sounds like Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith is downplaying those results.
During a recent appearance on the Eleven Warriors podcast “Real Pod Wednesdays,” Gene Smith addressed the criticism surrounding the team’s most recent performance against Michigan. During the interview, he seemed to downplay the loss to Michigan, suggesting that the narrative would have been different had Ohio State beaten the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff.
“It’s so funny, everybody’s so focused on just one game,” Smith told Eleven Warriors. “We were basically one point away from being in the national championship game, and I think had we got that two points we needed to convert and ultimately played TCU – I feel confident we would have performed well and won a national championship – I’m not so sure about all this chatter.”
Naturally, Ohio State fans were not too happy about these comments, absolutely blasting Smith for seemingly dismissing the loss to Michigan.
Please take Gene's microphone away https://t.co/e3T1hVrmCJ
— BIA
(@Buckeye_Zone6) June 9, 2023
OSU doesn’t take The Game seriously anymore lol we broke them https://t.co/U3M8ucgwR2
— 15-0
GO BLUE! (@JackPBerens) June 9, 2023
Fire Gene Smith for saying this https://t.co/Qo4UNKZcts
— CJ Fraud (Ryder) (@cjfraud1) June 9, 2023
“Gene Smith doesn’t get it” is what this headline should say https://t.co/rNCumPOSSs
— Dive Bar Dana™️ (@DiveBarDana) June 9, 2023
This is pathetic https://t.co/KiTmZRBlcO
— Day 1 Dusty May Supporter (@MetaWootenPeace) June 9, 2023
The gist of the story is that we didn’t capitalize, and “one point away” is not good enough in the CFP Era.
— Nick (@nicklambgolf82) June 9, 2023
It’s safe to say that these fans will be even more outraged if Ohio State can’t beat Michigan this coming season.