Ohio State is 6-3, with Northwestern coming to Columbus on Saturday. Their season has already spiraled out of control with losses to Texas, USC, and Oregon. While Ryan Day wants something different from his players, Carson Hinzman believes something has shifted since the Ducks’ game.

Speaking after Wednesday’s practice, Carson Hinzman said the players have started pulling closer together rather than drifting apart. That might be one of the few encouraging developments Ohio State can take from a miserable afternoon. The fifth-year OL admitted that winning can sometimes hide problems that can’t be ignored after a defeat.

“When everything’s going well, I think it’s easy to look over some of the flaws you have,” he said. “Sometimes it takes a loss. And unfortunately, we’ve been through too many of those that it really brought a lot of those to light.”

He wasn’t trying to dress up the situation. Ohio State has lost three games, and the latest one came at home against Oregon. For Hinzman, who has spent five years in the program, the idea of letting the season fall apart was difficult to accept, especially since it’s his final season.

“This team, it means too much to us,” he said. “I’ve been here for five years, man, I love these guys. And so for us to go out in this way, man, it’s unacceptable.”

Carson Hinzman said players across the roster, including younger teammates, have responded by making a stronger push to finish the season properly. The immediate objective is to beat Northwestern, regain some confidence, and see where things go from there.

There was another interesting part of his answer, though. Hinzman pushed back against the suggestion that the Buckeyes suddenly needed their leaders to take control. He explained that leadership also means knowing where to draw the line. Offensive linemen cannot spend their time trying to run the defensive line, and defensive backs cannot dictate how the offense operates.

“Making sure guys are taking care of their own units is important,” he added. “If we’re gonna go on this together, it can’t only be the leaders. We got a lot of young guys, too, that are stepping up and that need to step up and that have been doing well this week. And so we have that energy and that juice in the silence as well, which is gonna be huge.”

Ryan Day, meanwhile, wasn’t interested in softening the message. The Buckeyes coach has already accepted responsibility for the disappointing season. But he also made clear that losing at Ohio State carries consequences.

“When you lose games around here, there are consequences,” he said on Wednesday. “I made that clear (to the team). I know that more than anybody. These guys understand that. They’re working their tail off.”

That warning isn’t new. Following the USC defeat, Ryan Day had already made his position clear, saying players who don’t accept Ohio State’s standards should reconsider whether the program is right for them. After three losses, that warning is harder to ignore.

Ryan Day has not indicated that staff changes are coming. He has continued to defend the overall quality of the team’s schemes while acknowledging that improvements are necessary. There is also no immediate change coming on the QB position.

Freshman Luke Fahey will continue starting while Julian Sayin recovers from his injury. Ryan Day acknowledged that the decision required plenty of feedback from different people inside the program. He also confirmed that Tavien St. Clair remains available if needed, but Ohio State isn’t preparing to make a QB switch just because the season has gone sideways.

Northwestern visits Ohio Stadium on November 14 for the first home meeting between the teams under Ryan Day. It is also the Military Appreciation Game. Now at 6-3, the Buckeyes have little room left for mistakes.

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