The psychology of sports is a fickle bitch. OSU has always seemed to think that when they hit the field that it's already a win. They were hyped up for Penn State, but it took a FUCKING MIRACLE to come back and win. They did it, but then they lay a boulder sized egg against Iowa. When will the guys realize that there is, and always will be, a huge fucking target on their backs and the only way to avoid let down is to stay hungry. It does wear on you as an athlete and having EVERYONE in Columbus blowing you after a big win can and apparently did get to their heads.
You lose Bosa in the 2nd quarter.....Guess what? That means that focus needs to go up and intensity has to be at its height. We were out coached and out played and fucking embarrassed. Let's see how the boys respond against Sparty and go from there. It sucks when you hope for them to be in the playoff every year, but this season isn't over yet.
I know it's way different than being scrutinized by a country, but the guys I grew up playing baseball with were expected to win a state title in high school. We were really fucking good, but fell 2 games short. The feeling of letting everyone down sucked. We never really went out expecting to win, but we had plenty of moments where it looked like the team wasn't in it in certain games. I understand how it feels to win big games and then have to go out the next day and try and keep the focus and intensity level up. Not always easy and we were fucking kids like these boys are at OSU.
Think of it this way, we have the ability to be in the hunt for the playoff year in and year out. A realistic shot of getting in each year. Rough problem to have....I guess