“Something happened in that Michigan game”: Joel Klatt details Ohio State’s evolved mindset following disappointing loss during the game

In the final week of the Big Ten regular season, the Ohio State Buckeyes suffered a surprise and somewhat humiliating defeat to the Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines had a less-than-convincing season this year, and the game should have been a guaranteed win for the Buckeyes.

However, since the defeat to the Wolverines, the Buckeyes have been unstoppable. In their first two games in the College Football Playoff, they have been able to defeat both the Tennessee Volunteers and the Oregon Ducks, the latter being the No. 1 seed with an undefeated record coming into their Rose Bowl game last week.

On Tuesday's edition of "The Joel Klatt Show," Joel Klatt spoke about how Ohio State has changed psychologically since the defeat to the Wolverines.

"Something happened in that Michigan game," Klatt said. "It was like the psyche of the old Buckeyes was broken, and now the psychological freedom and anger of this Buckeyes team has been unleashed on everybody that they play."

In conference play this year, Ohio State only scored more than 40 points against the Purdue Boilermakers, one of the worst teams in the Big 10 this year. Against ranked opponents, the Buckeyes had some very close games, which could have gone either way. However, change has been clearly seen as the Buckeyes have improved their performances. Things were completely different in the playoffs.

Ohio State was able to easily defeat Tennessee and Oregon, scoring more than 40 points in both of these games. Every player had a flawless performance, which is in contrast to what was seen during the regular season, where cracks in the armor were being seen at times.

These two big wins have given the Buckeyes a spot in the semifinals, where they will face the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State will hope this mindset will stay with them for this game and give them a spot in the national championship game.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day on the impact of the loss to Wolverines

Ohio State coach Ryan Day has also reflected on the impact of the defeat to Michigan on his team.

"I mean, it's hard for me to say something like that. But I know that you're the sum of your experiences, and this team has had great wins this season. It's had some tough losses, and we have learned from those. And you gotta grow, and you gotta build, and you gotta make sure you're focusing on your strengths," Day said.

Ryan Day and his Buckeyes reflected on what went wrong and worked on it. This led to a transformation, something that could even make them national champions in a few weeks.