Freshman quarterback Lincoln Kienholz (12) keeps the ball on an X-yard run in the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl. No. 7 Ohio State lost to No. 9 Missouri 14-3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX Friday. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
What was supposed to be Devin Brown’s biggest opportunity became Lincoln Kienholz’s chance to prove himself, but the true freshman’s lack of experience was ultimately his — and the Buckeyes’ — demise.
Three days ago, Brown said he’s been “training his whole life” for this moment, a starting quarterback role at Ohio State. No one could have prepared the sophomore for the reality he faced against No. 9 Missouri Friday at AT&T Stadium: injured on the sidelines before the end of the first quarter.
“I thought he was gonna play through it,” head coach Ryan Day said.
On the Buckeyes’ third drive, Brown took a sack from Mizzou senior defensive back Jaylon Carlies, leading him to grab his ankle. He exited the game after the next drive with a high-ankle sprain and did not return. Meanwhile, Kienholz started warming up his arm on the sideline.
So far this season, Kienholz appeared in three games, completed 10-of-22 passes and accumulated 111 yards. With the hope that Brown would finish the game out and show his style of play, Day said Thursday he would be the full-game starter. So, when Brown went down, the offense was thrown into a situation they hadn’t anticipated.
“We had a lot of things in the game plan designed for his [Brown’s] style of play — and we lost him,” Day said. “That was a little bit of a scramble and we came up short.”
Kienholz began his night with back-to-back three-and-outs. On the Buckeyes’ next possession, he handed the ball off three times, rushed for a yard of his own and had two incomplete passes intended for freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate and junior running back TreVeyon Henderson.
“I think the Mizzou coach was trying to speed me up,” Kienholz said. “The big thing for me was that you just got to — just slow down and just focus on mechanics and everything and just trust my eyes.”
Coming out of the half, Kienholz completed his longest pass as a Buckeye, 24 yards to graduate wide receiver Xavier Johnson to put them on the Missouri 32-yard line. After two more incompletions and a 2-yard run, they settled for a 48-yard field goal, which was missed by sophomore
kicker Jayden Fielding — not at all helping the cause for Ohio State’s struggle to move down the field and score points.
Ohio State and Kienholz marched back into Tiger territory on its next drive, but their blitz overpowered the Buckeyes’ offensive line and they had to punt for the seventh time. To end the game, the Buckeyes completed two more unsuccessful drives and a Kienholz fumble, leaving them with just 3 points on the board, which is the lowest they’ve scored since Day took over the program in 2019.
Brown went 4-for-6 in his few drives of the first quarter, was sacked three times and gained 20 yards. Kienholz completed a mere 35% of passes and notched 86 yards.
With the transfer of junior quarterback Kyle McCord to Syracuse, the Buckeyes were left in a unique position that ultimately became their Achilles heel.
