Xavier Johnson says 'there was a shift' following last year's loss to Michigan

After losing to Michigan last season, Ohio State wide receiver Xavier Johnson felt a shift within the program.

The shift wasn’t just among players and coaches, it was felt all the way down to the equipment staff, Johnson said.

The Buckeyes trailed for much of the game and fell short on a comeback in the fourth quarter in a deflating 42-27 loss. The team has since used that loss as fuel and is now looking to make sure a loss doesn’t happen again.

“Having coming up short (against Michigan), it hurts,” Johnson said. “I feel the pain not only of the loss, I feel the pain of the state having to go through a year where we came up short. That fuels us day in and day out.”

The shift after last year’s loss led to a team that wants to work its hardest all season, so when the big games come they will be ready.

“If we don’t work this game every day, if we’re not getting better every day, then we’re susceptible to what happened last year,” Johnson said.

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Xavier Johnson says “there was a shift” at Ohio State even down to the equipment staff following last year’s loss to Michigan.

“If we don’t work this game every day, if we’re not getting better every day, then we’re susceptible to what happened last year.”

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 22, 2022

Xavier Johnson says “having coming up short (against Michigan), it hurts. I feel the pain not only of the loss, I feel the pain of the state having to go through a year where we came up short. That fuels us day in and day out.”

— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 22, 2022