Once again, college football’s fringe has blurred the boundaries between hooliganism and fandom. Ohio State’s kicker, Jayden Fielding, and his family are facing online harassment after he missed a last-minute field goal against Indiana. At such a time, the situation has put Athletic Director Ross Bjork on his defense and issue a public statement.

“The abhorrent reactions to Jayden & his family are totally unacceptable, & those who cross the line should be held accountable,” wrote Bjork on his X account. “Jayden is a great young man, & we are supporting him in all phases. Onward, Buckeyes.”

It all goes back to the Big 10 championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Buckeyes were trailing 10-13 in the fourth quarter, and after capping an 81-yard drive, Ryan Day decided on a field goal at Indiana’s 9-yard line. Fielding missed the 27-yard field goal as OSU eventually lost 10-13.

Fielding hasn’t said a word publicly, but silence did nothing to temper the reaction around him. Within hours, Ohio State officials acknowledged that the football outcome wasn’t the concern anymore, the behavior that followed was. Former Buckeye and National Director of Mental Health, Obie Stillwell, sternly noted that the reaction spilled far beyond the bounds of fandom.”

“I understand fans’ perspective of how much you love the game, but it’s that, right? It’s a game. And he’s human, and he’s a kid,” Stillwell said. “When you talk about that level of harassment, you’ve put way too much into that game. You’re out of balance there.”

“I’m not so much worried about his mental health per se with missing that. I’m more concerned about those who are trolling him on social media,” Stillwell said when asked whether the miss itself troubled him. “I believe he’ll bounce back and have another opportunity to vindicate himself.”

This isn’t the first time Jayden Fielding has found himself at the center of this level of hostility. Just last year, after two crucial misses against Michigan, he was flooded with nearly a hundred thousand abusive messages. Yet, after three months, he was the same kicker drilling the points that sealed a national championship. If anything, Fielding’s history at Ohio State has swung sharply between these extremes.

It isn’t unusual for confidence to waver when those highs and lows pile up, and the pattern makes it easy to forget how young specialists often are. But when the topic reached head coach Ryan Day, his response carried just enough steadiness to nudge Fielding in the direction he had rebounded to before.

“Once we put you in the game, we believe that you’re going to do your job, and it’s your job to make sure that gets done,” Day said. “So just like everybody else, he’s got to take a hard look at it and make sure that everything that he’s doing is on point.”

Fielding has proved time and again that he can recover when the margin tilts against him. In the heat of the moment, some fans often forget that he has been a loyal Buckeye for 4 years. The one who scored 46+ yards three times last year against Notre Dame, Oregon, and Penn State. This time as well, Fielding will have another attempt to fix the narrative.

Ohio State’s fringe is not willing to learn lessons from their 2024 season’s hooliganism

Last year, after Ohio State lost to Michigan, Ryan Day’s family faced similar scenes from a fringe section of their own fan base. The head coach had to hire armed guards to protect his family at home when he was busy in the postseason. But it seems that’s the harsh reality of the CFB world right now.

For Fielding, though, the missed field goal isn’t a setback. The senior is in his fourth year with Ohio State and has accumulated 209 points so far through his kicking exploits. Moreover, without Jayden’s abilities, OSU might not even have won the 2024 national title. Last year, the kicker accumulated 112 points and helped the team seal the national title after 10 years. Not to mention, the 6’2″ and 175 lb kicker is an OSU scholar and won the Academic All-Big Ten Conference honors last year.

Jayden, by every means, has an illustrious career ahead, and the missed goal against Indiana won’t be able to affect his legacy one bit. No matter how loud the fans criticize him or pull him down. Expect Jayden to be the main man in sealing OSU’s 2025 national title by a field goal.