How Ohio State's loyalty to Jayden Fielding cost the Buckeyes in their biggest moment

After naming Jayden Fielding the starting kicker for the Cotton Bowl Tuesday, the senior kicker missed his only field goal attempt, a 49-yarder at the end of the second half.

Ohio State Buckeyes kicker Jayden Fielding (38) misses a field goal during the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against the Miami Hurricanes on Dec. 31, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

During his three years as the Buckeyes’ starting kicker, Jayden Fielding has made 79 percent of his field goals.

In the senior kicker’s previous two games, he missed two field goals. Both came in pivotal games, the first occurring against Indiana to tie up the Big Ten Championship Game, and the second against the Hurricanes which would have given the Buckeyes momentum heading into the half Wednesday during the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day’s decision to stick with Fielding not only proved to be a mistake in the Buckeyes’ final pair of games but also an overarching error for Ohio State through the last three seasons. Despite Fielding’s accuracy on paper, his struggles have often come in high-stakes environments, particularly inside domed stadiums.

In 3 Cotton Bowl Games, Jayden Fielding missed 67% of his field goals

In 5 games played in Domes, he only made 57% of his Field Goals

WTF is wrong with Ryan Day to allow this charade to go on for 43 games pic.twitter.com/1M0DWKoiIO

— Official Ohio State DG (@DylanEveryday) January 1, 2026

Fielding made four of seven field goals while playing at roofed venues. Three of the four games in which Fielding attempted field goals in domed stadiums ended in losses. The lone win was Ohio State’s 34-23 national championship victory over Notre Dame in 2024.

All of Fielding’s misses were within 50 yards, with the most notable coming from the aforementioned 27-yard field goal that the Ohio State kicker pulled left, which would have tied the game against the Hoosiers.  

Fielding’s other domed misses came in games against the Missouri Tigers in the 2023 Cotton Bowl, a 14-3 loss, and in Ohio State’s most recent Cotton Bowl loss to Miami, 24-14.

In the Buckeyes' victory over Notre Dame, both of Fielding’s kicks came with Ohio State holding a 28-7 lead and later a 31-23 lead, as the senior kicker iced the national championship game.

Outside of domed arenas and into The Game, Fielding posted the same results.

The Ohio State senior also only made four of his seven field goal attempts against Michigan, with his worst outing against the Buckeyes’ rival coming last season when the Wolverines upset the Buckeyes 13-10 inside Ohio Stadium.

In that shocking loss, Fielding made one field goal to open the game from 29 yards out but would go on to miss two others, a 38-yarder and a 34-yarder. Fielding left six points off the board in the Buckeyes’ three-point loss to Michigan.

Fielding’s tenure as a Buckeye is defined by a stark contrast between his respectable accuracy and missed opportunities in some of the Buckeyes’ biggest games. For Ohio State, those missed kicks by Fielding added up, resulting in upset losses and premature ends to seasons where Ohio State possessed elite, championship-level rosters.