COLUMBUS - If you're Ohio State coach John Cooper, you have to look for positives.
Sure, his record against Michigan fell to 1-7-1 with Saturday's 13-9 loss, but there really isn't much to do in Columbus anyway, so it won't be a problem that he can't go out in public for the next year.
"I told the players (after the game) I was extremely disappointed for our senior football players," Cooper said. "We have one of the best teams ever at Ohio State, but we just didn't get the job done."
It's because the Buckeyes didn't get the job done that Cooper had to deal with questions about his job security after the game.
That despite the fact that Ohio State was 10-0 coming into this season's game, and was 11-0 before last year's contest against Michigan.
The Buckeyes were ranked No. 2 in the country heading into the game in both season as well.
What is Ohio State's problem with Michigan, and why, for the second straight year, did the Wolverines ruin the Buckeyes' season?
"I don't have a clue," Cooper said. "We just didn't play well enough to win."
Last season's regular season-ending loss to Michigan was followed by a loss to Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowl.
This season, Ohio State has to try to put the disappointment behind and get ready for the Rose Bowl, and an undefeated and third-ranked Arizona State team.
How do you do it?
"You don't have a choice," Cooper said. "We just have to go back to practice and prepare for Arizona State."
Last season, Michigan's upset sent Northwestern to the Rose Bowl and Ohio State to the Citrus. That will not be the case this season. In spite of the loss, the Buckeyes will still spend Jan. 1 in Pasadena for the first time since 1985.
None of that seemed to matter to Ohio State fans, however. The postgame call-in shows were filled with fans who wanted Cooper's head on a plate, preferably in time for Thanksgiving.
Another fan felt Cooper should be hung from the top of the stadium.
At Friday night's traditional Senior Tackle, where Ohio State seniors take one last shot at a tackling dummy, former Ohio State coach Earl Bruce summed up what Michigan-Ohio State means for the Buckeyes.
"You've been great," Bruce told the Ohio State players. "But to be great at Ohio State, you've got to beat Michigan."
Which Ohio State didn't do.
And while the Buckeyes tried to pull positives out of the loss, the disappointment was obvious in their speech.
"You ask any other team in the country, with the exception of Florida, Florida State and Arizona State, if they would want to be 10-1, and they'd take it," junior tackle Orlando Pace said.
But he admitted the loss wasn't easy to swallow.
"You always wants to beat Michigan," Pace said. "It's the biggest game on the schedule. We just didn't get the job done today."
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
Much to his chagrin, Ohio State coach John Cooper saw his record against the Wolverines fall to 1-7-1 with a 13-9 loss on Saturday.