Ohio State’s most talented team still can’t beat Michigan, and it comes down to Ryan Day.
It was as if he’d seen a ghost.
As police pepper sprayed both Michigan and Ohio State following a postgame melee stemming from flags being planted on the field, all Ryan Day could do was just ... stand there.
While the melee was going on between Michigan and Ohio State, Ryan Day looked on and two Buckeyes and a Wolverine huddled together to pray pic.twitter.com/Bz3DwV6Ua8
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) December 1, 2024
If anything, Day’s staring at the chaos unfolding around him without any awareness was an embodiment of what he had become as head coach at Ohio State. Let’s get the obvious out the way: yes, Day is 66-10 as head coach at Ohio State. Yes, he has sent many guys to the NFL. They’re still going to make the College Football Playoff, and might even win. However, it’s also been past time to admit that Ohio State has a Ryan Day problem, and it’s holding them back.
For the last four years, Michigan has gotten the better of the Buckeyes, but this year might be the most damning matchup between the two. Ohio State has the most expensive (and talented) roster in all of college football. They were favored by 20.5 going into the game! The Wolverines came in averaging 22.3 points per game, but don’t let that number fool you. Michigan was offensively anemic for the entire season, and even played in this game without their best offensive player, TE Colston Loveland. Their other star, cornerback Will Johnson, also missed this game with an injury. With the best receiving corps in the country and a banged up offensive line, turning this game into a fireworks show through the air against Michigan would seem like the most likely scenario, correct?
Wrong! For some reason, Day and Ohio State felt the need to prove they’re the more physical team, while missing their starting left tackle and center! The result was 77 yards on 26 carries, a paltry three yards per pop and only 10 points on the board. I’m not sure what Michigan has done psychologically to the Buckeyes and Day specifically over the last four years, but their gameplan against this Michigan team was horrendous in both process and execution, which comes down to Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Why did all-world freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith only finish with two targets in the second half? Why would they continue to run up the middle despite that being the literal strength of the Wolverine defense?
Then we get to the game management portion of the loss. When Day gave up playcalling duties to Kelly, the goal was for him to take more of a game management role, focusing on the critical decisions found throughout the game. If that’s true...how do you get an illegal substitution penalty out of a timeout? That’s indefensible from a coaching perspective, and it should get you fired.
If you want to know how Michigan beat Ohio State, it’s the same way they’ve done it since the streak has begun: they’ve won in the margins, where attention to detail as a coach is important. Ohio State missed two field goals, Michigan’s Dominic Zvada hit all of his kicks, including what would be the game-winning field goal. 173 rushing yards for Michigan at a 4.2 yard clip isn’t even a super impressive or imposing number! They just got enough on every single play, something that Ohio State didn’t do all game. That’s how you lose to Michigan again, with their QB only throwing for 62 yards.
Ohio State is a great team, but since Day has become head coach, they’ve never had the right thing to get them over the hump. At this point, it’s time to pin it on the head coach. Of course, the Buckeyes won’t fire Day before a playoff push. However, if this team falls short of a title (which, against teams with similar levels of talent, coaching puts you over the top), Day shouldn’t return as head coach.
