No one went into the final weekend of regular-season college football with more pressure to win than Ryan Day. The Ohio State head coach had lost to Michigan twice in a row. A third would be unacceptable in the eyes of the Buckeye faithful.
Well, the Buckeyes didn't get the job done on Saturday, falling to Michigan 30-24 at the Big House.
"Just sick the fact that we came up short in this game," Day said during his postgame press conference. "You work your whole year for it and we came up short."
Ryan Day postgame press conference: Everything the Ohio State coach said
The head coach has been increasingly embattled over the years. The Buckeyes have won most of their games. They shouldn't have a head coach inching toward the hot seat. But even though the losses have been few in number, they've been massive in magnitude. Day acknowledged that.
"We're all disappointed. We all know what this game means to so many people. So to come up short is crushing...We know at Ohio State what this game means," Day said.
As for what he told his team after the game, Day didn't get into the details, but he described the very understandable mood.
"There's a locker room in there that's devastated," the head coach said. "It wasn't a lack of effort."
So what did go wrong for the Buckeyes? Day identified the two biggest elements of the loss.
"In this game, you've got to win the rushing yards and you've got to win the turnover battle and we did neither of those things," he said.
Along with those top-line issues, several key moments in the game didn't go Ohio State's way. For instance, Day opted to punt instead of go for a fourth-and-one from the Ohio State 46.
"I just didn't want to give them any momentum. Felt like we could pin them down and play defense," Day explained.
Day also went conservative at the end of the first half, opting to run down the clock and attempt a 52-yard field goal.
"If you make it you feel great and if you don't, you don't. So we missed it," Day said. "Certainly we'll second guess everything. But if you don't convert on that fourth and three you don't get anything."
Ohio State fans also felt hard done when Michigan's Roman Wilson scored a touchdown on a controversial play where he might have lost control of the ball before completing the catch.
"I was told that it was called on the field a touchdown and because of that it was upheld. I didn't quite understand exactly how that was," Day said.
In the end, though, Day kept the blame game for the loss to a minimum. It came down to losing the rushing battle and turnovers.
"I'd like to say its more than that but I'm not sure it is," Day said.
Ohio State is now 11-1 and out of the Big Ten title game. Does that mean their College Football Playoff hopes are done?
Day said the focus has been on playing Michigan, not looking ahead to résumé debates. But he did start an early pitch for his team.
"We have a very good team. We came up short today and it's devastating. But I believe in our players," Day said. "I think we have a veteran team. I think we have a team that is solid in all three phases...I do believe this team can play with anybody in the country."
