Ohio State Postgame: Ryan Day Reacts To Stunning Michigan Loss

COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters following the Buckeyes’ 13-10 loss to Michigan (7-5). The Buckeyes fall to 10-2 and now await word of a playoff berth that a fan base isn’t interested in hearing about right now. The highlights of everything that Day had to say can be found below.

On the issues with the offense: “We struggled to run the ball.” You have to run to win this game. It was a little windy out. You have to be able to run the ball in this game. Tried different schemes and couldn’t get it going.
On OSU’s missed FGs and confidence in Jayden Fielding: Not there right now. Still digesting. Got a locker room full of devastated guys. The execution just wasn’t good enough on offense. Couldn’t control the game.
How do you pick up the pieces from here: Extremely disappointed and angry that they didn’t execute well enough. “This is not easy to accept.” Have to take the ownership of this one because he makes the final decision on things. You can see the OL shuffles finally came to a head today. Couldn’t get through to the second level on some runs.
Great play by Jack Sawyer on the INT but they went three and out.
Why not more tempo/no huddle? They tried to change up the tempo a little bit. Some worked, some didn’t. The two-minute drive worked. It was well executed.
At what point does this game become a mental issue? “I don’t know.” Each game is different and unique to itself, but the results are the results. “Not easy to swallow at all.”
Will Howard’s injury: They went based off of what the doctors say. They said he was available and okay to go back in the game. Will Howard said he was fine.
What was off in Howard’s game today? The red-zone INT was floated and behind the WR. Didn’t have a lot of zip on it. Should have thrown it away. He was trying to make a play. Gotta be smart enough to take care of the ball. That’s the balance of playing QB.
On the 12-men at the end of the game, there was a miscommunication on matching the personnel. They weren’t given much time to get their guys in. “Because it was moving so fast, there was a little panic going on.”
What did Michigan do well on offense? They had some runs. Escaped on one. Had some scrambles. The defense fought their tails off. When you don’t get much momentum with your offense, it can wear on your defense a little bit.
What do you foresee for the future? Everybody wants to win it more than we do. It’s the number one goal every year, so when you don’t do that, there’s disappointment. “I don’t blame anybody for being upset.” “We know what we’re getting ourselves into.”
Should you have taken more shots in this game? When the defense is playing softer, you have to take the underneath stuff or run the football. You have to have balance.
On the squandered opportunities and did you talk about throwing it more? They ended up throwing it 33 out of 59 plays. “You can’t just abandon the run.” It was windy and they weren’t getting a ton of time with protection. They had a good plan but didn’t execute it well enough.
On the melee after the game: “I don’t know all of the details of it…” Michigan tried putting a flag on the field “and our guys weren’t going to let that happen.” Certainly embarrassed to lose this game but there are some prideful guys on this team.
Is everybody healthy? Not sure, but think so.
How concerned are you about moving past this and regrouping for the playoffs? “I don’t know. We’re fresh off the game, so I don’t have the answer to that. Very disappointed. Never thought this would happen right here.”
He’ll talk to the team soon about what’s still available. There’s not much you can say about this one. You have to take ownership of it. “It starts with me.”