Ohio State football coach Ryan Day welcomes coach and scouts to an NFL Pro Day at Ohio State University Tuesday, March 30, 2021 in Columbus, Ohio. Credit: Courtesy of AP Photo/Paul Vernon via TNS
More than 72 hours removed from an upset loss to then-No. 12 Oregon, the Buckeyes are still reeling from a defeat on their home turf.
Ohio State hasn’t been in this position before with Ryan Day as its head coach. The loss to the Ducks snapped the Buckeyes’ winning streaks of 26-consecutive home games, 22-straight regular-season contests and gave Day his first loss outside of the College Football Playoff.
Day said Tuesday that he and Ohio State are taking a hard look at everything to improve issues it had on both sides of the ball.
“This loss doesn’t sit well at all,” Day said. “We wanted to win this game. We had it circled for a long time, and so we’re very disappointed.”
Oregon completed four drives of more than 74 yards Saturday, throwing and rushing for over 230 yards. Dating back to last season, Ohio State has surrendered over 200 passing yards in six of its last seven games, including five in a row. That coincides with two losses in the Buckeyes’ last three games.
On the ground, Day said it’s frustrating that Ohio State’s run defense hasn’t been itself. The Buckeyes boasted a top-10 rushing defense in all of the NCAA last season, but allowed over 200 yards on the ground in each game so far in 2021 — more than double its average in 2020.
Inexperience was a theme surrounding the Buckeyes entering this season. Ohio State lost six defensive starters from a season ago, but Day said he knows that’s just how college football goes. As the team scours for more meaningful, in-game experience, Day is looking for something bigger.
“We certainly haven’t found an identity on defense yet,” Day said. “We got to figure that part of it out because we haven’t done that. You lose great players to the NFL. You have to regroup and rebuild.”
Rather than finishing a season with a loss, like Ohio State has done in each of Day’s first two years as head coach, the Buckeyes will have the chance to quickly turn around and fix their issues against Tulsa.
Day said he’ll certainly become more involved in defensive discussions at the expense of his focus on the offense, but he’s not ecstatic about it.
“I’m not happy about that at all,” Day said. “That’s part of the deal is that here, for me to do what I need to do on offense, I need the defense really on point, the special teams on point. I need Mark Pantoni to do a great job in recruiting, Mick Marotti to handle strength and conditioning, and the minute that I get taken away from those types of things, then it affects everything else that’s going on on offense. To be honest with you, it’s disappointing.”
Day also confirmed that Kerry Coombs is still the team’s defensive coordinator. Noting that no hard changes will come in the immediacy, Day described the conversations with his coaching staff.
“They’re just honest. I wouldn’t say they’re uncomfortable. They’re real,” Day said. “I have no problem having those type of conversations. It’s pretty simple to see what needs to get fixed.”
Ohio State is examining and re-evaluating its personnel, its coaching and its scheme, Day said. On the surface, the team must convert pressures into sacks, something they didn’t do against Oregon, and avoid big plays, something the Ducks did to lengths of a 77-yard touchdown and 4-for-4 in trips to the red zone.
Glaring issues aside, the Buckeyes are in unfamiliar territory.
The team is used to running the table in the regular season, relying on their prowess and poise to make sure they’re the victors once the clock strikes zero in the fourth quarter. But now, Day said Ohio State has a unique opportunity ahead of itself to rebound in a season that is far from over.
“You find out a lot about a lot of people when adversity hits,” Day said. “That’s called life. It’s a great opportunity for our guys to learn about that and grow. If we come out of this thing strong, it could make us better. We have to use it for that type of thing to build some strength within us and build some leadership. That’s what we’re going to do.”
