In his 100th game coaching Ohio State, Ryan Day lost his mind.
But not his marbles. Not yet, anyway.
Day’s sanity is intact after the No. 6 Buckeyes defeated unranked Maryland 45-16 in the Oct. 10 Homecoming game in the Horseshoe. Another slopfest like this, however, and Day’s mental stability might be stretched to the limit.
As it was, Day delivered one of his most animated sideline performances in eight seasons on the job. He fussed. He fumed. He waved his arms – at no one in particular – like a homeowner frustrated by a leaky faucet he thought he had fixed.
The source of his consternation? Penalties (eight for 65 yards) and turnovers (two by quarterback Julian Sayin, including a pick-six) that did not prove lethal against the Terrapins (2-4,
0-3 Big Ten) but are a recipe for failure against teams still on the schedule, and into the playoffs.
A quick word on that: Who on Ohio State’s schedule can be counted on to win games these days? Certainly not No. 1 Texas, which lost to unranked Oklahoma on a last-second field goal in the Red River Rivalry. Oregon? Fraud. Indiana? The Hoosiers eked out a win against Nebraska the week before they welcome the Buckeyes, but IU does not strike fear into scarlet and gray hearts the way it might have entering the season.
Ohio State's remaining schedule poses more challenges
That said, OSU’s remaining opponents have more potential firepower than anything shown by Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, Kent State and Ball State over the first six games. Which is why Day extended his arms and turned his hands palm-side up every time Ohio State (5-1, 3-0) did something dumb against the Terrapins. Which was often.
“When you have eight penalties, that’s not the sign of a good team, so we have to make sure we get that fixed,” Day said, explaining his anger-fueled sideline antics. "And the turnovers – can’t happen.”
Well, they can happen, but not if the Buckeyes want to keep their coach from shooting laser beams from his eyes.
“You want to stay away (from him) a little bit,” linebacker TJ Alford said of Day’s sideline ragers, which are probably 80% genuine disgust and 20% performative art meant to get his point across.
“Ultimately, it’s my responsibility, so I have to make sure guys feel that,” Day said of staring daggers. “I’m not trying to embarrass anybody, but at the same time we can’t let that happen, so that’s where that [display of anger) came from.”
As the penalties mounted, Day’s demeanor dimmed. It didn’t require a Ph.D. in lip reading to decipher his displeasure. When Sayin returned to the sideline after fumbling following a blindside tackle, Day chewed him out with gusto.
“It’s an issue we have to get fixed, with taking care of the ball,” Sayin said of his fumble, adding that he and Day are constantly discussing the importance of ball security. “He’s someone who coaches hard, because he wants the best for his players. He doesn’t want us to have a loss and come back and say these are the issues [that happened.]”
Day expounded on his tough love methodology.
“You can’t accept that as a coach,” he said of mistakes he attributes to lack of discipline. “We all have to own it and I have to hold the coaches accountable, and it’s my responsibility, because when that’s happening it’s a direct reflection of coaching. So to sit there and say it’s OK? It’s not OK. We have to get this stuff fixed.”
He wasn’t finished.
Day can be tough on players because of program trust
“Some of these penalties don’t always come up in practice. The late hits on the quarterback and things like this. So they have to be addressed and we have to understand how important those are. It can’t be just, ‘Hey, get ’em again next time.’ That’s not how it goes. There’s too much at stake here. It’s my job as the coach to make sure I can challenge those guys, but there has to be a certain level of trust within the program to challenge those guys that hard, and there is. They know where I’m coming from.”
Day made clear his fury could have been even worse.
“If it had been a 15-yarder [for roughing the kicker] probably would have had an aneurysm,” he said of the less-punitive 5-yard penalty for running into the kicker.
“Obviously, he was upset with as many penalties as we had on offense and defense,” tight end Nate Roberts said.
Obviously.
Just imagine what would have happened if OSU had lost the game? Columbus might have experienced its first volcanic eruption since John Tortorella coached the Blue Jackets.
Bottom line: Good is not good enough for Day. The Buckeyes won by 29 points, but their coach realizes the same mistakes made against Maryland won’t fly against Notre Dame or another top-five team. And likely not against Indiana, either.
Yes, Ohio State took care of business against the Terps. Sayin threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns, two courtesy of leading Heisman Trophy candidate Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes rushed for 207 yards, their most since totaling 237 against Ball State in the opener. The defense held Maryland to 146 total yards (82 rushing, 64 passing). The much-maligned special teams showed more good than bad.
What’s not to like?
Just ask Day, then get out of the way.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ryan Day loses his cool as Ohio State's sloppiness takes center stage
