Ryan Day liked the call.
There was an opportunity for Ohio State to deliver a knockout blow during the fourth quarter of its Week 2 showdown at Texas when quarterback Julian Sayin lobbed a pass to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on third down.
While the tight coverage by cornerback Bo Mascoe pressed Smith’s fade route even more toward the sideline, he got a late step as the ball drifted toward the end zone’s front pylon.
“I thought that was an aggressive call,” Day said. “We didn't hit it.”
The ball bounced off the turf at Darrell K. Royal Stadium, just escaping Smith’s grasp.
Instead of Sayin and Smith putting the game away with just over 4 minutes left, the Buckeyes settled for a field goal try, and Baylor transfer kicker Connor Hawkins hooked his
45-yard attempt left of the uprights rather than put them ahead by two scores. The Longhorns’ game-winning touchdown drive unfolded over the ensuing series.
The sequence was emblematic of missed opportunities late in Ohio State’s 24-23 collapse that saw a 20-point lead vanish and mark a rare September loss for the program.
The Buckeyes might have looked to strike a knockout blow in the third or fourth quarter, but they never landed one.
As the Ohio State coach revisited the loss three days later, he saw their downfall as the result of those moments.
“It’s not like it's not like we're not trying to score, trying to be aggressive,” Day said, “but when you don't execute at a high level, that's what we have to look at, to figure out what is happening in that moment for us not to be successful. Because if we hit those throws or we execute on those runs, we're not in this situation. That's the bottom line. We've got to get that fixed. We have to do a better job finishing these games.”
The Buckeyes took their share of shots. They threw the ball more times than they ran it in the second half, attempting 16 passes to 12 carries. It was more often they aired it out during the first or second quarters.
But Sayin completed only five of the 16 pass attempts, including three of his last 13. Before the late incompletion to Smith, the Buckeyes had another chance to slam the door on the Longhorns.
It was second down at Texas’ 30-yard line in the third quarter when Sayin overthrew wide receiver Devin McCuin, who was left open by a safety biting on an run-pass option fake.
Had Sayin been on target, McCuin was poised for a touchdown that would have put the Buckeyes ahead by a score of 27-3.
“We have to look at all of it and make sure that we're always attacking,” Day said, “but it's clear to say we had momentum, we lost it and then we weren't able to get it back.”
The Buckeyes later went three-and-out on consecutive drives. All three passes by Sayin on the possessions fell incomplete. One to Phillip Bell on third down led to a punt rather than a first down at midfield.
If the Buckeyes were conservative, it was less about play selection than game management. When they faced a fourth-and-4 at Texas’ 39-yard line on the opening series of the third quarter, Day opted to punt with a 20-3 lead.
“I felt like we could pin them,” Day said. “I didn’t feel like we did a very good executing the pooch punt.”
Joe McGuire’s punt reached the Longhorns’ 13-yard line when returner Ryan Niblett signaled for a fair catch. It offered Ohio State an advantage of only 26 yards in field position.
The Buckeyes had a fourth-down decision on their following drive in the third quarter when they opted not to go for it.
Facing fourth-and-10 at Texas’ 30-yard line, they sent out Hawkins for a kick, and he made the 48-yard attempt.
While the field goal gave the Buckeyes a 23-3 lead, Day said they “probably could have been aggressive” on their second fourth down in Texas’ territory.
Day ultimately saw the unraveling as a combination of factors, largely “not putting guys in position to be successful enough, guys not executing.”
“The players have to look at themselves and say, ‘We need to execute better, we need to finish,’” Day said, “And then the coaches need to look at it and say, ‘How do we put these guys in a better situation to go finish the game?’ That's what happens when you don't win.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ryan Day points to missed chances in Ohio State football’s Texas collapse
