Or; ‘How Ryan Day Got His Groove Back’

Last night in Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes played inarguably their best game since New Year’s Day 2021 when they beat Clemson 49-28 in the Sugar Bowl. Every aspect of Ohio State’s performance in its 42-17 win over the Tennessee Volunteers was just about perfect. The OSU offense accumulated 473 yards against the vaunted Tennessee defense despite pulling the starters early in the fourth quarter and giving all three backup quarterbacks a series each. On the other side of the ball, the Silver Bullets gave up only 256 yards to the explosive Volunteer offense, which was aided immensely by a garbage-time scoring drive against Ohio State’s second and third-teamers.

While the execution was extraordinary and deserves to be praised for the next week and a half until the Buckeyes are back on the field, what truly made the difference in this contest was Ohio State’s offensive coaching staff. We have long known how uber-talented the players on OSU’s roster are, but more often than not, it has been the Buckeye coaches — namely head coach Ryan Day — who have seemingly stood in the way of the team achieving its potential.

However, that did not happen on Saturday night in The Horseshoe. Instead, the team and the staff exceeded my admittedly biased best possible outcome and appeared to be the team that we all expected them to be from the start of the season. With a defense that allowed only 183 non-garbage time yards and an offense that essentially moved the ball at will, last night was a much-needed reminder that after all of the justified hand-wringing (despite what Tennessee resident Kirk Herbstreit said on the broadcast), when the players and coaches are working in concert, there is no team better in college football.

The Buckeyes are now set for a rematch with the No. 1 Oregon Ducks in the prettiest setting in all of sports. The two teams will face off in a Rose Bowl that has a fairly familiar feel, despite being completely unusual. Not only will it be the first time that the sun will set on the San Gabriel Mountains as a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game is played, but it will also be the first time that conference foes will face off in the game.

Adding to the intrigue, despite the fact that Dan Lanning’s Ducks already own a win over the Buckeyes this season, immediately following the conclusion of last night’s game, Las Vegas oddsmakers installed the Buckeyes as 1.5-point favorites to avenge the defeat and keep their national championship dreams alive. Far be it for me to argue with the oracles in the desert, as I believe that it is fairly clear to anyone objectively observing the landscape of college football that if Ryan Day can continue to steer clear of Sirens’ songs that have lured him to rocky metaphorical deaths over the past four years, Ohio State will win the national championship, saving Day’s job and justifying all of the fanbase’s angst over years of underwhelming performances.

When the Buckeye offense is allowed to operate to its utmost ability, it is difficult to find meaningful areas of weakness. The defense has been stellar all season, and Jim Knowles drew up a game plan that allowed his team to be aggressive and thoroughly frustrate and harass Volunteer quarterback Nico Iamaleava early, and then sit back and stifle the Tennessee offense once the game was in hand.

But it was that 180° turnaround from the offense that was most awe-inspiring. Gone was the stubborn, nonsensical obsession with being tough, and in its place was the creative and aggressive style that both Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly built their careers on. The coaching pair found ways to put their best athletes in positions to shine from start to finish.

Will Howard had the best day for a Buckeye quarterback perhaps since C.J. Stroud in the Rose Bowl over Utah one year after the Buckeyes beat Clemson in the aforementioned Sugar Bowl. The Kansas State transfer went 24-for-29 for 311 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception that only happened because it is apparently against the rules for referees to call either holding or pass interference against Ohio State opponents. The signal caller also added 37 yards on 5 carries and was not sacked.