While Ohio State was missing star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and quarterback Kyle McCord due to an opt-out and a transfer, respectively, the Buckeyes still entered the Cotton Bowl Classic favored to win.
But Ohio State couldn’t beat Missouri. While the Buckeye defense generally held up well, pitching a shutout until the first play of the fourth quarter, the Ohio State offense offense managed only a field goal. The Tigers defeated the Buckeyes 14-3. And in the aftermath of the loss, Ryan Day, Ohio State’s head coach is coming under heavy scrutiny.
Day has won a lot of games since becoming Ohio State’s head coach. His record with the Buckeyes is officially 56-8, which doesn’t even include a 3-0 record as the interim coach in 2018. But in big games, it’s been different. Day is 1-3 against Ohio State’s biggest rival, Michigan. That’s a stark contrast to Ohio State’s two full-time coaches before Day, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, who were 9-1 and 7-0, respectively, against the Wolverines.
Beyond just Michigan, Ohio State is 0-3 against SEC opponents under Day, losing 52-24 to Alabama in the National Championship Game after the 2020 season, 42-41 to Alabama in the CFP semifinal (Peach Bowl) in 2022 and now 14-3 to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. And in general, the Buckeyes have struggled against college football’s top programs with Day at the helm.
Ryan Day at Ohio State:
• 56-8 Record
1-3 vs Michigan
0-3 vs the SEC
1-6 vs CFP Top 5 pic.twitter.com/VZDM8J1JR8— College Football Report (@CFBRep) December 30, 2023
Friday’s loss was particularly bad. The struggles can, to some extent, be attributed to Harrison and McCord not being on the field. Devin Brown, who started at quarterback for the Buckeyes, was injured early.
But programs like Ohio State generally have depth at the key positions. So, a lot of people in the college football world were wondering how Day, an offensive coach, could oversee a team that barely cracked 200 yards in a bowl game.
And he was widely panned for Ohio State’s performance.
https://twitter.com/VictoryBellOSU/status/1740951534417191330
#OhioState under Ryan Day is officially a charmin soft program.
Embarrassing. There are a LOT of changes that better happen after this shit show embarrassment.
— Bax (@MattBaxendell) December 30, 2023
Ryan Day is now leading off second base and threatening to steal first.
— Brandon Walker (@BFW) December 30, 2023
Just a reminder that this was Ryan Day after beating a team with 10 men on the field pic.twitter.com/4LC9AXp7ln
— Championship Connoisseur (@UMvsEveryone) December 30, 2023
Ryan Day when he actually has to coach instead of letting talent bail him out pic.twitter.com/5CDpthWjLw
— X – Matt Peysner🇮🇱🇮🇱🇺🇦🇺🇦 (@MPeysner81412) December 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/scumbag_unit/status/1740947741155454990
When Jim Harbaugh said Ryan Day was born on third base pic.twitter.com/Ooour9xma2
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) December 30, 2023
