Ohio State’s Ryan Day explains his fourth down decisions against Michigan

The Buckeye head coach will have his decisions questioned for the foreseeable future.

Any time a team loses a big game, decisions made by the head coach will be questioned. Those decisions are amped up in a matchup of undefeated rivals with the season on the line.

That was the case on Saturday afternoon when No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan met in Ann Arbor, with the winner heading to the Big Ten Championship Game next weekend and all but securing a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines won the game 30-24, and head coach Ryan Day, who lost his third straight game to the Maize and Blue, was criticized for his choices throughout the game.

 

The first came on the Buckeyes’ second offensive possession of the game. The Scarlet and Gray reached their own 46-yard line before getting stopped one yard short to set up fourth-and-one. There wasn’t much hesitancy by Day, who sent the punt team onto the field.

“Early in the game around midfield, I just didn’t want to give them any momentum,” the head coach explained postgame. “I felt like we could pin them down, play defense. I felt like we were playing pretty good early on.”