Wasserman: Ryan Day loses sight of who he is when coaching against Michigan

Every Saturday evening, Ari Wasserman and David Ubben respond to the weekend’s series of matches on ‘See You Saturday’. On Monday they revisit the largest takeaway Saturday night’s immediate response. This week: Ari wonders why Ryan Day changes his coaching style when Ohio State plays Michigan.

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Kalen DeBoer sent the punting team out, but he wasn’t punting. This is a man who never doubts himself or his team.

The Apple Cup was tied with 1:15 remaining. Washington faced a fourth-and-1 from its own 29-yard line. DeBoer called on the punt team to try to draw Washington State offside. When it didn’t work, he called a timeout — not to give up the first down, but to set up the perfect play.

Washington used a three-way option concept. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had the option to hand off the ball on a dive, keep it or choose the ripple. Star receiver Rome Odunze came in a lane move around the back and Penix threw him the ball, with his back to the line of scrimmage.

The cameraman was fooled. With the shot aimed at the running back who was stuffed without the ball, Odunze ran down the sideline for a 23-yard gain. It was the perfect call at the perfect time. Seven plays later the Huskies won on a field goal.

WHAT A FAKE, WHAT A GAME 🤯

The 4th down conversion is good for @UW_Washington!!! pic.twitter.com/J5jeYzgdRh

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 26, 2023

It’s incredible what happens when a coach puts the ball in the hands of his best players and trusts them to play.

That’s who Ryan Day should be for Ohio State.

But that’s not who he is when the Buckeyes play Michigan. Day loses sight of that and what he has on his roster during The Game. And as a result, Ohio State has unthinkably lost three straight games to Michigan.

It wasn’t that long ago that Day was a brilliant, emerging offensive mind who would lead this program relentlessly. He would go for it on fourth, while others wouldn’t. He would make decisions based on who is on his sideline – not who is on the other side. He would design perfect game concepts to catch his opponents napping.

So why, on the stage where winning is paramount, has he been so inclined to make safe choices that avoid mistakes, rather than trusting his superior athletes to win the game? Why doesn’t he ever take a shot or try to kick the opposition in the throat? Why does he lack imagination and the courage to use it?

Nothing illustrated that more than a key sequence before halftime of Ohio State’s 30-24 loss to Michigan on Saturday. Ohio State found itself in a 14-3 hole early in the match, but fought back to make it 14-10 in the second quarter. It got a stop and had the ball on its own 2-yard line with 3:23 left in the half. Then, seven plays later, the Buckeyes were at the Michigan 34-yard line.

Instead of trying to go for a heartbreaking touchdown — or even a more manageable field goal attempt — Day inexplicably turned back the clock and attempted a 52-yard field goal. At a crucial moment, Day was more concerned about the danger Michigan might pose than trusting his team to make a move.

With a kicker who had a career 47 yards, Day set up for a 52-yard field goal in the freezing cold. Jayden Fielding missed it, of course, which shouldn’t be surprising considering Ohio State’s special teams have been terrible this year. So the Buckeyes got away with nothing – the same thing they would have gotten away with if they had finished fourth and failed.

Actually, failure would have been better because at least the Buckeyes would have tried something. Something.

The sickest part? Day would have gone for it had he played against Maryland or Minnesota. But he was shocked and changed who he was in the biggest game of the year. That’s what gets you defeated.

Some may argue that it was a wise decision, but coaching goes deeper than using a blackjack helper card. You don’t make decisions that affect your team, such as deciding whether to hit or stay based on the book’s recommendation. Decisions big and small impact your team and reveal how a coach feels about his players. It penetrates.

Day had Marvin Harrison Jr. It is now likely the last game he will ever play for Ohio State. Instead of arming it and going for the jugular, Day got conservative and gave up a scoring opportunity that he surely would have taken against any other Big Ten team.

He took the ball from Harrison’s hands and placed it on the foot of a kicker who had never made a field goal that long. It missed, just like the field goal last year at the end of the game against Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal. The difference here was that all of Ohio State’s weapons were healthy. He had Harrison, TreVeyon Henderson, Cade Stover and Emeka Egbuka – some of the many elite players Ohio State has convinced to come to Columbus in these moments to win. Day, on the other hand, took the ball out of their hands.

One coaching decision does not lead to winning or losing a match. Attitude does. And that was a window into how Day felt in a big moment in the game where he will ultimately be judged.

Day says he spends 364 days a year preparing for Michigan. Wouldn’t that fourth defeat have been a great moment to try something new? What did he have saved specifically for the Michigan game that could have helped at that moment? Where was the play like Ted Ginn Jr.’s memorable 2006 touchdown reception where he lined up hidden as a tight end and beat the Wolverines over the top? Isn’t the Michigan game the stage where you empty the bag and present new things that the opponent hasn’t seen on tape yet? Isn’t that what preparing all year round means?

Day did a number of things organizationally that a smarter football mind could easily identify. But the most ironic thing about it was that Michigan – the smashmouth program that was supposed to be all grit and no tricks – had the longest passing play of the day, thrown by a running back. The second-longest run came from a package designed for backup quarterback Alex Orji.

Sherrone Moore, a 37-year-old who came in for the suspended Jim Harbaugh, took more shots in this game than the offensive guru even had in his bag. Day didn’t even try. He wanted to make fewer mistakes.

Ohio State has top level players, but where was the gamesmanship? The creativity? The bravado to do something you wouldn’t normally do? Even the bravest coaching soul can be terrified by what DeBoer did, but Day didn’t even attempt a fourth-down conversion in the game. In the first quarter, he elected to punt on fourth-and-1 from the OSU 46-yard line.

Day assumed Ohio State had better players, and the Buckeyes were just doing what they always do. Michigan planned Ohio State and hit the Buckeyes where it hurt. Day was outcoached by a 37-year-old substitute.

This doesn’t mean the Buckeyes should fire Day or look for another opportunity. Ohio State has a lot to offer. And yes, despite the Michigan problem, Day is 56-7 and Ohio State was on the verge of winning a national title a year ago.

You don’t just fire people on a whim. That’s what dysfunctional programs do. The problem, however, is that those seven losses come in games that Ohio State fans care about most. No one cares about beating Rutgers or Minnesota. And no one cares if you’re aggressive against teams that can’t beat you.

Day has spent the year trying to build a strong team with a great defense that could compete better in a Michigan-style game. Ohio State was obviously tougher, but still lost.

Almost isn’t good enough in this rivalry.

It’s not good enough for Ohio State.

Day coached scared. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t looking across the field at Harbaugh. It didn’t matter that Michigan had the weight of the world on its shoulders during this illegal scouting scandal. Day sees Michigan’s helmets and thinks about what could go wrong before thinking about what his team could do right. Playing not to lose results in losing.

When the cameras zoomed in on his face after the match, you could see the inner turmoil. It is difficult to describe what he must have felt. It had to be suffering. The fear, the regret, the nervousness, the pressure, everything. This isn’t just losing a game. This is losing the game. Again.

How does Day solve this? It’s not about turning a coordinator or better recruiting. It is a complicated and deep-rooted issue.

He needs to figure it out quickly because winning a bunch of Big Ten games will never be good enough at Ohio State. Ohio State has failed to achieve any of its goals over the past three years because it couldn’t win The Game. Ohio State’s coaches – fair or not – will always be judged through the lens of how they perform against Michigan.

Jim Tressel is a legend. Urban Meyer is a legend. The duo won national titles, but the biggest source of pride is their combined 16-1 against the Wolverines. Frankly, Day played at his best against Michigan, and it’s unreasonable to assume he’ll never lose. Sometimes teams just lose to really good teams.

But whatever this is? It’s unacceptable. That’s the kind of pressure you’re signing up for when you cash the eight-figure checks.

The pressure can’t keep Day alive or he’ll be fired.

Just ask John Cooper.

(Photo: Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)