Ad Disclosure
Here’s what Ryan Day had to say following disappointing outcome for Ohio State in National Championship Game
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Ohio State’s strong season came to an end with a disappointing result in Monday’s National Championship Game.
On defense, the Buckeyes were overmatched and outgunned. Departing offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was brilliant for the Crimson Tide, consistently getting the ball to his playmakers and leading the team to 52 points.
On offense, Ohio State was banged up and limited, losing Trey Sermon early on and key offensive lineman Wyatt Davis just before halftime. Justin Fields and the offense battled hard but managed just seven points after the break as the Crimson Tide pulled away for the win.
After the game, head coach Ryan Day addressed the title game performance and looked ahead to 2021. Among other things, Day also touched on quarterback Justin Fields.
Day said he was proud of Fields’ performance and toughness before saying that he would miss Fields moving forward. Though it is not exactly a surprising comment, it definitely sounds like Fields will indeed forego his senior season and enter the 2021 NFL Draft.
Ryan Day on Justin Fields: "Justin's been unbelievable. He's as competitively tough of a player as I've been around."
Day says Fields was "not 100 percent tonight" and noted he took some shots to his hip.
"He's an unbelievable player. I'm going to miss him."
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) January 12, 2021
Day also said the leadership of the team has already begun looking at a spring schedule for the Buckeyes. However, they plan for everyone to take a step back to reevaluate and spend time with family before moving forward:
#GoBuckeyes coach Ryan Day: "We need a break. We all need to get away for a long, long while. … You can't just go back to work here. There needs to be some time to rest and reflect."
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 12, 2021
Ohio State coach Ryan Day: "We've already started to put together the schedule for the spring, but we all need to get away for awhile. It's been a long, long ride. Guys miss their families and deserve time with them."
— Nathan Baird (@nwbaird) January 12, 2021
Here’s what else Day had to say following the game:
Ryan Day: "Tough night. I'm proud of our team, proud of our seniors, proud of the year that we had, but that was a tough night."
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) January 12, 2021
Wyatt Davis "kind of re-injured that knee," Ryan Day says. He's not sure the diagnosis, but he's sore and in pain.
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) January 12, 2021
OSU's Day on defense: "We had some things we did that we wanted to change it up. But we wanted to make sure we were doing the same things that got us to this point, and it still wasn't good enough.
"It's one thing to have some different ideas. It's another thing to execute them."— Nathan Baird (@nwbaird) January 12, 2021
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.