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Everything Ryan Day said following Ohio State’s Rose Bowl announcement

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

Ohio State won’t get to play for a national championship—the Buckeyes ranked 6th in the final College Football Playoff rankings—but it will still have something illustrious to play for at the end of its season: a Rose Bowl.

With Michigan representing the league in its first CFP appearance, the Big Ten’s flag-bearer for years will play for the Big Ten’s prized asset. The Buckeyes are back in The Granddaddy of Them All.

Ohio State has made 15 appearances in the Rose Bowl game, holding an 8-7 record. It’ll play Utah this season, the 11th-ranked team in the final CFP rankings and the champions of the Pac-12. Ohio State last played for a Rose Bowl in 2019 (2018 season), when it beat Washington 28-23. The Buckeyes have won 3 straight Rose Bowl appearances dating back to 1997.

It’s almost certainly not the result coach Ryan Day and his team had been dreaming of even 2 weeks ago, but it’s nevertheless a solid consolation prize.

Ohio State entered a regular-season finale matchup with Michigan as the No. 2 team in the country, holding just 1 loss, and looking at a potential “win and you’re in” scenario. Beat the Wolverines, as the Buckeyes had done in the previous 8 meetings, and they would have played for a Big Ten championship. Given Iowa’s 42-3 drubbing at the hands of Michigan in Saturday’s Big Ten title match, the Buckeyes surely would have been seen as favorites to make it to another CFP. Instead, they’re 10-2 and sit just on the outside of the 4-team field.

Day, meeting with members of the media Sunday, discussed that, the team’s Rose Bowl matchup, and more. Here are the highlights:

https://twitter.com/ColinGay17/status/1467590416329428993

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.