Ohio State Football: Ryan Day out-coached Dabo Swinney

The Ohio State football team and head coach Ryan Day ran circles around the Clemson Tigers in last night’s Sugar Bowl.

The Ohio State football team delivered a message last night. Crushing Clemson 49-28, the Buckeyes proved to all the doubters, and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, that they were better than the No. 11 ranked team in the country.

And Ohio State head coach Ryan Day proved that he is a better coach than Swinney. Seemingly always one step ahead of Dabo and Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, Day proved to the world why Urban Meyer has always labeled day as “Elite.” He’s an elite recruiter, talent developer, and play-caller.

Here is an example: Day said earlier in the week how Venables always seemed to know what the offense was calling, insinuating that he steal signs from the sidelines. So what did Day do to combat this? They huddled more than they ever have and quickly got to the line of scrimmage and got the play off before Clemson could adjust its play call.

Another example is how Day utilized his tight ends. Finally, after years of begging, Day got the ball to his tight ends in this game. Creating mismatches for them, Justin Fields was able to connect with Jeremy Ruckert and Luke Farrell all game long. And the throwback screen to Ruckert for his first touchdown was a thing of beauty.

It was also noticeable that Day told Fields to use his running back, Trey Sermon, in check downs. Make your reads and if nothing is available, quickly get the ball to Sermon who has not been used much in the passing game this season. The results speak for themselves: 4 catches for 61 yards, including some key third-down conversions.

Clemson is not used to getting blown out. As long as Day is at Ohio State, it may just be something they have to get accustomed to.