This was not how things were supposed to end for the Ohio State football team. This season wasn't supposed to be over in 2025. They were supposed to keep playing into 2026 and have a real shot to defend their national title. Instead, they lost in embarrassing fashion to Miami.
Offensively, the Buckeyes struggled in their final two games of the season. They only scored 24 points combined against Indiana and Miami. Ryan Day was the play-caller in the Cotton Bowl, and it was a disaster. The offensive line couldn't block, and Julian Sayin looked rattled because of it.
It's very clear that Day cannot be the play-caller in another game for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Following the loss to the Hurricanes, Day put all of the blame on himself for the loss. Quite frankly, he is the one to blame the most for this catastrophic failure.
Ryan Day takes the blame for the Ohio State football team's loss against Miami
Day absorbed all of the responsibility for the loss.
"At the end of the day, we didn't get it done, and that starts with me. And then it goes down from there, so you know, I take responsibility for not getting the guys ready. As you guys know, we spent an inordinate amount of time putting the plan together to get everybody ready to go play in that first half. And we didn't win the first half, so we got to figure out why that was and learn from it moving forward."
There was no excuse for this team not being ready for this game. They had three weeks to prepare and get healthy. Coming off a loss against IU, the Buckeyes should have had more fire to start the game. The inability to play well in the first half sank Ohio State's chances almost right away.
Day needs to take a long look in the mirror. He found a new wide receivers coach, but now he needs to find an offensive coordinator who can take over play-calling duties for good. It's clear he's lost his touch in that regard. Ohio State won a national championship with him ceding play-calling duties to someone else already.