Ohio State head coach Ryan Day might be under the microscope more than any coach with a 56-7 record in history.
That’s partially because there haven’t been that many coaches with a 56-7 record, but the scrutiny is earned. He’s won double-digit games in each of his four full seasons with the Buckeyes and made the College Football Playoff three times, but he has a 1-3 record in his playoff appearances and an 8-7 record against top-10 teams. He seemed conservative in big moments against Michigan, a bitter rival he now has one win against in four tries.
With all of that context, it’s safe to understand why people were so quick to jump on Ohio State’s Friday loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. After all, it’s Ryan Day’s talented Buckeyes coming up short again on a big stage, right? Especially with superstar wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. opting out for the game, it felt easy to chalk the whole thing up to him carrying the Buckeyes offense all season.
That’s not quite fair, though. Yes, Ohio State didn’t have Marvin Harrison Jr., and it’s fair to question what the offense would have looked like without him all season. However, the Buckeyes’ two quarterbacks who played on Friday night had thrown 27 combined collegiate passes before Friday’s game. In fact, sophomore Devin Brown and freshman Lincoln Kienholz had only appeared in eight combined games across the last two seasons.
The Missouri defense is no slouch, either. They finished the season within the top 25 in the country in points allowed per game, partially due to their Cotton Bowl performance, but the team also only allowed 30 points in three of their 12 regular-season games. South Carolina only managed 12 points against the Tigers, and Tennessee only managed a touchdown.
The recipe is not exactly an ideal proving ground for a young quarterback without his blue-chip receiver, and it’s not an indictment of an offensive staff to average less than five yards per attempt in that situation. If the Buckeyes enter 2024 with Kienholz or Brown expected to take a lion’s share of the quarterback work, there can be fair questions until Week 1, but with big quarterback names still in the transfer portal and esteemed recruit Air Noland on the way, the Buckeyes will probably have a great passing offense sooner rather than later.
This is not a manifesto attempting to defend Ryan Day’s overall record or pretend the questions about his big-game performance aren’t warranted. However, given the circumstances of Friday’s game, it is not one of the larger blemishes on his track record. If you were still sold on Day before the Cotton Bowl, you still should be. If you were out on him, he probably didn’t change your mind. The truth is, nothing will probably change until he beats Michigan or wins a national championship. But the Cotton Bowl wasn’t the kind of loss that changed a program or coach’s trajectory.