Ryan Day admits to what all of Buckeye Nation watched in Ohio State’s season-ending loss to Miami in the Cotton Bowl
Ohio State paid the price for how it started against Miami.
Just one game after the Ohio State Buckeyes laid an egg with just 10 points scored against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship, Ohio State scored just 14 in a loss to the Miami Hurricanes.
Ohio State’s season is over, and it’s now tasked with heading into the offseason, starting with maneuvering the transfer portal. The Buckeyes ended the season being quite not good enough offensively in the 24-14 loss to the Hurricanes.
Ryan Day felt the same way the rest of Buckeye Nation did about the loss to Miami
Heading into the game, there was a worry that the 25-day layoff would be an issue for the Buckeyes. Miami played a first-round game against Texas A&M, while Ohio State had a first-round bye. After the game, Day pointed out that it took them just too long to get going.
“I felt like it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game,” Day said. “I thought we did coming out of the second half. You put yourself at risk of having to be darn near perfect in the second half to win the game. At the end of the day, we didn’t get it done, and that starts with me.”
Ohio State had 332 total yards to 291 for Miami, but the Buckeyes also had two turnovers. The first was a Julian Sayin pass intercepted by Keionte Scott, who returned it 72 yards for a touchdown. Ohio State gave up seven points to Miami hurt. When you combine that with a missed 49-yard field goal in the first half, that accounts for 10 points.
Sayin finished the game 22-of-35 passing for 287 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Ohio State couldn’t get the run game going until the second half, and that was another problem. Freshman RB Bo Jackson led the Buckeyes with 55 rushing yards on 11 runs. Jeremiah Smith was the main offensive catalyst with 157 receiving yards on seven catches.
For Ohio State to have the offensive firepower that it does and to end the season with two very disappointing offensive outputs is just bad all around. The Buckeyes are now back to the drawing board to try to right the ship for the 2026 season.
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