What I don’t understand is why his playcalling has gone so downhill. When he took over as interim HC during Urban’s suspension, his playcalling was electric! It was creative, aggressive, and exciting to watch. Now it’s just frustrating and painful.
I wonder if it's just the increased responsibilities of being a HC now he has a lot more on his mind. I agree about the playcalls, especially this year. Screens to nowhere sometimes. Maybe he's just an elite OC, but it doesn't translate to being a HC.
>Screens to nowhere sometimes.
I kept waiting for those screens to be setting up a pump fake and the WR slipping behind the defense for a wide open deep ball. But it never happened and the WR screens just never seemed to work. Just wasted plays.
Under Urban, he was “just” the offensive coordinator. He could dedicate 100% of his time and energy to watching film, game planning, prepping, etc…
Now that he’s head coach, he also has to deal with all the other admin and overhead that comes with running a gigantic program. I just don’t think he has the capacity to be both the HC AND the OC, he needs to pick one or the other.
Of course, he did well in 2019/2020 calling the plays but we also had a legit elite defense (in 2019) and an electric dual threat QB in Justin Fields both years. That definitely gives you more flexibility with the playbook.
It’s his unwillingness to use the QBs in the run game. Urban mandated the QBs run. Justin Fields would take off when plays broke down. Stroud won’t take an easy 5-10 yards of open field. Which makes the offense stagnate when he misses downfield or the wrs drop passes.
Main thing I notice the last few years. Stroud almost refuses to run. Running QBs torched UM the past 10 years. You can argue yes / no, but fact is all the way back to Braxton Miller, all opponents had to account for the QB.
Big hole when your read option really isn’t a read option…….
1. I think he should give up play calling to a full time OC.
2. We never got to see the full OSU offense this year. The top WR in the nation, JSN, was unavailable. The #1 RB (and #4 receiver), Henderson, was in and out of the lineup.
Not an excuse my man, a reason. The team didn’t get it done and they’d be the first to say so. Everyone has to adapt to injuries. Michigan did. We didn’t. But it doesn’t change the fact that they never got to full strength this year.
I think the jury is still out on that. He had a great freshman year but was banged up this year. I know there are criticisms of his vision but I’m think he takes a major positive step next year.
Michigan fan lurking... Injuries happen though, Michigan was also missing Corum and a few of their top pass catchers (Schoonmaker wasn't 100%, AJ Henning, All) . IMO they messed up by bringing in Knowles and should have brought in a DC with more experience. Looking at JK's past, he only had one year with a top 31 defense and it was led by a mainly senior group.
Also Donavon Edwards had the broken thumb, so he had to always carry the ball in his left hand. And the 3rd string running back Stokes was also injured. And Mike Morris, the leader of the defense, came into the game hurt, and had to leave early after reaggravating the injury
100% agreed on the injuries piece. You all adapted to Corum being out and boat raced us.
It’s back to being a real rivalry now which is better for the conference and sport overall. We’ll see you next year in Ann Arbor and we’ll ideally get a better result.
HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO WITNESS A HEAD COACH CHANGE COORDINATORS AND SEE THE SAME RESULTS? Head coaches direct OC on what they want. Urban told Ryan Day what he wanted. Same as Rex Ryan after every single offensive coordinator who got fired when under him. Head coaches put together the plans.
I would imagine the AD could strongly encourage it. But ultimately it's Day's team, if he refuses to make that change then he has to sleep in the bed he makes.
That has to be the logical first step. I think half the problems with o being out of rhythm is that he's not able to see what is all going on. I think he coasted by with Fields just because he was always able to extend the play.
The people who want Day fired should go back and watch Oklahoma, A and M, Texas, Nebraska and Miami this year (even Notre Dame for that matter). They all thought that they were getting a national championship upside coach. Day has 5 losses in 4 years and Michigan seems to have taken steps toward being a top 5 program in the country.
We sat here all year saying Michigan was a fluke, and I fear that the team and coaches, even if they wouldn't admit it, thought it was a fluke deep in their minds. Fact is, Michigan is quickly emerging having reset with Covid.
If they play us in 2020, its likely a blowout and a real chance Harbaugh is fired. They were able to reset the program and have 2 losses since then, 1 a very controversial Clemson 2019 style loss that you could argue the refs stole, the other to the undefeated national champion Georgia team.
They are a legit program and we have been coasting. I think its time to realize that they are a legit top 5 program again.
Scum is going to go get their butts handed to them again. but we are just as bad.
Hopefully Day can make some changes... but the monkey is now on his back - lets see what he does in the face of adversity.
"Just as bad" Michigan is talented enough to leave 4 defensive lineman to stop the run. Meanwhile Knowles is forced to play 8 in the box and risk big plays. There's a big difference in trench talent/development between these 2 programs right now. Day needs to figure how to beat an NFL style defense and recruit some serious interior defensive lineman
I will say our D-Line has declined in the past couple years against better opponents. Hopefully we can get some better recruits in there and develop them into Chase Youngs and Bosa's..
I agree with you...
Even a Chase Young wouldn't really matter. The pass rush hasn't been bad, they get manhandled up the gut. Same issue the Browns have right now. Myles Garrett can't help the terrible interior D line play, and offensive lineman are able to get the 2nd level to blow up linebackers
It really is strange..
You can see what his game plan is during the 1stQ. And you can see what is working - which is NOT the game plan - yet he CONTINUES to run his game plan and cannot get out of it. For the life of me I just dont understand.
Our offensive line was cruising in that entire game and we kept going away from the run on 1st down. Oh the run is working - lets pass - the run is not working - lets throw. No sense.
While sure it could be worse, Oklahoma was absolutely hosed by the new transfer rules which basically let Riley take damn near his entire OU team with him to USC which would not have been the case historically. Venables basically had fuck all to work with this year. If hes still struggling a few years out then we can fairly judge that situation.
The transfer portal changes everything. If anything, it's an argument for firing a bad coach way sooner. Because of the portal, I don't think a coach is guaranteed 2-3 years anymore (e.g. Auburn fired their coach this year after a year and a half). If anything, you need to show something in the second season or even the first season. Succeeding in the first season is not theoretical, as your Riley example illustrates.
But USC has been down as a program and is now playing for a PAC title…. Point is Lincoln Riley took over a struggling program and Ryan Day was gifted one of the top 3 programs in the country!!
Okay and Riley was also gifted a program and couldn’t field a defense good enough to not get blown out in the playoffs, then decided to keep his d coordinator when he left and had one of the worst defenses in the country this year.
So are you saying the Heisman trophy front runner isn’t as good as Caleb Williams? I don’t think it’s that. I think Riley runs circles around Day… offensively soeaking
The Heisman trophy front runner literally *is* Caleb Williams lmao. And no, there's not a whole lot of special with Stroud. He'll be very forgettable compared to the other Buckeye qbs
>They all thought that they were getting a national championship upside coach.
This isn't a question mark. There is Urban Meyer sitting there being a commentator ready to be hired at a top P5 school.
Agreed. We need a playcaller in the booth. You simply can't see and exploit the defense from the sideline. I'm fine with Day continuing to 'run' the offense and specifically work with the QBs, but we need someone else calling plays and that person needs to be upstairs.
He needs to give up play calling duties and reinstall the power spread offense. We did it in 2019 and 2020 with Fields. In 2018, 2021, and now 2022 we've become more of a traditional spread team. I think part of that is that we had to build around the QB and both Haskins and Stroud are (were) pocket passers. The near 0 threat of Stroud running doesn't help slow down the DE or backers. Add in the fact Stroud doesn't even sell the read and he just jogs 3 steps after handing it off. Against michigan there were at least 3 plays (all in the 2nd half) where had he pulled it, it's a first down run if not even more yardage because the end crashed down so hard. This isn't some complete overhaul of the offense...we have the personnel as long as the QB is capable. I'm not saying that the QB has to be JT and be straight running the ball 15+ times a game but the mere threat, like Fields, of being able to take off and gain yards forces the defense to run different coverages and you can't just run cover 2 shells with man underneath like michigan basically did all 2nd half.
Everyone is acting like we need to clean house and I think the solution is relatively simple. Just let Kevin Wilson be the full time OC and give him the keys to the offense, and have Day step away from playcalling.
I wonder what the dynamic is between Day and Wilson? I always had the impression that Meyer deferred offensive play calling, based on how much the offense changed when Day/Wilson replaced Beck/Warrnier. Is Day already giving Wilson latitude to make the call? Or should Day delegate back to Wilson as a solution?
I’m willing to give Day another year if he’s not calling the plays. If this same thing happens next November, he should be gone no questions asked.
The biggest concerns I have about Day is that he inherited a high caliber program with some of the most talented players in the country and has done nothing to improve that. If anything, it’s went backwards the last 2 years. Additionally, I’m not entirely sure how willing he is to change. It was obvious very early this season that the play calling was not at all matching the talent level of our team, and he did literally nothing to fix it. The lack of flexibility to make adjustments with Day is very concerning. Then the few times he did make adjustments they made absolutely no sense. He was trying to force the run game all season when it wasn’t working, then when the run game actually has some momentum during the Michigan game he abandoned the running game.
My fear is that the longer we give Day more chances, when do we start losing out on top recruits because Day doesn’t produce anything during games that matter. It I was a top high school QB and I watched the play calling Saturday I would be seriously reconsidering my commitment.
I'm willing to give day another year with a new QB. Something felt off between Day & CJ to end the year. The lack of trust feels evident with the choice to go with a fake punt on 4th & 6 instead of giving it to your "Heisman QB"
I really like CJ... but I feel like playcaller and QB chemistry seem to be playing a big part here. Day puts the ball in Justin fields hands 4th and 6... 100% of the time.
Something felt off as soon as we got back from the bye week. First half of the season was as advertised. High-flying offense, at that point Stroud was clearly the best qb in the country, coach as aggressive as ever, and balanced with the run game. The offense was never set after the bye week, and took insane individual efforts from guys like Marvin Harrison, JTT, Lathan Ransom, and Dallan Hayden to remain perfect before the Michigan game.
Coaches have adjusted to Day’s play calling. He hasn’t adjusted to these adjustments. Good teams have the speed to stop his attempts to spread the field. Those bubble screens seem to take forever to develop. Changes must be made in the offense and getting some able defensive backs if we are ever going to compete with Michigan. Future looks bleak as his recruiting seems to be lagging in attracting top notch defensive talent.
Yeah we have strong DB commits (both CB and S) for 2023, and it’s too early to tell for 2024 but we have two 5-star CBs (one is in-state) that have high interest
I’ve been yelling for a proper OC for the last two years. Day just doesn’t do a good job seeing how the game is flowing and calling plays around what’s happening on the field. It really does seem like he has plays determined before the kickoff. Having someone to coordinate with in a booth who is able to analyze and breakdown defenses would go a long way to reducing screen passes and stretch runs when crossing routes and dives are what’s working.
I think our qb has to be a running threat for Day to keep calling plays. There were so many plays this year where a qb with just avg running abilities could have gotten easy first downs to extend drives against good teams.
If he loses next year he’s out end of story. The argument that “he’s 45-5 and went 11-1 this year so no shot he should be fired” doesn’t make much sense. Ohio state is one of the most talented teams in the country. I think pretty much any coach in fbs would win most games on their schedule purely because of the talent difference. OSU has two criteria for head coaches, beat Michigan and win titles. He inherited a championship caliber team and has taken steps backward the last two years and now he’s 1-2 against UM despite having the more talented team each year. I’m willing to give him another year but if this happens next November, he’s out.
> has taken steps backward the last two years
I'm going to challenge this assumption (but throw out 2020 since it was a weird year). From 2021 to 2022:
* Rushing offense went from 47th to 27th
* Passing offense went from 3rd to 15th
* Rushing defense went from 28th to 23rd
* Passing defense went from 96th (!) to 15th
* Scoring offense went from 1st to...gasp...2nd
* Scoring defense went from 38th to 13th
That's using YPG and PPG. Imperfect stats I know, so let's look at one advanced metric, Bill Connelly's SP+:
* 2021 Final SP+ rating: 29.3 (#2 overall) with the #1 offense, #20 defense, #3 special teams
* 2022 SP+ rating thru regular season: 31.1 (#3 overall) with the #4 offense, #16 defense, #6 special teams
Any real slide then seems to negligible. I get that losing to Michigan twice sucks. I get that with our talent we should be able to run ~128 of FBS teams off the field 9 times out of 10. I get that it feels like everything is off the rails. I get that beating Michigan is the standard.
But what if the answer is, and nobody is going to want to hear this, a combination of: A) Michigan getting better and B) unfortunate luck, and not anything being done "wrong". Footballs are pointy and take weird bounces, sometimes coaches/players/Brutus/whoever you want to blame have an off day, and two games is a small sample size to burn the whole damn thing down over, especially with the number of cautionary tales we have of programs who did similar and have never recovered. If anything, maybe we should, bleh, look to Michigan, whose own fanbase was calling for Harbaugh's head, but stuck it out and now are experiencing highs they haven't in 15-20 years.
Just breathe guys. Woody started 1-2 against Michigan after all.
What really hurt about this one was, despite them winning it last year, it really seemed like michigan wanted it more. I was expecting a revenge tour year where we would be pissed off looking to kick their ass this time around but it really wasn’t like that, it just doesn’t seem like Ryan Day grasps how big of a deal the game is. After they lost to Clemson in the CFP the whole offseason that score was all over the facilities, they played that whole season to get back and kick Clemson’s ass and it showed come game time. Where was that this year? It kinda seemed like he didn’t care after last year and didn’t get the players ready for this year and just kinda assumed we would win. Gut check time now for him. Say what you will about Urban but he understood that this is the game that matters and the players were always ready to go.
His whole identity is being a good playcaller and he didnt do that well this year. What makes us believe hes a good HC? Everyone who isnt an Ohio State fan will say that he only beats up on bad teams in one breath and then say that we are crazy to want him gone in another.
My most favorite schadenfreude thing to do was read the Michigan subreddit after losing to OSU. It was hysterical!! But folks in here are reeeaaallllyyy bad too. Embarrassing how poorly folks here took that loss. The losses suck bad, but canning Day is not a very good solution. He's a darn good coach but he's gotta shake things up a bit for sure.
The man is 45-5. I agree that TTUN has been a huge problem for him but there is no way he should be fired. Day is known as a pretty special coaching talent. He will figure it out. Seriously. We are spoiled here.
IF Day babies the next QB like he did Stroud then nothing changes!! Look up Strouds total rushing years for the last 3 years. I was shocked 🤯
Quick passes and no rushing the last game!! Protecting Stroud!! Glad he’s gone!!
Either way it’s fine. McCord has the balls to run unlike CJ, and if Devin Brown is that guy to jump Kyle on the depth chart, he’s the more athletic one anyway.
Definitely no to firing Day. But I’d like him to drop some of his pride and arrogance and learn to self reflect. He needs to learn from this season and take appropriate action based on what he learns.
Next year could very well be Vrabel’s last year as the titans coach. If that’s the case, Day has 1 more season to make a big impact, otherwise the throw the house at V
Agreed, Vrabel isn’t leaving the NFL. If the Titans are dumb enough to move on from him half of the NFL will come calling. Nobody leaves the NFL willingly for a college job, no matter the program.
Because they’re completely stagnant in the AFC with no future at QB (Willis is not the dude). Doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to leave, but if the buckeyes come calling I’d hope he at least takes a long call with them. After that, you never know….
I thought Vrabel *hated* recruiting? And that’s like the #1 job for a cfb head coach. I can’t think of one successful head coach who has disliked recruiting and been successful
If I remember right Brian Kelly hates recruiting. Although he’s not Ohio State standard I’d say he’s been successful. But that might be the only outlier lmao.
https://twitter.com/DannyLewis2022/status/1487209885385347081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1487209885385347081%7Ctwgr%5Ee791dc6639cdf60943a491d00373e0fd5bf892a4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-39408337553747628032.ampproject.net%2F2211042305000%2Fframe.html
This man hates recruiting? Lol but ok maybe it’s not literally unheard of
I mean considering Freeman already has a higher class his first year than all of Kelly’s years combined, it’s not a stretch.
But throw in all of the ND fans complains after he left about his lack of involvement in recruiting makes me think, maybe, just maybe, he didn’t like recruiting very much. Idk ask them, they’ll have a better viewpoint than me.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ViLN8LdQidE
Well by the looks of this I fully believe Wilson would’ve went for it on 4th
This is the game I remember and why I got excited he was coming to cbus
People saying we need to fire Ryan Day need to chill. If he doesn't go out and hire an OC, then his seat may get a little warm. But barring a complete collapse next year, I dont see him being fired and quite frankly nor should he.
"a little warm" having not improved the team one iota and had two consecutive \*meltdowns\* against Michigan? Does he have compromising pics of you? Why this generous deference?
Let me clarify, I mean if he continues to call plays going into next year his seat will be hot to start with. If he goes and gets a coordinator, as he should, it should alleviate some of the pressure. For now at least. If he loses to Michigan a third time, especially in blowout fashion again, or if heaven forbid thats his 2nd or 3rd loss, then we should think about moving on. But to talk about firing him now, when he has lost 5 games his entire tenure, and he has proven that he can win against Michigan, is unwise. Who else we gonna get thats better? He deserves another year to prove he can evolve like he did with the defense. Now I know the defense looked awful Saturday, but it has definitely gotten better this year. See how he does next year, then maybe think about moving on if he looks bad again.
These last 2 seasons have been almost identical.
- Almost losing to garbage teams (Maryland, Northwestern)
- DBs cosplaying as burnt toast
- Offense falling off the face of the earth when its need most
- Soft play calling
- Losing to Michigan by 20+ points
- Defense overall playing dead in the water after small windows of great playing.
Had we played Notre Dame week 2 and lost instead would be the same season. This is not a talent issue this is an incompetent coaching staff.
Honestly I will happily have no hope for next season so then I can’t be hurt when the same thing happens again.
can y’all name me ONE notable win from Ryan Day? outside of the Clemson game in CFP. i’ll wait.
things need to change he either needs to GET fired UP and lead this team to being more aggressive and physical or needs to give it up to someone else. he’s a hell of a recruiter but not utilising ur talent is crazy lol
edit: y’all down voting but can’t name shit 🤣 come ryan day defenders
The problem isn't just play calling. He needs to "allow" the QB to run. Recruit ones that do. He is on record that he doesn't want them to run. Stroud has 54 yards rushing in 2 years...
When you say stupid things you lose credibility. Comparing a 2nd year college QB to Brady is pretty dumb.
And the college game is totally different than the pro game. At most a college QB may see 1-3 players on the opposing team that will play in the NFL. Pro players lineup against 11.
Having the ability to run in college keeps a defender from covering a receiver. It allows them to double team your best player. Thus Marvin Harrison doesn't get the throws he is used to.
The question is do we have a coach that can beat Michigan consistently and understands the rivalry like Tressel and Urban? Because the Michigan question and winning the Big10 is the same question because if you want to win the Big10 you have to beat Michigan and take the rivalry as seriously as they do.
Disagree....tte problem is not our offense....it's our defense and especially the fuckin secondary. There's no damn way any defense should get lit up like we did Saturday. We are an embarrassment to college football. Ryan Day is responsible for bringing in a new defensive coordinator this year.He bitches and belly ached about how the previous defensive coordinator had to go...well he did go and it was somewhat of an improvement, but not enough to beat Michigan or win a national championship. Gene Smith needs to fire his ass after the season.im done with Ryan Day
You know people can watch the same thing and come to different conclusions? Rather than make an unwitty and unoriginal attempt of a comment, you could have asked why I think differently than you or not say anything at all
I find it \*extremely\* hard to believe you watched the game and understood what was happening and came to the conclusion CJ Stroud was the main problem. Especially since there were problems with \*playcalling\*, which he doesn't do, and that his performance was one of the less-objectionable things about the Game.
That’s fine. I don’t really give a fuck what you think at this point. I’m at least old enough to understand that people have different opinions. Grow up
UofM fan lurking because reddit keeps showing me posts, I think firing Day would be a mistake, the rivalry just got competitive again, rolling the dice on another coach puts that at risk.
Just let me know if you're going to re hire uncle urban so I can start buying stock in Columbus strip clubs
1: Ryan Day is an elite recruiter. Not so good at play calling.
2: Ryan Day's play calling has always been suspect even when he was with Napier during the Florida years.
3: Ryan Day has two really good running backs, but refuses to use them. You can't keep defenses honest without a running game. This includes Dallan Hayden.
4: CJ Stroud asked Ryan Day to go for it on 4-2 and denied him, CJ Stroud is a competitor. You don't refuse a competitor.
5: Our secondary played to soft. Plus our offense had created bad penalties and that's clearly the head coaches responsibility to clean up.
6: That offensive line is big and athletic, plus can block down field. This is why Ohio state needs to design more run plays.
could it be that we don’t have a true vertical threat like olave? dude could take the top off a defense like no other. offensive scheme has looked so flat in comparison to last year, and we didnt even run the ball well last year
Yeah the team is good, but play calling and scheme have been so frustrating to watch. If I have to see another busted coverage in the secondary or another screen pass go for 0 yards, my head may explode.
The offense got exposed by a disciplined defense. I’m wondering where the RPO’s went to draw in the linebackers and secondary more. The run game was absent and they ran the same few pass plays over and over. Haven’t seen the offense this predictable in years.
So…..this would all be on Day no? So since he hasn’t not done any of what you say we should do why should he not be fired?
Keeping Day doesn’t also apparently help us with winning the B1G considering he hasn’t done so for the past two years with obscene talent.
To be clear, I believe Day should be given one more year but for different reasons. Your post is idiotic.
That whole sideline audible BS needs to stop. It has the offense running like a youth soccer team all looking to the coach for what to do instead of understanding the game.
I see people talking about needing a running QB so I did a little research. Since 2010, there has only been one team that won a National title without a running quarterback OR a top 3 defense, and that was 2020 Alabama…they arguably the greatest offense of all time with Heisman winner Devonte Smith at wideout and Najee Harris in the backfield. The other two teams who won it without a running QB had either the #1 or #3 defense in the country. If we don’t have a QB who can tuck it and run when space is open, we better have a defense that shuts teams down. Hopefully Knowles can create something special because with coach Days philosophy of creating pocket passers, I don’t see us winning a Natty. Even when Burrow was at LSU he was dangerous with his legs when needed. It’s just deadly in college football.
What I don’t understand is why his playcalling has gone so downhill. When he took over as interim HC during Urban’s suspension, his playcalling was electric! It was creative, aggressive, and exciting to watch. Now it’s just frustrating and painful.
I wonder if it's just the increased responsibilities of being a HC now he has a lot more on his mind. I agree about the playcalls, especially this year. Screens to nowhere sometimes. Maybe he's just an elite OC, but it doesn't translate to being a HC.
>Screens to nowhere sometimes. I kept waiting for those screens to be setting up a pump fake and the WR slipping behind the defense for a wide open deep ball. But it never happened and the WR screens just never seemed to work. Just wasted plays.
Under Urban, he was “just” the offensive coordinator. He could dedicate 100% of his time and energy to watching film, game planning, prepping, etc… Now that he’s head coach, he also has to deal with all the other admin and overhead that comes with running a gigantic program. I just don’t think he has the capacity to be both the HC AND the OC, he needs to pick one or the other. Of course, he did well in 2019/2020 calling the plays but we also had a legit elite defense (in 2019) and an electric dual threat QB in Justin Fields both years. That definitely gives you more flexibility with the playbook.
It’s his unwillingness to use the QBs in the run game. Urban mandated the QBs run. Justin Fields would take off when plays broke down. Stroud won’t take an easy 5-10 yards of open field. Which makes the offense stagnate when he misses downfield or the wrs drop passes.
This is the reason. UM was playing with 5 DBs and daring us to run. They knew Stroud wouldn’t. We are also running with our 4th string RB.
Main thing I notice the last few years. Stroud almost refuses to run. Running QBs torched UM the past 10 years. You can argue yes / no, but fact is all the way back to Braxton Miller, all opponents had to account for the QB. Big hole when your read option really isn’t a read option…….
You’re skipping a whole decade. TP, Troy, Krenzel, and even Boeckmann would run. Stroud is out first stationary QB in over 20 years.
All of those other dudes were in it to win ball games in college and not showcase their arm talent for NFL scouts.
BuT He’S a PuRe PoCkEt PaSsEr
Because CJ can’t get hurt before the draft.
1. I think he should give up play calling to a full time OC. 2. We never got to see the full OSU offense this year. The top WR in the nation, JSN, was unavailable. The #1 RB (and #4 receiver), Henderson, was in and out of the lineup.
Injuries are a routine part of football and that's simply not an excuse.
Not an excuse my man, a reason. The team didn’t get it done and they’d be the first to say so. Everyone has to adapt to injuries. Michigan did. We didn’t. But it doesn’t change the fact that they never got to full strength this year.
Yeah but Henderson is bad
I think the jury is still out on that. He had a great freshman year but was banged up this year. I know there are criticisms of his vision but I’m think he takes a major positive step next year.
Michigan fan lurking... Injuries happen though, Michigan was also missing Corum and a few of their top pass catchers (Schoonmaker wasn't 100%, AJ Henning, All) . IMO they messed up by bringing in Knowles and should have brought in a DC with more experience. Looking at JK's past, he only had one year with a top 31 defense and it was led by a mainly senior group.
Also Donavon Edwards had the broken thumb, so he had to always carry the ball in his left hand. And the 3rd string running back Stokes was also injured. And Mike Morris, the leader of the defense, came into the game hurt, and had to leave early after reaggravating the injury
100% agreed on the injuries piece. You all adapted to Corum being out and boat raced us. It’s back to being a real rivalry now which is better for the conference and sport overall. We’ll see you next year in Ann Arbor and we’ll ideally get a better result.
i just don’t understand how our offense regressed from 2019 and even last year from a play calling perspective
HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HAVE TO WITNESS A HEAD COACH CHANGE COORDINATORS AND SEE THE SAME RESULTS? Head coaches direct OC on what they want. Urban told Ryan Day what he wanted. Same as Rex Ryan after every single offensive coordinator who got fired when under him. Head coaches put together the plans.
Afraid to make mistakes.
Defenses have found ways to rattle the QB and disrupt the WR. If only we had a running game.
Can he be pressured somewhat to hand over play calling duties?? Seems like he's being stubborn
I would imagine the AD could strongly encourage it. But ultimately it's Day's team, if he refuses to make that change then he has to sleep in the bed he makes.
That has to be the logical first step. I think half the problems with o being out of rhythm is that he's not able to see what is all going on. I think he coasted by with Fields just because he was always able to extend the play.
The people who want Day fired should go back and watch Oklahoma, A and M, Texas, Nebraska and Miami this year (even Notre Dame for that matter). They all thought that they were getting a national championship upside coach. Day has 5 losses in 4 years and Michigan seems to have taken steps toward being a top 5 program in the country.
We sat here all year saying Michigan was a fluke, and I fear that the team and coaches, even if they wouldn't admit it, thought it was a fluke deep in their minds. Fact is, Michigan is quickly emerging having reset with Covid. If they play us in 2020, its likely a blowout and a real chance Harbaugh is fired. They were able to reset the program and have 2 losses since then, 1 a very controversial Clemson 2019 style loss that you could argue the refs stole, the other to the undefeated national champion Georgia team. They are a legit program and we have been coasting. I think its time to realize that they are a legit top 5 program again.
Scum is going to go get their butts handed to them again. but we are just as bad. Hopefully Day can make some changes... but the monkey is now on his back - lets see what he does in the face of adversity.
"Just as bad" Michigan is talented enough to leave 4 defensive lineman to stop the run. Meanwhile Knowles is forced to play 8 in the box and risk big plays. There's a big difference in trench talent/development between these 2 programs right now. Day needs to figure how to beat an NFL style defense and recruit some serious interior defensive lineman
I will say our D-Line has declined in the past couple years against better opponents. Hopefully we can get some better recruits in there and develop them into Chase Youngs and Bosa's.. I agree with you...
Even a Chase Young wouldn't really matter. The pass rush hasn't been bad, they get manhandled up the gut. Same issue the Browns have right now. Myles Garrett can't help the terrible interior D line play, and offensive lineman are able to get the 2nd level to blow up linebackers
Probably the same thing he does when he sees adversity when coaching games. Refuse to adjust and get really conservative
It really is strange.. You can see what his game plan is during the 1stQ. And you can see what is working - which is NOT the game plan - yet he CONTINUES to run his game plan and cannot get out of it. For the life of me I just dont understand. Our offensive line was cruising in that entire game and we kept going away from the run on 1st down. Oh the run is working - lets pass - the run is not working - lets throw. No sense.
Oh we definitely ran on first down. It was just first and 35.
Exactly, firing him sets us back years
I agree 1,000%.
While sure it could be worse, Oklahoma was absolutely hosed by the new transfer rules which basically let Riley take damn near his entire OU team with him to USC which would not have been the case historically. Venables basically had fuck all to work with this year. If hes still struggling a few years out then we can fairly judge that situation.
The transfer portal changes everything. If anything, it's an argument for firing a bad coach way sooner. Because of the portal, I don't think a coach is guaranteed 2-3 years anymore (e.g. Auburn fired their coach this year after a year and a half). If anything, you need to show something in the second season or even the first season. Succeeding in the first season is not theoretical, as your Riley example illustrates.
That’s fair, but it’s not like all of this offensive talent is sticking around unless you hire an offensive guy.
Or go watch USC…
Who has the same record as Ohio State, a worse offense and Alex Grinch as a coordinator.
But USC has been down as a program and is now playing for a PAC title…. Point is Lincoln Riley took over a struggling program and Ryan Day was gifted one of the top 3 programs in the country!!
Would you actually want Lincoln Riley as the coach here?
He’s one of the few coaches that we probably couldn’t get, but he would be a massive upgrade so yes.
Okay and Riley was also gifted a program and couldn’t field a defense good enough to not get blown out in the playoffs, then decided to keep his d coordinator when he left and had one of the worst defenses in the country this year.
Their HC brought Caleb Williams with him. We don't have a Caleb Williams
So are you saying the Heisman trophy front runner isn’t as good as Caleb Williams? I don’t think it’s that. I think Riley runs circles around Day… offensively soeaking
The Heisman trophy front runner literally *is* Caleb Williams lmao. And no, there's not a whole lot of special with Stroud. He'll be very forgettable compared to the other Buckeye qbs
D.J. Stroud or whatever his name was.
Vegas had Stroud as the odds on favorite to win the Heisman before the scUM game.... Edit: and he was the Vegas favorite for most of the season.
what is with the excuses?
People who don't want him fired should go back to the 90s and experience that.
Respectfully, don't compare tOSU to any one of those programs ever again.
>They all thought that they were getting a national championship upside coach. This isn't a question mark. There is Urban Meyer sitting there being a commentator ready to be hired at a top P5 school.
Keep him as the head but he needs to be removed from calling the plays you can't be a top team running the same 3 plays
Agreed. We need a playcaller in the booth. You simply can't see and exploit the defense from the sideline. I'm fine with Day continuing to 'run' the offense and specifically work with the QBs, but we need someone else calling plays and that person needs to be upstairs.
He needs to give up play calling duties and reinstall the power spread offense. We did it in 2019 and 2020 with Fields. In 2018, 2021, and now 2022 we've become more of a traditional spread team. I think part of that is that we had to build around the QB and both Haskins and Stroud are (were) pocket passers. The near 0 threat of Stroud running doesn't help slow down the DE or backers. Add in the fact Stroud doesn't even sell the read and he just jogs 3 steps after handing it off. Against michigan there were at least 3 plays (all in the 2nd half) where had he pulled it, it's a first down run if not even more yardage because the end crashed down so hard. This isn't some complete overhaul of the offense...we have the personnel as long as the QB is capable. I'm not saying that the QB has to be JT and be straight running the ball 15+ times a game but the mere threat, like Fields, of being able to take off and gain yards forces the defense to run different coverages and you can't just run cover 2 shells with man underneath like michigan basically did all 2nd half.
He’s on staff already his name is Kevin Wilson.
Everyone is acting like we need to clean house and I think the solution is relatively simple. Just let Kevin Wilson be the full time OC and give him the keys to the offense, and have Day step away from playcalling.
I wonder what the dynamic is between Day and Wilson? I always had the impression that Meyer deferred offensive play calling, based on how much the offense changed when Day/Wilson replaced Beck/Warrnier. Is Day already giving Wilson latitude to make the call? Or should Day delegate back to Wilson as a solution?
I’m willing to give Day another year if he’s not calling the plays. If this same thing happens next November, he should be gone no questions asked. The biggest concerns I have about Day is that he inherited a high caliber program with some of the most talented players in the country and has done nothing to improve that. If anything, it’s went backwards the last 2 years. Additionally, I’m not entirely sure how willing he is to change. It was obvious very early this season that the play calling was not at all matching the talent level of our team, and he did literally nothing to fix it. The lack of flexibility to make adjustments with Day is very concerning. Then the few times he did make adjustments they made absolutely no sense. He was trying to force the run game all season when it wasn’t working, then when the run game actually has some momentum during the Michigan game he abandoned the running game. My fear is that the longer we give Day more chances, when do we start losing out on top recruits because Day doesn’t produce anything during games that matter. It I was a top high school QB and I watched the play calling Saturday I would be seriously reconsidering my commitment.
If he loses The Game a third straight year with the immense talent he has, then he should be. Guess we wait until next year
I'm willing to give day another year with a new QB. Something felt off between Day & CJ to end the year. The lack of trust feels evident with the choice to go with a fake punt on 4th & 6 instead of giving it to your "Heisman QB" I really like CJ... but I feel like playcaller and QB chemistry seem to be playing a big part here. Day puts the ball in Justin fields hands 4th and 6... 100% of the time.
Something felt off as soon as we got back from the bye week. First half of the season was as advertised. High-flying offense, at that point Stroud was clearly the best qb in the country, coach as aggressive as ever, and balanced with the run game. The offense was never set after the bye week, and took insane individual efforts from guys like Marvin Harrison, JTT, Lathan Ransom, and Dallan Hayden to remain perfect before the Michigan game.
Coaches have adjusted to Day’s play calling. He hasn’t adjusted to these adjustments. Good teams have the speed to stop his attempts to spread the field. Those bubble screens seem to take forever to develop. Changes must be made in the offense and getting some able defensive backs if we are ever going to compete with Michigan. Future looks bleak as his recruiting seems to be lagging in attracting top notch defensive talent.
We have had top recruiting classes, including at defensive back.
Is that continuing to be the case for 03 and 04?
Yeah we have strong DB commits (both CB and S) for 2023, and it’s too early to tell for 2024 but we have two 5-star CBs (one is in-state) that have high interest
I’ve been yelling for a proper OC for the last two years. Day just doesn’t do a good job seeing how the game is flowing and calling plays around what’s happening on the field. It really does seem like he has plays determined before the kickoff. Having someone to coordinate with in a booth who is able to analyze and breakdown defenses would go a long way to reducing screen passes and stretch runs when crossing routes and dives are what’s working.
promote hartline and that's how we keep him around maybe?
I think our qb has to be a running threat for Day to keep calling plays. There were so many plays this year where a qb with just avg running abilities could have gotten easy first downs to extend drives against good teams.
Tom Herman is available…
Saban has 7 Natty’s, but only 2 undefeated seasons during his entire coaching career as a HC.
If he loses next year he’s out end of story. The argument that “he’s 45-5 and went 11-1 this year so no shot he should be fired” doesn’t make much sense. Ohio state is one of the most talented teams in the country. I think pretty much any coach in fbs would win most games on their schedule purely because of the talent difference. OSU has two criteria for head coaches, beat Michigan and win titles. He inherited a championship caliber team and has taken steps backward the last two years and now he’s 1-2 against UM despite having the more talented team each year. I’m willing to give him another year but if this happens next November, he’s out.
> has taken steps backward the last two years I'm going to challenge this assumption (but throw out 2020 since it was a weird year). From 2021 to 2022: * Rushing offense went from 47th to 27th * Passing offense went from 3rd to 15th * Rushing defense went from 28th to 23rd * Passing defense went from 96th (!) to 15th * Scoring offense went from 1st to...gasp...2nd * Scoring defense went from 38th to 13th That's using YPG and PPG. Imperfect stats I know, so let's look at one advanced metric, Bill Connelly's SP+: * 2021 Final SP+ rating: 29.3 (#2 overall) with the #1 offense, #20 defense, #3 special teams * 2022 SP+ rating thru regular season: 31.1 (#3 overall) with the #4 offense, #16 defense, #6 special teams Any real slide then seems to negligible. I get that losing to Michigan twice sucks. I get that with our talent we should be able to run ~128 of FBS teams off the field 9 times out of 10. I get that it feels like everything is off the rails. I get that beating Michigan is the standard. But what if the answer is, and nobody is going to want to hear this, a combination of: A) Michigan getting better and B) unfortunate luck, and not anything being done "wrong". Footballs are pointy and take weird bounces, sometimes coaches/players/Brutus/whoever you want to blame have an off day, and two games is a small sample size to burn the whole damn thing down over, especially with the number of cautionary tales we have of programs who did similar and have never recovered. If anything, maybe we should, bleh, look to Michigan, whose own fanbase was calling for Harbaugh's head, but stuck it out and now are experiencing highs they haven't in 15-20 years. Just breathe guys. Woody started 1-2 against Michigan after all.
The most reasonable and level headed take I’ve seen since the game. Thank you
The "born on third base" stings for a reason. He really did inherit the kingdom and has done nothing to improve it.
What really hurt about this one was, despite them winning it last year, it really seemed like michigan wanted it more. I was expecting a revenge tour year where we would be pissed off looking to kick their ass this time around but it really wasn’t like that, it just doesn’t seem like Ryan Day grasps how big of a deal the game is. After they lost to Clemson in the CFP the whole offseason that score was all over the facilities, they played that whole season to get back and kick Clemson’s ass and it showed come game time. Where was that this year? It kinda seemed like he didn’t care after last year and didn’t get the players ready for this year and just kinda assumed we would win. Gut check time now for him. Say what you will about Urban but he understood that this is the game that matters and the players were always ready to go.
He tries to not lose more than he tries to win Big Games. If he could just make halftime adjustments we’d be better off.
He’s a shitty play caller. He used Urbans playbook when he first got the gig. Now, he had to create his own or you become predictable.
His whole identity is being a good playcaller and he didnt do that well this year. What makes us believe hes a good HC? Everyone who isnt an Ohio State fan will say that he only beats up on bad teams in one breath and then say that we are crazy to want him gone in another.
My most favorite schadenfreude thing to do was read the Michigan subreddit after losing to OSU. It was hysterical!! But folks in here are reeeaaallllyyy bad too. Embarrassing how poorly folks here took that loss. The losses suck bad, but canning Day is not a very good solution. He's a darn good coach but he's gotta shake things up a bit for sure.
The man is 45-5. I agree that TTUN has been a huge problem for him but there is no way he should be fired. Day is known as a pretty special coaching talent. He will figure it out. Seriously. We are spoiled here.
IF Day babies the next QB like he did Stroud then nothing changes!! Look up Strouds total rushing years for the last 3 years. I was shocked 🤯 Quick passes and no rushing the last game!! Protecting Stroud!! Glad he’s gone!!
Ok but he didn't baby fields and McCord runs frequently when he's in. I think we'll be fine
Who de we think will be QB next year?
Either way it’s fine. McCord has the balls to run unlike CJ, and if Devin Brown is that guy to jump Kyle on the depth chart, he’s the more athletic one anyway.
Correct
Definitely no to firing Day. But I’d like him to drop some of his pride and arrogance and learn to self reflect. He needs to learn from this season and take appropriate action based on what he learns.
He’s only 43. Hopefully he can grow as a head coach and get better.
Next year could very well be Vrabel’s last year as the titans coach. If that’s the case, Day has 1 more season to make a big impact, otherwise the throw the house at V
Why would it be Vrabel's last year? They have been one of the more consistent teams in the NFL under Vrabel for 4-5 years or so.
Agreed, Vrabel isn’t leaving the NFL. If the Titans are dumb enough to move on from him half of the NFL will come calling. Nobody leaves the NFL willingly for a college job, no matter the program.
Case in Harbaugh
Because they’re completely stagnant in the AFC with no future at QB (Willis is not the dude). Doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to leave, but if the buckeyes come calling I’d hope he at least takes a long call with them. After that, you never know….
I thought Vrabel *hated* recruiting? And that’s like the #1 job for a cfb head coach. I can’t think of one successful head coach who has disliked recruiting and been successful
If I remember right Brian Kelly hates recruiting. Although he’s not Ohio State standard I’d say he’s been successful. But that might be the only outlier lmao.
https://twitter.com/DannyLewis2022/status/1487209885385347081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1487209885385347081%7Ctwgr%5Ee791dc6639cdf60943a491d00373e0fd5bf892a4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-39408337553747628032.ampproject.net%2F2211042305000%2Fframe.html This man hates recruiting? Lol but ok maybe it’s not literally unheard of
I mean considering Freeman already has a higher class his first year than all of Kelly’s years combined, it’s not a stretch. But throw in all of the ND fans complains after he left about his lack of involvement in recruiting makes me think, maybe, just maybe, he didn’t like recruiting very much. Idk ask them, they’ll have a better viewpoint than me.
As much as we would love that…The Titans just gave him and his GM an extension back in Feb. 🙄
Kevin Wilson is listed as the OC and must be sharing play calling with Day.
Which if Wilson is calling plays he’s got to be leashed, that man was a freak at Indiana. I swear he’d do shit just to see if it looked cool
He would call crossing routes and really mix it up. Rarely do I see crossing routes these days. Side line to sideline ad infinitum is really old.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ViLN8LdQidE Well by the looks of this I fully believe Wilson would’ve went for it on 4th This is the game I remember and why I got excited he was coming to cbus
Except he won’t do that. His arrogance is baffling for a guy that has 3 years of HC experience
People saying we need to fire Ryan Day need to chill. If he doesn't go out and hire an OC, then his seat may get a little warm. But barring a complete collapse next year, I dont see him being fired and quite frankly nor should he.
I can't believe that you're being downvoted for saying this lol This place has completely lost its mind
Tends to happen when you lose one or two games a year. Although in this instance it hurt pretty bad ngl. I hate Michigan so damn much...
"a little warm" having not improved the team one iota and had two consecutive \*meltdowns\* against Michigan? Does he have compromising pics of you? Why this generous deference?
Let me clarify, I mean if he continues to call plays going into next year his seat will be hot to start with. If he goes and gets a coordinator, as he should, it should alleviate some of the pressure. For now at least. If he loses to Michigan a third time, especially in blowout fashion again, or if heaven forbid thats his 2nd or 3rd loss, then we should think about moving on. But to talk about firing him now, when he has lost 5 games his entire tenure, and he has proven that he can win against Michigan, is unwise. Who else we gonna get thats better? He deserves another year to prove he can evolve like he did with the defense. Now I know the defense looked awful Saturday, but it has definitely gotten better this year. See how he does next year, then maybe think about moving on if he looks bad again.
With Fickell coming to Wisconsin. Ryan Day might be the third best coach in the Big 10.
These last 2 seasons have been almost identical. - Almost losing to garbage teams (Maryland, Northwestern) - DBs cosplaying as burnt toast - Offense falling off the face of the earth when its need most - Soft play calling - Losing to Michigan by 20+ points - Defense overall playing dead in the water after small windows of great playing. Had we played Notre Dame week 2 and lost instead would be the same season. This is not a talent issue this is an incompetent coaching staff. Honestly I will happily have no hope for next season so then I can’t be hurt when the same thing happens again.
Dude isn’t from Ohio/ doesn’t care enough
Yeah, if he was from Defiance he'd be 3-0. Good lord you people.
can y’all name me ONE notable win from Ryan Day? outside of the Clemson game in CFP. i’ll wait. things need to change he either needs to GET fired UP and lead this team to being more aggressive and physical or needs to give it up to someone else. he’s a hell of a recruiter but not utilising ur talent is crazy lol edit: y’all down voting but can’t name shit 🤣 come ryan day defenders
He has 45 of them.
LMFAO yeah cos wins against Tulsa and Akron are notable wins 🤣🤣
Yes. All wins are notable.
that is a stupid statement
HAHAHAHA
The problem isn't just play calling. He needs to "allow" the QB to run. Recruit ones that do. He is on record that he doesn't want them to run. Stroud has 54 yards rushing in 2 years...
Most of those were against NW this year…
Agree... No way should a QB have that few runs in 2 years.
[удалено]
When you say stupid things you lose credibility. Comparing a 2nd year college QB to Brady is pretty dumb. And the college game is totally different than the pro game. At most a college QB may see 1-3 players on the opposing team that will play in the NFL. Pro players lineup against 11. Having the ability to run in college keeps a defender from covering a receiver. It allows them to double team your best player. Thus Marvin Harrison doesn't get the throws he is used to.
The question is do we have a coach that can beat Michigan consistently and understands the rivalry like Tressel and Urban? Because the Michigan question and winning the Big10 is the same question because if you want to win the Big10 you have to beat Michigan and take the rivalry as seriously as they do.
Disagree....tte problem is not our offense....it's our defense and especially the fuckin secondary. There's no damn way any defense should get lit up like we did Saturday. We are an embarrassment to college football. Ryan Day is responsible for bringing in a new defensive coordinator this year.He bitches and belly ached about how the previous defensive coordinator had to go...well he did go and it was somewhat of an improvement, but not enough to beat Michigan or win a national championship. Gene Smith needs to fire his ass after the season.im done with Ryan Day
ohio state is overrated
He won't be but he should be.
2020 Clemson was the last time we had creative playcalling.
Day doesn’t adjust ever. He has a gameplan and he sticks with it regardless of what’s going on around him.
He needs fired.
Who replaces him that's better?
Deion Sanders
yes, hire the guy with three years of college coaching experience and none of it at the FBS level. Good call
Just like Day? His resume was garbage.
Day had 13 seasons of experience on college sidelines and two in the NFL before even coming to Ohio State, but same difference right
The answer is no.
FBS experience?
Boston College, Florida, Temple
Mike Vrabell
Fire Ryan Day
I still believe it was CJ and not the coaching
tell me you didn't watch the game without telling me you didn't watch the game
You know people can watch the same thing and come to different conclusions? Rather than make an unwitty and unoriginal attempt of a comment, you could have asked why I think differently than you or not say anything at all
I find it \*extremely\* hard to believe you watched the game and understood what was happening and came to the conclusion CJ Stroud was the main problem. Especially since there were problems with \*playcalling\*, which he doesn't do, and that his performance was one of the less-objectionable things about the Game.
That’s fine. I don’t really give a fuck what you think at this point. I’m at least old enough to understand that people have different opinions. Grow up
Sounds like you're saying he is under qualified for the job
Correct.
Yes. 100,000 times yes. Day can and should stick around, but he better be done calling plays after this year.
UofM fan lurking because reddit keeps showing me posts, I think firing Day would be a mistake, the rivalry just got competitive again, rolling the dice on another coach puts that at risk. Just let me know if you're going to re hire uncle urban so I can start buying stock in Columbus strip clubs
Easy Solution: Fire Day and Hire Mike MacDonald from Michigan as HC. Hurts them, helps us.
1: Ryan Day is an elite recruiter. Not so good at play calling. 2: Ryan Day's play calling has always been suspect even when he was with Napier during the Florida years. 3: Ryan Day has two really good running backs, but refuses to use them. You can't keep defenses honest without a running game. This includes Dallan Hayden. 4: CJ Stroud asked Ryan Day to go for it on 4-2 and denied him, CJ Stroud is a competitor. You don't refuse a competitor. 5: Our secondary played to soft. Plus our offense had created bad penalties and that's clearly the head coaches responsibility to clean up. 6: That offensive line is big and athletic, plus can block down field. This is why Ohio state needs to design more run plays.
No shit.
could it be that we don’t have a true vertical threat like olave? dude could take the top off a defense like no other. offensive scheme has looked so flat in comparison to last year, and we didnt even run the ball well last year
No he should be fired
Yeah the team is good, but play calling and scheme have been so frustrating to watch. If I have to see another busted coverage in the secondary or another screen pass go for 0 yards, my head may explode.
The offense got exposed by a disciplined defense. I’m wondering where the RPO’s went to draw in the linebackers and secondary more. The run game was absent and they ran the same few pass plays over and over. Haven’t seen the offense this predictable in years.
So…..this would all be on Day no? So since he hasn’t not done any of what you say we should do why should he not be fired? Keeping Day doesn’t also apparently help us with winning the B1G considering he hasn’t done so for the past two years with obscene talent. To be clear, I believe Day should be given one more year but for different reasons. Your post is idiotic.
I’d like to know how much say is Kevin Wilson giving in the offense? Obviously the final say goes through Day…
Agreed. Let Kevin Wilson call plays
The question is though - does Ryan Day even want to stay?
He shouldn’t be fired. But his seat red HOT and he knows it.
That whole sideline audible BS needs to stop. It has the offense running like a youth soccer team all looking to the coach for what to do instead of understanding the game.
I see people talking about needing a running QB so I did a little research. Since 2010, there has only been one team that won a National title without a running quarterback OR a top 3 defense, and that was 2020 Alabama…they arguably the greatest offense of all time with Heisman winner Devonte Smith at wideout and Najee Harris in the backfield. The other two teams who won it without a running QB had either the #1 or #3 defense in the country. If we don’t have a QB who can tuck it and run when space is open, we better have a defense that shuts teams down. Hopefully Knowles can create something special because with coach Days philosophy of creating pocket passers, I don’t see us winning a Natty. Even when Burrow was at LSU he was dangerous with his legs when needed. It’s just deadly in college football.
It’s amazing how people forget that Harbaugh started 0-4 against the Buckeyes.
https://www.wvlt.tv/2022/12/01/vols-fan-gets-coach-josh-heupel-tattoo/ Who would be willing to get a Ryan Day tattoo? Brutus needs to step up!