Ryan Day upset at squandered scoring chances in 1st half vs. Notre Dame

Points have been at a premium in South Bend on Saturday night through one half between Ohio State and Notre Dame. And with the Buckeyes scratching out a 3-0 lead shortly before halftime, head coach Ryan Day lamented his team missing out on touchdowns in the red zone.

Twice in the first half Ohio State got to the doorstep of the end zone, coming away with just 3 total points. There was the series leading to a field goal at the end of the half, and one that ended in a fourth-down stop at the Notre Dame one, leaving Day steamed at halftime.

“It’s his first time in this kind of environment. He’s working through it,” Day said of starting quarterback Kyle McCord. “We’re down here on the one yard line, can’t punch it in, I’m pissed about that.

“But we’re playing hard, we’ve got to keep going. I mean we almost put this one in over here. We kicked three points. That’s OK. It’s going to be that kind of a game. We knew it was going to be four quarters. We’ve gotta regroup here at halftime and just figure out how to get a little bit more rhythm on offense. I thought we did a little bit there, we just gotta finish off these drives, defense has gotta continue to do what they’re doing.”

McCord was 9-of-16 for 84 yards at the half. Neither offense eclipsed 100 passing yards in the first half. The Buckeyes found a bit of a groove in the final drive of the second quarter, as Day alluded to, but it was a few moments of positive play amid a half of misfires.

But with the offense slogging along, Day has been impressed with the defense shutting down the Irish.

“I like their physicality. I like the way they’re running around. You saw a couple guys show up in the backend, playing physical. That’s what it’s going to be in the second half,” Day said.

However upset Day was at half, he was exponentially more fired up after a win

A near walk-off touchdown stunned the South Bend faithful and the Buckeyes were pumped up. Nobody was more excited than Day, getting some personal feelings off his chest.

During his postgame interview with NBC’s Kathryn Tappen, Day called out former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, somebody who had comments of his own on Ohio State. Day passionately exclaimed how he could not believe what Holtz said about the Buckeyes and wanted his thoughts following the win.

“Toughness,” Day said. “That’s it. Physicality across the board, finish it off, having guts. I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now. What he said about our team — I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio. It’s always been Ohio against the world. It will continue to be Ohio against the world.

“But I will tell you what. I love those kids and we’ve got a tough team.”