Despondent Ryan Day had no answers during, after loss to Michigan

Ryan Day made it clear after a back-and-forth with Jim Harbaugh a few years ago he planned to “hang 100 on Michigan” the next time the two teams played. Instead, he’s halfway there after two games — both losses — in which Harbaugh hung a combined 87 on him.

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The Wolverines dominated Day’s second-ranked Buckeyes in the second half, outscoring them 28-3. A despondent OSU coach had no answers during or after the game.

“It’s hard to say right now because this is not the outcome we all envisioned,” Day said. “I thought we had really good preparation. I thought we were building towards playing really well in this game. We were fighting there in the first half.”

To the point that they dominated the first quarter. They picked up 8 first downs to Michigan’s 2, picked up 129 yards to 49 to “that team up north,” and had U-M on its heels.

U-M counterpunched, but the Buckeyes still took a 20-17 into the half.

“I felt really good going into the second half, [but] we just didn’t execute well enough in the first half,” Day said. “I thought we played hard. I thought we were fighting out there, but in the end, we came up short.”

And in the end, Michigan beat them at their own game. Six plays accounted for a huge chunk of the yardage, and five of them were touchdowns. Harbaugh, offensive coordinators Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss and Co. picked their spots perfectly, and quarterback J.J. McCarthy was on the money.

Senior receiver Cornelius Johnson‘s two big touchdown grabs in the first half kept Michigan close. Sophomore running back Donovan Edwards‘ fourth quarter scoring runs of 75 and 85 yards iced it.

“I think when you looked at the first half, physically, we were playing really well up front, especially on defense,” Day said. “I’m not sure how many yards they had in the first half running the ball. Then they had those two long plays. 

“In the second half, it was more of the same — too many big plays. When you look at the game, there were just way too many big plays. On offense, we had too many penalties and it got us off schedule. We just didn’t do a good job converting on third down, and then it gets out of hand at the end because we are probably throwing the ball too much.”

The breakdowns weren’t in just one area, he added. And he’s right. His team looked undisciplined in many areas, taking some dumb penalties that cost them (91 yards). The defense took some unnecessary gambles, and McCarthy and Co. made them pay.

“I’m going to have to look and see where all the breakdowns were, but it wasn’t just one area,” Day said. “It was a missed tackle on the first play, and then we got beat on the second play. There were obviously some misfits in the run game on other plays and then there was the pass to the tight ends. A few plays in the back end, and then a couple on the run.

“The first thing we need to do in games like this is play great defense. Other than two plays in the first half, I thought we did, but not in the second half.”

Like last year, Michigan dominated the fourth quarter. Day seemed a bit in denial, even after his team was outscored 28-3 in the second half.

“It got of out control down the stretch,” Day said. “It wasn’t like we were outmatched in terms of overall play.”

Regardless, he’ll have to live with a beatdown for a second straight year. He and his Buckeyes probably won’t make the playoff, though he said they’d be a “tough out” if they did. It’s probably another trip to the Rose Bowl, which he said last year “wasn’t good enough” —  but something he’ll have to accept.

Again.

“We’ll figure out what’s next. I don’t know exactly what is next right now,” Day said. “But that’s life at Ohio State. I certainly know what this game means to everybody.”

He’s just having hard time getting home from third base.