Scarlet Sunrise: Ryan Day has 'gone through every play 1,000 times in my head' from loss to Oregon

COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Ryan Day is doing what most Buckeyes fans have been doing since Saturday night’s loss to Oregon.

He can’t get the final sequence out of his head. Day admitted as much during his appearance on 97.1 The Fan’s Buckeye Roundtable on Monday night.

Day was asked about Oregon seemingly intentionally putting 12 men on the field to take a penalty during the final sequence, knowing it would run time off the clock and only cost the Ducks 5 yards — still keeping Ohio State out of field goal range.

Day said he has replayed that play and every other play from the loss in his head over and over again.

“I guess they could put 20 guys on the field if they wanted to,” Day said. “I guess you would spike it so you save that time, then you can get five more yards.

“… But there was still an opportunity there.”

Day knows the Buckeyes had a real chance to walk out of Autzen Stadium with a win on either a game-winning field goal or a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds. But they came up just short of pulling it off on the road.

He can’t stop thinking about what could have been in the one-point loss.

“You think back on a lot of things,” he said. “Trust me: I’ve gone through every play 1,000 times in my head.”

Day has time to correct some of the errors that cost the Buckeyes dearly in the final moments of Saturday night during this upcoming idle week.

ICYMI: Buckeyes fear season-ending injury for left tackle Josh Simmons

Redshirt junior left tackle Josh Simmons left the Buckeyes’ loss to Oregon on a cart Saturday night after falling to the turf and grabbing his knee on the final play of the first quarter.

Following the loss, Ohio State coach Ryan Day provided a grim update on Simmons’ status moving forward.

“The injury to Josh Simmons hurt,” Day said. “Zen [Michalski, Simmons’ replacement] did a good job of coming in and competing. Tegra went down a little bit there. And so Austin had to go in. So I thought those guys competed.

“I’ll have to get the update on Simmons, but it doesn’t look great in terms of him being able to come back this season. So that’s a big hit for us, but I thought those guys came in and competed in the game.”

Now the Buckeyes wait for the official news, but as Day mentioned, the worst may be the result.

ICMYI: Buckeyes remain in top five despite loss to Oregon

Ohio State assembled this ultra-talented roster with the goal of not losing in mind. The Buckeyes wanted to be historically great.

But after a one-point loss to Oregon in Autzen Stadium on Saturday night, the Buckeyes are now in an interesting spot. They can’t lose again if they want to make the Big Ten title game and still be safely in the College Football Playoff.

Nobody has entirely lost hope for the Buckeyes, especially after a one-point loss to a fellow top team. AP Poll voters certainly haven’t. That’s why they only dropped Ohio State to No. 4 after the loss to now-No. 2 Oregon.

Texas retained the top spot after easily beating rival Oklahoma in the Red River game. The Longhorns are followed by Oregon and Penn State. Ohio State and Georgia round out the top five.

The AP Top 5 can be found below.

AP Top 5 (Oct. 13)

1. Texas (56)
2. Oregon (6)
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Nebraska: 11 days
Ohio State at Penn State: 18 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 46 days

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